my unknown cruiser

[Erik]

A while ago I decided I wanted to build a cruiser. I found an old schwinn, a 60's I think, I dont really have a clue about years and bikes at all. Anyway this bike was setting by the road next to the trash. Upon further inspection I saw the frame was broke and completely bent. So I thought, all I need now is a frame. So I went to this place that used to exist called the Bike Liabrary where you could rent bikes and buy old vintage bikes and parts. They have this big pit of hundreds of old frames piled into a big.... pit. It was called "The Pit". So I looked through this pile for an hour with no avail. Then I saw at the very bottom a old blue frame that looked like a schwinn. I dug it out. It wasnt a Schwinn, or any other bike I have ever heard of. It looked old, and I liked the lines on it so I paid $5 and took it home. All the Schwinn parts fit perfect. The frame seemed like it was modeled after a schwinn with a few minor differences like a removable kick stand. Anyway, there is no serial number anywhere, and I can't find a bit of info on this thing. Can anyone tell me any info on it? Thanks!

 

[Rat Rod]

I don't what it is, but is sure looks ratty cool. :wink:

 

[bombshelterbikes]

I have no idea what that is....maybe a 50's Shelby/AMF????? Perfect rat! Welcome!

 

[TheDuke]

WELCOME & HELLO!Don't know what she is-but I like!

 

[roadmaster]

hello and welcome first of all. as for the cruiser in the pictures, thank you for the eye candy and the mental challenge of identifing it. as for numbers, did you look under the bottom bracket shell, side of the headtube and along the chain or seat stays? on the rear drop outs? maybe it was painted over. i had a similar frame that it wasn't untill i sanded it down to repaint it, did i discover a ser# on it and old decals telling me what it is. the unicrown fork throws me off for what year it may be, the swapped out schwinn chainring gets rid of my id by chainring. as for an amf/roadmaster, maybe later. let us know if you find out, and reguardless its a sweet bike with some nice lax geometry,

 

[GodHatesCleveland]

The headbadge would be a good place to begin the search, the pic is too small for me to read it.

The cantilevers look like they have too steep a drop to be a Schwinn, and the rake of the front fork seems angled a little too far forward for them as well, but I'm no expert.

There should be a serial number on there somewhere. I have a cruiser that was hand made and fabricated locally here at a bike store in 1962, and even they stamped a serial number on all their bikes. If you sand down the frame or look in some other spots like underneath the crank you might find it.

But if you did find a locally fabricated and hand made bike, well, there isn't too much that can describe that feeling. When I took mine back into the original store to have the hub rebuilt they just about shut down the store so everybody could come and look at the bike.

And where do you live, in the basement of an old movie theater? That place looks as cool as the bike.

 

[Erik]

The headbadge says Taiwan Bicycle Specialty - Islander. Still cant find a number, but when I get around to sanding it It might pop up. The fork on this bike I have no idea where it came from, it wasnt original it was just to get me on the road.
I live in Eureka California in one of the oldest buildings around. It used to be a hotel, and bank, and there are swimming pools still under some of the floors put in. It is huge and like a giant maze to find your way around. Now the building is art studios. I basicly live in my studio because my painting takes up all my time, with the exception of getting out to ride.
So back to the bike, I tried looking for taiwan bicycle specialty and just got a bunch of pics of tourists riding bikes in tawain and other info on specialty foods n stuff. Oh well. I love how the headtube is angled out a bit more than a scwhinn. I need to get a good fork for her!
Thanks for the info and welcome, I love lookin at all the bikes!

 

[roadmaster]

i've posted on this once but gotta again. that bike intreges me and looks wicked cool in all is mismatchness. id think slightly newer than the 50's or 60's if it has "made in taiwan" on it. perhaps later 70's thru mid eighties. whan you get it figured out, let us know.

 

[GodHatesCleveland]

The basic frame shape with the lowered cantilevers remind me of a model Hercules put out some time time ago. I wonder if there was a source like the Cleveland Welding Company, which sold their frames to a variety of sources.