Not sure what it is?

[ScoobyDrew]

Here is my latest in the world of bikes... I just got done building it for my girl! She is pretty excited about it, if anyone has an idea of what it is, I'd love to know!

Here is how it started:

And here is hers next to mine getting ready for it's first ride:

 

[user 135]

Looks like it was built by Cleveland Welding Company. If you post the serial number on the the bottom bracket, someone can decipher for you

 

[ratina]

Its Huffman built, the dropouts are a dead giveaway. Looks like the fork is bent also

 

[harquahalas]

looks like he may have straightened the forks?

 

[ratina]

looks like he may have straightened the forks?

its hard to tell with the angles of the pictures but they still look a lil bent to me

 

[harquahalas]

looks like he may have straightened the forks?

its hard to tell with the angles of the pictures but they still look a lil bent to me

Yeah. They look bent in the second picture. It is hard to tell at those angles though.

 

[Wildcat]

Yep, the forks look straightened a little. Now if he can straighten the seat tube also, I'll be impressed. Ive got a nice Emory women's with the same bend only more in the same place. I'd like to use it if I can figure how to fix it..

 

[ratina]

Yep, the forks look straightened a little. Now if he can straighten the seat tube also, I'll be impressed. Ive got a nice Emory women's with the same bend only more in the same place. I'd like to use it if I can figure how to fix it..

Ouch. Didn't even notice that one

 

[ScoobyDrew]

O.k. here is the serial number HS8939

I did straighten out the front forks as much as I felt comfortable doing... I'm actually on the hunt for a springer for this but the head tube is 8" long, sooo yea. As far as the seat tube, it is straight as can be. If your talking about the bottom of the frame where it connects to the crank, there are no signs of stress. i thought it was bent at first as well, but the more I have observed it it looks like maybe the design? Not sure... either way, it was $10. Most of the parts it needed I had, paint another $7, and the new bendix part I needed was $5, so being into the bike for $22 bucks... I'm thinking it was worth that.

any serial hunters let me know!

 

[Rustinkerer]

Try PM'ing member 37fleetwood, or check out his site, classic bicycle fanatics. He's the Huffman expert! I believe this style frame came out in the late 40s, and went through the mid 50s. -Adam

 

[ratina]

The seat tube is definitely bent, it wasn't designed that way.

 

[Tailwinds]

As stated, it's a Huffman, and yes, the seat tube is bent. That's what happens when big fat kids ride girls bikes, like in the case of my 300lb, 14yo nephew who rode my mother-in-law's childhood bike, almost ruined it.

 

[harquahalas]

Surely happened at the same time the forks went. Top of the tube bent forward and rear triangle twisted upward. I wonder if it could be straightened by clamping the seat tube in the upper mid section and using the bike as leverage to bend it back?

 

[Wildcat]

I think once it is bent, it will always be weaker when straightened. Tandems use extra bracing from the seat tube back to the dropouts to make them strong enough. But maybe it will only bend again with a heavy rider or impact. I may try that on my Emory frame and see how it turns out.

 

[Tailwinds]

Surely happened at the same time the forks went. Top of the tube bent forward and rear triangle twisted upward. I wonder if it could be straightened by clamping the seat tube in the upper mid section and using the bike as leverage to bend it back?

I tried that, built an elaborate jig to hold the bottom bracket and the top of the seat tube in place while forcing the bend out of it, and used heat too. I'd like to say it helped, but it might even be my optimistic imagination.
It was EXTREMELY difficult.