Period correct or functional correct?

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El Duderino

El Duderino

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In my head im in a pickle. I have a very early bicycle which I assume is turn of the century. (No badge so I have no clue) I am using a set of 28 inch iron clad wheels from a womens Iver Johnson bike as opposed to the completely wooden rimmed wheels that were on the bicycle when I got it. The tires are still in great shape and original to the wheels. The kicker is that I plan on riding this thing frequently. I got this bicycle with the seat destroyed so it needs replaced. I also got a NOS Persons seat from the same gentleman which I believe to be the same era. I have rejuvenated the leather with some stuff from Brooks on the seat and it feels pretty good.

My question is...

Should I keep the bicycle period correct and mount the NOS saddle or should I stick with something else so that I wont have to worry about anything if it goes wrong?

I have many other newer leather saddles to choose from if I dont go period correct. What do you think?

Also if anyone has any insight on make, year, or a left pedal or grip I would appreciate it.








and the NOS Persons which would continue to look great on my mantle of awesome bike stuffs if not used.



here are the newer ones I could use...

of the newer ones this is what I would lean towards because it is still the oldest and matches the patina of the bike. 70's Brooks Professional

newer honey brooks with hammered rivets

some random new one I bought from work.


help me with my dilemma. please
 
if it was mine... I would clean it up and make it rideable and comfortable. and if it still looks "old" then 98% of the people out there wont know the difference anyways.

Save the clad wheels and install a modern 700c wheelset, the ultimate (IMO) wheelset would be the Velocity Blunt in a Woodgrain finish... hard to find, but these would be awesome!!

Same story goes for the seat, pick which one is comfortable to ride... you can always switch it back over when or if the time comes.

just have to resist the temptation to offload the OG parts.
 
I am all for making them rideable with dependable parts. If the ladies wheelset works then use those. Correctness is for museums. :wink:
 
I say, "flush the fashion!" Use the seat that doesn't cause intense swelling and chafing!
 
Your on a website that changes everything, to better ,or really crazy. Save the old parts
and fix it like you can use it.....that restore it ,is for the CABE. :lol: :lol:
 
Period correct and original have their place. On my '28 Elgin, I pulled the original skiptooth drivetrain and stored it away. The I put some nice deep V 700c wheel on with a standard crank, chain, etc. It is a fantastic riding bike and gets tons of compliments. Bike went from hanging on a wall to being ridden on a regular basis. When Im done it can go back to period correct if someone chooses. Its in my sig link if you want to check it out
 
Even though the NOS Persons saddle would have looked amazing I refrained from installing it. I went with the Brooks because it was dingy and showed wear like the bike.

And of course since Friday was National Bike to Work Day I chose to ride the oldest bike I own. The gearing is so hard that I felt like the cranks were going to snap.
 
I have the same sprocket and somewhere along the line it was marked "Westfield" so, maybe that would be a good place to start looking for info. Pope, Westfield and Columbia are all connected.
 

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