Revenant

[us56456712]

That troublesome pedal. I’m making a D washer to lock the outer pedal adjusting bolt in place. I don‘t know if I can get it to fit right, it’s a very small spindle with rolled threads so nothing made in the last 70 years fits. I tacked a thick washer to some flat stock as I didn’t want to work this fine on a table. I filled the washer center with brazing. I busted the tack off so the washer fits in my vice. I’m using very small files to try and make a flat spot in the small hole I drilled in the soft brass washer filler. I can only move the tiny files an 1/8 inch forward and back so I don’t have a lot to show for an hours work. If the D washer can be made to fit the spindle I’ll have to reduce the diameter and thickness. This is going to take a few days.

 

[us56456712]

The D lock washer fits. It took two hours of welding, brazing, drilling and filing. It still has to be ground thinner and the diameter has to be reduced. If this doesn’t work I quit.

 

[Ulu]

Just remember that God never made a lazy artist, and Keep kickin’ at it!

 

[us56456712]

Just remember that God never made a lazy artist, and Keep kickin’ at it!

Ha, ha, made me laugh out loud. I’m not much of an artist, I’m a great copy cat though. In all fairness to myself this project has made me think differently and come up with alternative solutions, not all copied so I appreciate the comment. I recently had the opportunity to buy another antique race bike and I almost pulled the trigger. These things are too hard and time consuming to save so I reluctantly passed. But dang, that was a nice 1920s race bike. People inherited or buy these very old bicycles and they discover no replacement parts fit and they don’t have the knowledge or tools to fix them so they dump them on some unsuspecting fool like me. Then your stuck with a massive time consuming job to make it rideable. I’m old, and frankly running out of energy to spend 8 months bringing these old historic bikes back to ride ability. I do really like to ride them. Oh gosh, I’m having second thoughts writing about this bike, maybe I need a challenge, should I buy it? Ouch. No, no.

 

[Ulu]

I’ve never had anything older to work on then the 1930s and that was a long time ago in the 60s.

It was an interesting experience to take apart a different coaster brakes from different manufacturers and see how they were similar and different.

I remember doing a couple of different Bendix brakes and a New Departure which had four shoes.

But I do think it would be interesting to have a reasonably correct antique bicycle from the pre-coasterbrake era. I’m thinking that none of those bicycles were even free wheeling and they had fixed sprockets.

 

[us56456712]

I’ve never had anything older to work on then the 1930s and that was a long time ago in the 60s.

It was an interesting experience to take apart a different coaster brakes from different manufacturers and see how they were similar and different.

I remember doing a couple of different Bendix brakes and a New Departure which had four shoes.

But I do think it would be interesting to have a reasonably correct antique bicycle from the pre-coasterbrake era. I’m thinking that none of those bicycles were even free wheeling and they had fixed sprockets.

It’s fixed gear

 

[Kevin B]

I'm curious, did they scrub the tires with their shoes to slow down? Sorry for the simple question. The era your bike is from makes me think about history. It fits right in the start of the "six day races". Makes me wonder if it may have been used in those.

 

[kingfish254]

Keep plugging away at that pedal. Looks like you are making progress.
The bike looks awesome. It is so cool that you've had it back on the road already.
Bravo!

 

[us56456712]

I'm curious, did they scrub the tires with their shoes to slow down? Sorry for the simple question. The era your bike is from makes me think about history. It fits right in the start of the "six day races". Makes me wonder if it may have been used in those.

They had pegs you could buy for the front fork to rest your feet on so you wouldn’t have to pedal downhill. Turn of the 20th century racers dragged their feet on mountain descents to help the worn out cork brake blocks. Some commuter type bikes had spoon brakes that pressed a piece of metal on the top of the tire. This bike has no brakes, you have to steer away from problems and shut your eyes. It is a path racer. Path is the old fashioned term for track racing. A path bicycle was for pure track racing usually on boards. A path racer was a hybrid used for track racing and road racing. The path for a path racer may have even been a grass or paved oval with no banking. Also for a road race. I don’t think this bicycle was specifically used for 6 day races, its too general and not a pure track bike for something so demanding.

 

[Kevin B]

I was aware of the board tracks but always wondered what "path racer" meant. Thanks for the great historical info.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

this makes me want to refurbish a similar age bike. Ideally a shaft drive.

 

[us56456712]

this makes me want to refurbish a similar age bike. Ideally a shaft drive.

That would be a nice challenge. Make sure it’s all there as mine is 100% rolled threads and no new nuts or blots will fit. My 1912 to 1917 Flying Merkle bicycle also has rolled threads. It has a standard looking one piece crank but no new or old 24 or 28 tip threaded races from my junk fit. This is too bad as the drive side crank race is cracked and the bb is a little loose. Pedals are usually worn out and may not be rebuildable as they take a beating.

 

[us56456712]

They had pegs you could buy for the front fork to rest your feet on so you wouldn’t have to pedal downhill. Turn of the 20th century racers dragged their feet on mountain descents to help the worn out cork brake blocks. Some commuter type bikes had spoon brakes that pressed a piece of metal on the top of the tire. This bike has no brakes, you have to steer away from problems and shut your eyes. It is a path racer. Path is the old fashioned term for track racing. A path bicycle was for pure track racing usually on boards. A path racer was a hybrid used for track racing and road racing. The path for a path racer may have even been a grass or paved oval with no banking. Also for a road race. I don’t think this bicycle was specifically used for 6 day races, its too general and not a pure track bike for something so demanding.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Path_Racer

 

[us56456712]

They had pegs you could buy for the front fork to rest your feet on so you wouldn’t have to pedal downhill. Turn of the 20th century racers dragged their feet on mountain descents to help the worn out cork brake blocks. Some commuter type bikes had spoon brakes that pressed a piece of metal on the top of the tire. This bike has no brakes, you have to steer away from problems and shut your eyes. It is a path racer. Path is the old fashioned term for track racing. A path bicycle was for pure track racing usually on boards. A path racer was a hybrid used for track racing and road racing. The path for a path racer may have even been a grass or paved oval with no banking. Also for a road race. I don’t think this bicycle was specifically used for 6 day races, its too general and not a pure track bike for something so demanding.

Here is a bicycle with a spoon brake

 

[SwissGuy]

Here is a bicycle with a spoon brakeView attachment 202187

We had those on our military bikes back then in Switzerland. I remember the very distinct smell when a full platoon of cyclist was using them in unison to mock the last of the group...

 

[us56456712]

We had those on our military bikes back then in Switzerland. I remember the very distinct smell when a full platoon of cyclist was using them in unison to mock the last of the group...

Nothing to fail, rods, no cables, no brake pads.

 

[SwissGuy]

Nothing to fail, rods, no cables, no brake pads.

Exactly! Only rubber rubbing on rubber!

 

[us56456712]

 

[Ulu]

Oh that seat is a real gem!

It makes me want to do some leather work now. I haven’t done any since the 70s, and I wasn’t planning leather for my bike either.

I don’t have a walking foot machine ($$$$) and I would have to stitch every single stitch by hand with my sail-making device. Needless to say I would make do without topstitching.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

should the front tire be pointing in the other direction ( >>> ) or is this intentional?