Old Boy

As I am finishing up some of my other projects, the road puppy and the Royal from Holland, I am super super excited to get my oldest bike to date. An 1897 classic. Imagine owning one of the first bikes every created. A bike over a century old! And potentially being able to bring it back to the living and riding it, is just a great opportunity. This one was procurred for under $400. Depending on what i choose to do to it will cost from under $100 to get it complete with wooden handlebars, back sprocket and stem to close to $400 with new wooden rims/tires and stem. Right now the bike is somewhere crossing the country from Ohio.

So what type of bike is this anyway?

First off I dont know. It has wooden rims and from the seat/frame structure you know it is made before the turn of the 20th century. The key to telling the make/model/year on these bikes are through a number of factors. Dating the bike to before 1900 you can check the headbadge, which mine doesnt have, or checking that the pedals are bolted on and the frame has over the tubing lugs, the fork, the dropouts, and the rear stays behind the seat post. The double seat post is another early feature, plus the upswept rear dropouts. The three plate fork crown maybe a brand signature.

 [ this info came from a few members of one of the bike forums I frequent/lurk ]

 

Below are some examples of potential bicycles. A very knowledgeable member of the bike forum thinks it may be the cupid pictured below. [He also provided me with the images below.] I respectfully disagree only because the measurements mentioned in teh add do not measure up to the description from the seller. Once I receive the bicycle I will be able to do my own measurements clean it up and delve into the analysis of what type of brand it could be.