It looks like a prototype Japanese city bike.
Tom Martin
Oakland CA
<BruceCumberland@comcast.net> Sent: Monday, August 04, 2003 6:00 PM Subject: Re: [CR]off topic mystery bike
> O.K. , you have my attention .
>
> What a fantastic machine ! It would look just right being ridden by a
> hero from a Jules Verne , or an H. G. Wells , novel !
>
> My first thought as I read your description was of a "monocoque"
> road-racing motorbike frame , made of riveted sheet aluminum , and sold
> around 1971 .
>
> That motorbike frame was done with very-very many small "Pop-Rivets" ( a
> registered brand name by the way . . . ) .
>
> But , the mystery bicycle is certainly authentically older than c. 1971 .
>
> And the idea of a bored ( or unemployed ) aircraft worker might be a
very
> good idea !
>
> Here's a tidbit of information purely for inspiration - one of the items
> my grandfather was proud of , in his collection of neat-old-stuff , was
a
> cigarette lighter machined from exotic aircraft aluminum , right around
> 1946 , in Wichita , Kansas . As a major aircraft producing city ,
> Wichita Kansas was full of the finest materials , the finest machine
tools
> , and many qualified people , all sitting almost idle , at the very end
> of WW II . The U.S. government not only scrapped huge numbers of
actual
> aircraft , but also large amounts of raw materials , immediately after
WW
> II .
>
> I wonder if this bicycle might have been made right around 1946 or so ?
>
> Darn shame that the front fork got bent . Could probably be carefully
> repaired . I wonder what might have been on the front fork :
>
> light ?
>
> front rack ?
>
> extra stays for reinforcement ?
>
> Raoul Delmare
> Marysville Kansas
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Otis" <otis@otisrecords.com>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Monday, August 04, 2003 7:19 PM
> Subject: [CR]off topic mystery bike
>
>
> > This thing showed up at the LBS today. Not a vintage lightweight but
> pretty
> > interesting, and not sure who else to ask about it. If anybody has any
> ideas
> > on who, what, and where this thing may be please let me know.
Construction
> > is riveted sheet aluminum main frame, with steel headtube, BB shell, and
> > dropouts riveted on. The workmanship is excellent with some nice fillet
> > brazing on the forks where they form a sort of "triple tree" with mounts
> for
> > probably another rack. The rear rack formed from aluminum sheet is very
> > pretty. It has a 3 piece crank and skip tooth drivetrain. One-off from a
> > bored aircraft worker or an actually production bike? Thanks guys.
> >
> > Otis Willams
> > GP Oregon
> >
> > http://budget.net/
> > http://budget.net/
> > http://budget.net/
> > http://budget.net/
> > http://budget.net/
> > http://budget.net/
> > http://budget.net/