Tom, and tracksters / roadsters:
No, Yes, No.
I've never seen a MJ - ID on any stem.
As far as I know, they were made in England and originated from Major
Taylor's design or? to keep the stem from slipping sideways under stress
The feature that makes his namesake is that it is a slightly diamond shaped
"square" on end and the strength then came from its design as compared to a
round tube.
By reversing the slideable clamp one could effect a little more than 2" of
down / up position. This was extremely important to riders of all sizes
because of the lesser availability if frame sizes.
Ther are some clones to be sure, but not too many. Maybe Major had a deal
and some patent restriction on his design?
Schwinn Paramount also made a beautiful round adjustable stem and they were
used for over 20 years.
The adjustable stems in steel gave way to the Ambrosio and TTT adjustable
alloy stems, but also fell away in the latter '60s.
Many other round adjustable steel stems were made in France, Germany, etc.,.
but all of those gave way also as the newer, solid, alloy stems were
proliferating in the '50's and '60's.
Turn of century bikes and then later stock bikes were made with the bolt on
stays.
Almost all of these were cheaper mass production bikes and was an easy way
to keep cost down and also replace damaged stays.
The bikes were more flexible and structurally not as rigid, but just fine
for everyday non racing use.
I'm sure the racers tried to use them in races but a fixed construction
frame was by far superior, so I would be reasonably comfortable in
suggesting that 99% or more of the removable seatstay bikes would be stock
transportation bikes even though they could have better quality upgrade
parts and be fixed gear.
NO way would they be a track bike for competition.
Ride and remove at your own risk. It was all economics even after the robber
baron days.
Ted Ernst
Palos Verdes Estates, CA
> Is a Major Taylor stem a specific stem in the sense that it is branded as
> such? Or does Major Taylor have a generic application to a certain type of
> stem? Or I suppose are they both?
>
> I ask because I just picked up one that was sold to me as a Major Taylor,
> but there are no engravings on it indicating it as such. It does, however,
> have enough surface rust on it to obliterate any engraving.
>
> Coming with the stem, or more accurately I suspect, the stem came on a
> trac
> k
> frame which has the facility (or hazard perhaps) of removable seatstays.
> They are attached by the seattube tightening bolt and at the fork ends.
> Wer
> e
> these bikes ridden without the seatstays? Was there a supposed advantage
> in
> having the seatstays removed?
>
> Thank you for any information.
>
> Cheers.
> --
> Tom Hayes
> Chagrin Falls, Ohio