For someone who knows very little indeed about American early light weight frames except for, of course Schwinn Paramounts, I found this Edge frame very interesting.
At first glance..and second for that matter...it could have been a 1930/ 40s English handbuilt machine. Close scrutiny of the rear drop-outs however , virtually precluded that possibility, as any English frame built to use a Super Champion Osgear would have had either Stallard "Osgear" drop-outs, o r Claud Butler, or Cyclo. I cannot recall seeing any English frame with gen uine Super Champion drop-outs, but no doubt there are plenty..somewhere.
The drop-outs on this mahcine appear to be thre genuine Super Champion a rticles, but although I have quite a collection of French frames usin g the ST Etienne company's frame parts I have never seen a pair of drop-out s of this type and design.
I did begin to wonder whether they might actually be Simplex-made ones, but that company's catalogue for 1939 does not show anything resembling thi s pattern, not even for use with their own striking arm derailleur.
Super Champion did manufacture a less well-known rear derailleur that re sembled the design of the Simplex "Tour de France", so I have been wonderin g whether these drop-outs with their gear boss was a short-lived and rare S uper Champion model. Does anyone on the List have a Super Champion catalogu e from the latem 30/40s.
Clearly this Edge frame was never intended to use an SC "Osgear" type st riking arm deraulleur otherwise there would not be a cable stop on the chai nstay. All striking arm derailleurs were activated by a cable running under the chainstay not along the top. There is the possibility, of course, that the frame was originally built for use with the "osgear" and then at a lat er date converted to a Simplex or other brand of piston type mechanism. The gear boss could simply have been brazed on to the original Osgear drop-out . My own belief is that the boss was added at the outset of the frame-build ing process to provide an unusual pair of drop-outs.
Norris Lockley. Settle UK
Norris Lockley
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