I am seeking the help of the list in identifying a bike that I recently
acquired. This is a bit of a long story so please bear with me. The bike
belonged to a local New York City rider. He rode during the Mid 1920s
into approximately 1932. I have him listed on velodrome programs up to
that date. He was a specialist in amateur stayer races. The provenance
of the bike is not in question but the maker is.
Almost all compoinents are BSA, wood rims are Lobdell, Stayer bars and
stem probably custom made. Here the plot thickens. Inside the bottom
bracket was a piece of a Perry Chain Co. box that was being used as a
sleeve. Some list members who have seen pics of the bike think it a BSA.
The bike has two number stampings. On the front of the fork crown it is
stamped "730" and on the left rear dropout also 730. Here is a link
to my wooljersey site that shows the distinctive head lugs and forkcrown:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
To continue. Last week I got what I know to be a mid-1950s Drysdale track bike. Well, inside the BB was piece of box used as a sleeve. Same type of box (Perry Chain Co.) as in the stayer only 30 +/- years later. Could the stayer be a Drysdale? I have another Drysdale that dates from the mid-thirties. Looking closely at the fork crown I now see the number 730 although it is a similar crown as the stayer it does NOT have the long points on the sides. Now, doing some research on Drysdale I know that he arrived in NYC from California at least by 1929 because I find him racing on the same tracks as the owner of the stayer. But was he building bikes that early. After all he had won the California Jr. State Championsh ips in 1924 so he was still somewhat young. Is this Stayer just a bike that Drysdale worked on, perhaps assembled, and thus maybe inserted the Perry box. Or, it the Perry Box sleeve a signature of his work? Also is the number 730 related perhaps to Drysdale or is it a number related to a lug set? The bike is fancier than most Drysdales I have seen but maybe he was trying to impress in his the early days of his career as a builder? Lots of questions and maybes,but no answers yet.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!
Edward Albert
Chappaqua, New York, USA