I just won a low ball bid on this old Elgin step through off of ebay. Since it has the rear kick stand I want to make a copy of it and sell the original stand. Just saw a stand sell on ebay for 99.00. If I can come close to that then it will have paid for the bike (81.00) and part of the shipping. Anyway, here are a couple pictures to help identify it. The chain guard is distinctive and it has no fender skirts.
It will get a motor and do-over this coming summer. If anyone can give me an approximate year I'd appreciate it. I did some looking on google without luck.
Oh, that's a nice one you have there. I hope you'll post more photos. What I posted on the step through are screen shots from the auction, so anything better will have to wait until the bike is in hand. There is a book available on Elgins and Hiawathas, but it is out of stock at a supplier on line ($20.00) and I am waiting. There is someone on ebay selling the same reference book for $30.00 not counting shipping, but $10.00 bucks is ten bucks and I'll wait. Is that original paint on yours? What are your plans for it?
I like that frame. I understand that if the Elgin headbadge is present then it is prewar, as Sears switched over to the name J.C.Higgins after WWII. If that is true, then if it says Elgin, it is pre war. I hope to compare notes with you in the future. I sure like these old Elgins. Below are some 'in person' photos of the ebay elgin. I couldn't help setting a motor and juice can tank in place to see what it will look like as a motorbicycle and as a kind of statement of intent.
The crank will need to be bent a little bit, but the engine is a plug and play. Everything is there, paint is original, seat isn't torn, spokes are all there and tight. This bike must have been kept indoors somewhere and doesn't appear to have been ridden a lot. I've studied the rear bike stand and it looks like something that could be fabricated without any welding. I'll give it a shot some time before summer. I like the axles, which are different, but I can see that I won't be able to use one of Jim's clamshell adapters.
If you look at the photo you can see why. The age of the spokes makes me uneasy about a rag joint sprocket, too, so I'm not sure what I'll do.
I'd like to use the wheels that are on it as they're in good shape and the skip tooth sprocket can remain that way, keeping everything pretty much original. I guess rebuilding those wheels with heavy gauge spokes might be the best solution. I also like the chain guard and interesting goose neck.
Never seen one like that. The seat is in good shape, but it and some of the frame and fenders have a little bit of white paint speckles on it, as if someone painted something near the bike and a bit got on it. I don't know if there's a way to remove the white specks, but this paint is maybe good enough to leave alone, with some work at bringing back the color some. I will re read that part of the rustoration buildoff thread to see again what Bairdco did with his Colson, which turned out great. I think this bike should be left pretty much original, but cleaned up and yes, it will get a motor. I have a question for anyone who might know the answer.
The rear fender has spots along each edge for some kind of skirt guard. What was used? What did it connect to at the axle, the axle itself, just wrapped on there? Just curious. I was picturing something like a large fender washer with holes drilled along the edge fixed to the axle and either elk hide thongs or even spokes going from the fenders to the modified fender washer at the axle. It could make an interesting design motiff. Just getting ideas before actually doinganything.
My plate is full at the moment with the 39 elgin in the rustoration build off. I dunno what year, i'll do some searchin' around later for something that looks the same. As far as i know, there's no elgin database. It's at least 1940, probably earlier. I'd say mid to late 30's.
Those drop stands weren't used too much after 1940. I never thought about what the skirt guard stuff hooks to. I'll see if i can find anything on that, too. I think white paint dots is some kind of alien culture that comes down from some weird planet and attaches itself to old bikes.
Every, and i mean EVERY old bike i get has white spots on it. A lot of time you can just pick at the ones on the frame, but the seats a little different. If it's leather, neatsfoot oil kinda takes them off, and softens your seat. Vinyl, plastic, or other synthetics, if it doesn't pick off, it's formed some kind of superhuman bond with it that never comes off. Or maybe try some WD40. Oh, and nice bike. Nice and cheap, too.
I'm waiting on something that's gonna make you jealous. I dunno what year, i'll do some searchin' around later for something that looks the same. As far as i know, there's no elgin database.
It's at least 1940, probably earlier. I'd say mid to late 30's. Those drop stands weren't used too much after 1940.
I never thought about what the skirt guard stuff hooks to. I'll see if i can find anything on that, too. I think white paint dots is some kind of alien culture that comes down from some weird planet and attaches itself to old bikes. Every, and i mean EVERY old bike i get has white spots on it. A lot of time you can just pick at the ones on the frame, but the seats a little different.
If it's leather, neatsfoot oil kinda takes them off, and softens your seat. Vinyl, plastic, or other synthetics, if it doesn't pick off, it's formed some kind of superhuman bond with it that never comes off. Or maybe try some WD40. Oh, and nice bike.
Nice and cheap, too. I'm waiting on something that's gonna make you jealous. Hey nice score silverbear! With alla my expertise I would say that you've got yerself a. Vintage bike That neck IS awesome - really classy and I love the dropstand! Interesting that you've a ducktail front fender and a dropstand, don't think I've seen that before.
If ya continue to be befuddled by the mysteries of the skirt/coat guard - gimmie a shout and I'll see if I can't swing out to my buddy's house and get some advice/take a few pics. He's got a couple similar to yers hangin' on the wall and I been meanin' to stop by and heckle him about summore bits for my bike anyway. Here's what I learned from the Classic bikes site. 'It looks like a late 37-early 38. In 38, they started using more Murray built bikes, with the flared tube ends and wishbone style rear stays on the frame, as on your bike. The only thing that seems off is the earlier style chain guard. The fall/winter 37-8 catalog page in the Elgin/JC Higgins/Hawthorne book shows a small thumnail illustration of a girls' model which appears to have this same guard, but too small to tell the frame.
That's the last showing of that guard, so logic would suggest. Also, posting the serial # may help. It should be stamped on the bottom bracket, beginning with 'MOD 502', a second, catalog #, and then the serial #. Anyway, nice looking ride, and welcome to the forum!! ' I sent the numbers from a decal on the seat post and also the serial numbers under the pedal crank and a follow up email suggests that it is a spring of 1938 Elgin. I pumped up the tires today and they hold air fine which is pretty amazing. They are bridgestones, so are likely original.
I don't see checking, but there is a fair amount of wear on the tread. I cleaned up some of the spokes and discovered no rust at all. The axle hubs are also rust free and really shine up nicely. Supposedly the ridges are for cooling of the hubs, but I suspect they are mostly to look cool and give something to advertise as different and 'improved'. This turned out to be a very good buy, I think. You win some and you lose some on ebay.
This helps make up for some of the 'lose somes'.
All bicycles that are operated in Elgin are required by city ordinance to be registered with the police department. This helps officers track your bicycle should it become lost, stolen or recovered. Registration is free. To complete the registration paperwork, you will need to provide the following information about your bicycle:. Serial number ( usually located on the underside of the pedal junction ).
Make. Model. Color.
Wheel size. Speed The owner's informati on will then be captured in the police department's database and you will receive a license decal to be placed on your bicycle. Registration is available on Mondays, between the hours of 1:45 pm – 5:00 pm at the police department information desk; no appointment necessary for the established hours on Mondays. However, for your convenience, appointments can be made outside regular registration hours by contacting Community Relations / Crime Prevention for an appointment, 847-289-2530. Contact Community Relations / Crime Prevention 847-289-2530 Address Elgin Police Department 151 Douglas Ave.
Elgin Serial Numbers Dates
Elgin, IL 60120 Monday's 1:45 pm - 5:00 pm.
FRAME NUMBER BICYCLE DATING GUIDE HOW OLD IS MY BICYCLE? ‘How old is my bicycle?’ is a question I get asked a lot, nearly as much as: ‘I have a bicycle that looks like one of yours; if I send you pictures please can you identify it for me?’ The answer, in short, is that I do not have time to tell you either. I’m not being callous about this. With an estimated 15,000 bicycle manufacturers, the odds are stacked against me recognizing yours; in any case, I do not claim to be an expert, just an assiduous recorder of information. To sift through information to try and find similar pictures to your unidentified bicycle would take me months, and I’m already doing similar research on my own bikes. Not only do I have a full-time job (I run my own business restoring and selling vintage vehicles) and am a hands-on parent of a young child, but I spend a minimum 30 hours every week building, updating and maintaining these free websites to help you do your own research. My hobby usually takes a backseat. Insomnia is my saving grace, otherwise there would be no time for any of this.
My purpose for creating these databases is simple. In the ‘old days’ (a time which seems to have ended in the past twenty five years or so), a youngster became an apprentice in a chosen field and learned its history from the older employees. Thus, for example, an apprentice mechanic was handed down an invaluable unwritten guide to repairing vehicles that could not be learned at college nor from books, because, as well as specific information about various models, it helped a youngster understand the way they were designed and built. Similarly, to learn about vintage bicycles, we ask questions of our elders in the hobby.
The key point here is that the elders who were around while our favourite vintage machines were still on the road are no longer with us, the last of them having passed on in the past twenty years or so. Now we must depend on those who gleaned that first-hand knowledge from them; these chaps were the ‘youngsters’ then, but now they’re getting older themselves, most in their late sixties and seventies. They don’t usually use computers, so much of their knowledge is stored in their heads. By the time we learn from them, it’s second-generation information. My contemporaries and I are in a younger age group – forties to sixties – and we’re busy learning and recording what we can before it’s lost forever.
We study 100-year-old magazines to see when certain new innovations were first reviewed (it helps us date bicycles with similar features), read correspondence of the time to try to understand contemporary views and opinions, research old catalogues, meet fellow enthusiasts, help each other with restorations, ride our old bikes as much as possible, and work with our elders to pick up tips and wisdom. If you can help in any way by contributing to this research, please get in touch. My email is embedded in the picture below. By recording and sharing this knowledge while it’s still as fresh as possible, our fabulous vintage hobbies will continue for centuries to come. TO FIND OUT HOW OLD YOUR BIKE IS – JOIN THE VETERAN CYCLE CLUB!
Although we are in the so-called ‘Information Age’ and the internet provides a surplus of it – some of it accurate, much of it misleading – there is nowhere near enough information on vintage bicycles. This surprises many people. Sometimes, folks with no experience of the vintage hobby who may have recently unearthed an old bicycle contact me and demand that I immediately tell them what it is, how old it is and what it’s worth. I try to explain as politely as possible that such a service does not exist, and they are often abusive as a result. Usually they want me to identify it so they can sell it on ebay.
Luckily, I remembered an old Sufi saying, ‘Only explain things to people in a language they understand.’ So now I answer that such a service, which will obviously increase the value of their unidentified machine, will cost them £50 + VAT. It’s still not a service I actually offer – but at least they are less abusive. The question remains: ‘How old is my bicycle?’ Also, ‘I have a bicycle that looks like one of yours; if I send you pictures please can you identify it for me?’ The answer is simple. The Veteran Cycle Club (V-CC) has a system of ‘marque enthusiasts’ – volunteers who compile what information they can about particular manufacturers. By joining the V-CC you can access whatever information is available. If that doesn’t help, if it is interesting enough, you might be able to send pictures of it to the the V-CC magazine, or take it to vintage shows and ask exhibitors, or keep an eye on ebay to see if something similar ever comes up.
Identifying an unknown bicycle is hard work. You may be lucky, but more than likely it will remain a mystery. As I have stated before, the V-CC archives and Ray Miller’s Encyclopaedia are invaluable resources: these ongoing projects are becoming the world’s primary source of information on vintage bicycles. The V-CC’s system of marque specialists is unrivalled throughout the world. I recommend every vintage bicycle enthusiast to join the V-CC to access these (and many other) excellent facilities. FRAME NUMBER DATING Bicycles that can be dated with 100% accuracy are the exception.
Marque enthusiasts use records of shop ledgers that recorded dates sold and frame numbers, and then calculate the ages of other bicycles by comparing them with known frame numbers. Sometimes the date sold does not reflect when a bicycle was actually manufactured (for example, Dursley Pedersens were very expensive, badly marketed and often took a long time to sell).
Only certain manufacturers’ frame number sequencing is known. Many did not use chronoligical sequences. Many manufacturers used ‘bought-in’ bikes at different times, ie made by a different company.
The records of the majority of the smaller companies no longer exist: you’d be surprised how fast the entire history of a company disappears once the factory closes. There were also a lot of ‘dodgy practices’ within the bicycle trade, with companies regularly liquidating and starting up again and spurious production claims often made for advertising purposes and to inflate a company’s worth. Few published their true production figures. It’s a nightmare trying to make sense of it a hundred years later. A catalogue description is a good guide, though we rarely have a manufacturer’s catalogue for every year, so may not know for how many years a model was current. Also, though we now consider a catalogue description to be an accurate guide to a bicycle’s specification, despite catalogue options listed a customer could choose any option whatsoever, even components sold by a competing company.
Chernyshevsky. It’s possible to date Sturmey-Archer hubs, so if the rear hub is original to the bike that often helps. Bear in mind that owners often updated their bicycles over the years; though we might like our bike to match its catalogue description, updated parts are also a valid part of its history and provenance. Details of the following manufacturers have been published, so I hope this page can provide an easy reference point. I’ll add to it as I find more. RUDGE-WHITWORTH FRAME NUMBER DATING Production has been attributed as follows, with frame numbers as at 31 July each year: 1898, 70,000; 1900, 118,200; 1901, 140,754; 1902, 169,739; 1903, 210,950; 1904, 223,672; 1905, 272,991; 1906, 350,235; 1907, 427,114; 1908, 488,139; 1909, 538,390; 1910, 585,010; 1911, 626,400; 1912, 663,066; 1913, 697,524; 1914, 726,731; 1915, 740,862; 1916, 745,621; 1917, 749,192; 1918, 751,213; 1919, 755,622. RALEIGH FRAME NUMBER DATING MY NOTES: 1.The Raleigh Heron Head transfer was introduced in 1908.
In the same year, mudguards received a forward extension. Raleigh’s ‘R’ lamp bracket was superseded in September 1927 by the heron lamp bracket (see below). The company had been taking steps to make it harder for makers of cheap bicycles to copy Raleigh parts.
The ‘R’ bracket was easy to copy, so they introduced this more complex lamp bracket instead.
Think what you got is a Murray, and not a Elgin. From what I have read, it was Murray who built bikes for J.C. Higgins, and not Elgin. I think it is a post-war, not pre-war bike. Most of the pre-war bikes like this had a motorcycle kickstand that raised the back wheel off the ground; there was a clip on the very back of the rear fender to hold it up when not in use. Unless you see two rivets where the clip was, this one never had one. The seat also looks post-war to me.
The three piece cranks and Komet rear hub are odd for this bike. Does the bottom bracket look large enough to have used a one piece crank at one time, and maybe it was upgraded later? Very pretty bike. Glad you saved it from rusting in peace. EDIT: did you find any serial numbers? They may help with determining the builder as well as the age. Quote: The Sears Roebuck and Company was responsible for some of the most outrageous and sought after bicycle designs.
The Elgin Bluebird, Robin, Blackhawk, Flightlinger and Spaceliner were all Sears exclusives. Sears primarily used the Westfield Mfg. And Murray of Ohio to produce their special bicycles designs. Sears bicycles sold before World War II were branded as Elgin, and after World War II as J.C.
German builder Puch also supplied bikes to Sears in the 1970s; but they had lugged frames and SA 3 speed hubs.
Elgin Bicycle Serial Number Lookup 515b946325 Search bikes; 3,947 bikes. They ran the bike's serial number on Bike Index and found my 'stolen bike. A user or partner encounters your bike, uses Bike Index to.This Site Might Help You. RE: how can you find information on a bicycle by the serial number? I have an old sears bicycle and i need to no how much it is.Shop Cruiser, Mtn, Road Bikes & More.This is an Elgin bicycle from about the early 1940s. The serial number under the pedal crank is E67393.
T is also another number above it.G6. T is also a Sears and.bikes catalogs parts history serial numbers.
The bicycles must be light,. This is the 1939 schwinn catalog Jump to the bikes you are interested in. Old Antique ELGIN Bicycle Sears, Roebuck & Co.Model # 501-167.
First off I would like to say it is a really neat looking bike however I am not a bike dealer so I do.Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Read next page.
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