1890`s Track bike

[jmagruder10]

I picked this up last weekend at the KC Swap meet. It is a Brown & Lewis Syrian made in Chicago USA . I have never seen another bike made by this company , so I go surfing the web for some info. I only thing I can find is on the Wheelmans site and they say they were in business only from 1897-1899 , but who really knows. If you have any more info on this bike please share it. I am going to try to save the back wood rim , but the front is shot. In this picture I stuck on a modern set of track bars , it came with a rusty track stem , but no bars. Check out the drop outs on the front fork. Anyone know of a good wood rim or set of rims let me know. The rear hub is a track style hub with no brake, but I can not find a brand name on it. Has a long way to go , but will make a fun winter project. This is by far the oldest bike I have ever owned. I like the details in the headbadge , if you look close you can see the B and The L for Brown and Lewis company.

 

[Unchained]

Absolutely beautiful :shock: I love the peculiar shape of the rear triangle and of the fork... it even looks like it would take balloons!

 

[sensor]

try hitting yeshoney up about wheels...he just got an elgin that had 28's on it.
if you want the proper size on it the wheels theyre 28"x1 1/16"(maybe 1 1/8" ill measure mine tomorrow)
great score :mrgreen:

 

[Walker]

I thought i saw two NOS wood 28's on e-bay the other day :?:

 

[Unchained]

"eazywind" has some really nice wood originals for sale now on eBay, $200 though if my memory serves me correctly

 

[Boardtrack fan]

Very cool find! That rear triangle is really nice. The modern bars and stem need to go! Soma makes bars that look identical to the old Major Taylor bars that early track bikes used. I think Velo Orange sells them.

 

[Boardtrack fan]

Velo Orange does not list them anymore. Here is a link to Soma.
http://store.somafab.com/majortaylorbar.html

 

[jmagruder10]

I thought i saw two NOS wood 28's on e-bay the other day :?:

If I am thinking of the same ones they were 27 inch rims and they were very nice. . I need 28 inch.

Maybe I should just buy a set of the new Velosity teak rims and lace the old hubs to them . They are not real wood , but look good.
http://www.velocityusa.com/downloads/Co ... 00x750.jpg

 

[sensor]

got out the tape measure today.... the track wheels are 1 1/8" wide
you might try posting in the wanted section here and also on the cabe(you might be surprised at the response......i know i was everytime i posted for them)
btw boardtrackfan....that orphan white 28" wheel i got from you now has a matching mate(found its other half sitting in the back of college all laced up to a new d hub :shock: )
theres a guy on ebay who sells the original bars on ebay(i cant recall what his user name was though.....if i ever run into the guy who told me about him ill get it for you) for pretty cheap
again great score :mrgreen:

 

[skoda]

I think the ebay username of the guy that sells a lot of early track stuff is "woodrimfixedgear" or something like that.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

awesome bike