1919 Flying Merkel Original Paint Stunner !

[New Mexico Brant]

Wow, what an incredible find. Nice shirt to go with the bike. Go Flying Merkel Go!!

You can get the sweat shirts, hats, t-shirts, etc. from Joesph Merkel's great grand nephew here: https://www.flyingmerkelinc.com/

 

[BatWaves]

@New Mexico Brant
Like I was saying on FB, I haven’t seen a Miami sweetheart chainring with the drive pin hole in this location. Is the drive pin spacing on the crank the same?

 

[Archie Sturmer]

Nice bike.
Maybe Miami did the sweetheart sprockets that way, before (or after) they didn’t?
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/sweetheart-sprocket-colson-or.84728/ (not Colson).

Early MIAMI Chainring Sprocket | Sell - Trade: Bicycle Parts, Accessories, Ephemera

Very hard to find Colson Miami chainring. Nickel plated with some side wear on some of the teeth. Pretty nice overall and would look great on a survivor bike, or re-plate it for a restoration project. $10 priority USPS shipping in the USA.

thecabe.com

 

[New Mexico Brant]

@New Mexico Brant
Like I was saying on FB, I haven’t seen a Miami sweetheart chainring with the drive pin hole in this location. Is the drive pin spacing on the crank the same?

Thank you for your kind words on Facebook Kalin. I am confused what exactly are you asking in your question. If you are asking if the crank's pin goes into the ring's hole then yes. I can post a detail image tomorrow.

And Phil @Archie Sturmer is correct in his statement above; this ring comes after, or maybe concurrently, with the ring with the crank that bisects the heart. The other type heart ring clearly shows up on multiple bicycles in the 1918 Miami catalog that sold at Copake.

Honestly I did pay much attention to the ring because it has been seen before on Miami's but hasn't been widely discussed. Beyond Dave's ring (mentioned above) I believe somewhere in a Memory Lane or Ann Arbor picture thread there is a Miami with this ring that previously was owned by Neil Bailey.

Maybe @hoofhearted , @SKPC , @Freqman1 , or @fordsnake could answer your question better.

 

[SKPC]

Brant, I would NOT bet against that being a Miami-made ring. Even though the pin location is not the typical Miami location for their sweetheart rings, the cutouts on yours ARE Miami looking. If you ever take the crankset out of the frame, plz measure the two hole diameters and the spacing between for us. It would be very informative. Miami has a huge variety of arms and rings so would not surprise me if it came on the bike. @hoofhearted @Freqman1 ...I would also like to know how you guys feel about this ring....

 

[New Mexico Brant]

Brant, I would NOT bet against that being a Miami-made ring. Even though the pin location is not the typical Miami location for their sweetheart rings, the cutouts on yours ARE Miami looking. If you ever take the crankset out of the frame, plz measure the two hole diameters and the spacing between for us. It would be very informative. Miami has a huge variety of arms and rings so would not surprise me if it came on the bike. @hoofhearted @Freqman1 ...I would also like to know how you guys feel about this ring....

Sorry but I will never be taking it apart Pete, that caked grease looks so nice; I already feel I cleaned the crank arm too much. Here are some images:

 

[geosbike]

very nice