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1915 Iver Johnson Model 90B Chater Lea Racer - Recently Discovered

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Handyman

I live for the CABE
I spotted this early racer of unknown make recently on eBay as I was searching for a set of wood Lobdell racing wheels. You can see the original listing that ended on Sept 27 here: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=231336343024
The buyer said the wheelset was in excellent condition so I was very interested. As I continued to study the pics of the bike it looked more and more like it could be an Iver. I emailed the seller and asked if there was a serial # on the top of the seat tube, but he said he could not detect one. This is not what I wanted to hear.

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However, the dropout area looked Iver,

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The fork also looked like an Iver racing fork. I asked if he could detect any pattern of holes in the front tube and he said he could possibly detect one in the top right side of the front tube. I thought that could be a good sign as it could be the top right mounting hole for the Iver badge. Good sign.

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The bottom bracket was also a mystery as it certainly did not look Iver. However, it was a cottered crank setup with a threaded BB, and I did know the Chater Lea Iver racers did have cottered cranks, and threaded BB’s. This could be an excellent sign.

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I was still not 100% convinced it was an Iver Johnson but my gut was telling me it was. I decided to take a chance and bid on it and did win the auction.
After the bike was delivered I studied it carefully and sent a few pics to Bill Smith, and my Iver guru's Scott and Wally for their opinions. I decided to scrape the paint off the seat tube and hidden under layers of paint was the number 262845. Good sign.

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I checked out the crank arms carefully and they were stamped “Chater Lea London”. Another good sign.

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I measured the frame and it came in at 23”. Only the 90A “Special Racer” and 90B “Chater Lea Racer” had 23” frames. Another good sign.

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Both Scott and Wally agreed that it was an Iver Johnson racer and Bill Smith got back to me and confirmed that it was a 1915 Iver Johnson Model 90B Chater Lea Racer ! 1915 was the very first year Iver Johnson offered the 90B Chater Lea Racer !

I removed a little paint from the fork and front tube to find the remnants of nickel plating (good sign) and then finally exposed those 3 holes on the front tube that perfectly match the pattern of the Iver badge. I put an Iver badge on the bike just for kicks and I have to say the darn thing looks awesome, even in its poor condition. I plan to do a complete restoration of this rare piece of Iver Johnson history.

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Wally and I were discussing that bike. I was going to pick it up for him if he won it. I was pretty sure it was an Iver just lookin at the rear dropouts. Good score. Neat to see the Nickeled Head is still in pretty good shape too!
 
Iver

Hi Brian,

I didn't even know the other bidder was Wally until the auction was over. I remember mentioning to him that I was going to bid on a bike on eBay basically for the wood wheelset, but at that time I was still not clear to me if I was really looking at an Iver. We're all still keeping our eyes open for a tall frame truss bridge roadster for Wally! Pete in Fitchburg
 
Hi Brian,

I didn't even know the other bidder was Wally until the auction was over. I remember mentioning to him that I was going to bid on a bike on eBay basically for the wood wheelset, but at that time I was still not clear to me if I was really looking at an Iver. We're all still keeping our eyes open for a tall frame truss bridge roadster for Wally! Pete in Fitchburg

Pete: thanks.
I have a couple things in the works on some big'n frames. I'll post up when these are complete :)
If one pops up in the meantime I'd still be open minded on it ;)
 
23 inch is a good frame size for an adult rider. Much more ride-able frame than a 19 inch ballooner frame.
 
glanced at this bike when it was on ebay, looked away. imagine if the listing said iver johnson chater lea racer. since i wasnt smart enough to bid on it. im glad it was you that got it
 
the mind set is a funny thing as i said i glanced at the auction. now that we know what it is, im like god i want that bike
 
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