wasp3245
Finally riding a big boys bike
Darn few barn fresh items in Chicago due to O'Leary's cow efforts to remove all the barns and contents.....but the alleys are lined with garages ...hundreds of thousands of them .
It only took me 35 years to get in to a particle garage seeking non bike related items ....but it was mentioned that 40-50 years ago a bicycle had been placed in the far corner .... a mere 1/2" of old rotting wood planks hind this bike from the alley view . 50 + years of Chicago 4 seasons ... has mellowed what was a very clean machine ... nickle does not like the humidity
Out in the sun for the first time in half a century ....a Mead !!! It appears to be a Roadster with some racer bits ....pedals, saddle, bars.... it has the long wheel base of a roadster ...but nickel forks of the racer...but crown of a roadster . I had a 1922 catalog ..which appears to be close for it's manufacture.... has anyone ever traced serial numbers for Mead .. this one is 80,465..... but Mead certainly would have made more than 80,000 bikes by the 1920"s ? ..... any idea if this is a Mead made bike or made for Mead by ? Last date on down tube decal is 1922 ..
One never knows what lurks in a garage on a Chicago alley .
Cheers Carey
