# Finally my '36 Mead Crusader rides



## Nick-theCut (Jan 30, 2012)

Well I got to say, this forum, and dedicated members of this forum, are mostly responsible for where this bike is at.  




Thank you all.  I started here 

 and here 

 

The bike was incomplete and missing handlebar grips, seat, working chain, among other issues.
I kept the grips and the chain early 30's period correct, and am currently working on a great saddle for this guy.

Special thanks to Bud Poe for this reprodution dropstand as shown here

  I patina'd it myself.  Look and specs perfect 

The rusted out 26' rims were replaced with 28" aluminum rims, laced up with the original hubs.



Delta light and klaxon horn added






This bike may be rough, but rides nice.  This is still a work in progress, just thought I would check-in to show some progress.
Any thoughts, ideas or comments are welcome.
Also thanks to LuckyKat, Larmo, any many others. Great advice, keep it up


----------



## Luckykat32 (Jan 31, 2012)

Looks great Nick!  What did you do to make the tires/rims fit?

I hope you can bring her out to next months ride:  Search "IE Flyers" on Facebook or check the "swapmeets & events page"


----------



## Nick-theCut (Jan 31, 2012)

LuckyKat32: Looks great Nick! What did you do to make the tires/rims fit?
Reply:
LuckyKat and I opted to build 28" aluminum drop center rims.  As it turns out the rims are 28" English roadster rims, which actually has a slightly larger circumfrence.

Thanks Benny, as you experienced yourself, It just barely clears.  The front fender screw was originally long and protruding. I decided not to grind off excess length.  I added washers on the inside of the fork to 'choke up' the length of the screw.
The rest of the clearance issues was solved by backing the fork off the axel slightly, elongating the fork length.


----------



## chitown (Jan 31, 2012)

Looks great! Are those fenders Aluminum?

Nice work budpoe! And nice patina work Nick.


----------



## Nick-theCut (Jan 31, 2012)

They are aluminum.  I haven't seen another pair of raingutter fenders this way.  I've wondered myself if these were original or available back then as replacements.  Anyways thanks


----------



## dave the wave (Jan 31, 2012)

what makes it a 36? do you have a 1936 catalog copy of the bike? to me it looks like a rare pre-1933 bike with rare aluminum fenders and not to mention a rare tall frame.


----------



## Larmo63 (Jan 31, 2012)

The bike looks great!!!

what makes it a 36? do you have a 1936 catalog copy of the bike? to me it looks like a rare pre-1933 bike with rare aluminum fenders and not to mention a rare tall frame.

I too agree it is older than '36. Late 20's to early 30's.


----------



## rustyspoke66 (Jan 31, 2012)

I have some nice cloth wire if you need it. It looks very nice so you could rub some dirt on it to add some patina.
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?17874-F.S.-Vintage-cloth-wire!!


----------



## Nick-theCut (Feb 1, 2012)

Lol ! Am I in the wrong forum.  Pre-'33 ?  Ha, that thought is starting to make sense.  However with this bike came a Certification of Authenticity from the Mead Cycle Company stamped Aug 1936.  The Mead Ranger is the easily found bike from this company, so the lack of print work available on the Crusaders has kept it mysterious.
I will say that at 6'2" Myself, it does seem to be a tall frame.  Please check back as I will add
Some photos and info.


----------



## Luckykat32 (Feb 1, 2012)

I think that "Certificate" (since I saw it in person) was more of a "warranty" or something bought for the bike "after the fact"... 

You really dont see many 28" bikes after '33, although there was a few.  Clearly your frame, forks, & fenders are made for 28's, so your bike could be a year or two older  & the "Certificate" could have been received in '36, but hey, you never know, there's a very slight possibility that Mead put out a 28" 1936 model....does anyone have any literature? ...had Schwinn taken over Meade by that point?


----------



## Nick-theCut (Feb 1, 2012)

LuckyKat is right this is a warranty not an authenticity.  The ad is a '36 Ranger, clearly design was in a different place this year.  However the Crusader wasn't the deluxe model for Mead.  

Please if anyone has anything else to add, jump in.  Thanks y'all


----------



## Nick-theCut (Feb 3, 2012)

Well guys the certificate means nothing. I contacted the NBHAA to date and research my bike via pictures and description.  I added the picture of the certificate and their response was:

A date on the Mead guaranty certificate does not mean a lot in terms of dating when the bicycle was made since they were a mail order firm and sold a lot of older stock.

Makes perfect sense, after a few of your posts

To get detailed info and dating on my bike they charge 18.50 plus 7.50 per page printed of original catalog images.
Has anyone ever used this service?  Is it worth it?


----------



## elginkid (Feb 3, 2012)

Yikes!

Someone shut Pandora's Box!  You'll find many opinions, and strong ones as to the value of using Leon's services.  He's notoriously slow (VERY slow, we're talking months), and unpleasant to deal with.  But other people have found his services to be quite valuable.

There might be some things you can't get from the people on here that he has, but you have to decide whether the POTENTIAL hassle is worth it.  

(That's my attempt at a fair and balanced answer, since I've never dealt with Mr. Dixon, but have read the fiery posts about him)

The Aluminum rims look GREAT by the way.  I will soon be posting pictures of my black and gold ones installed.

Wes


----------



## Nick-theCut (Feb 4, 2012)

Haha,  I wrote him an email.  He responded really quick, I was surprised.  I ended up paying for his services, and He told me to be patient because of how busy He is.  Well in my opinion Leon Dixon was really easy to work with.  Well see how long it takes.  In my opinion, it's great there is someone out there with these catalogs sharing info, even if there's a charge


----------



## maglil (Apr 12, 2012)

*Looking for Crusader Information*

I found this Mead Crusader tucked away in my father's barn.  Any information would be helpful, year, value, etc...  I don't know much about old bikes but this has sparked my interest.





  Thanks in advance for any information you may be able to provide.


----------



## Nick-theCut (Jun 18, 2012)

UPDATE!

Leon Dixon aka NBHAA.com set me up.  No one truly knew what this bike was.  He found the exact year and catalog page.  I was waaaaaay off.

first I'll show you the catalog scan.  



and here it is now 



it is a 1936.  Like other bikes in the mid 30's, they were available as 26" or 28", buyers preference.  the 26" balloon tire option just meant the fender spacers were added to make up for space between the two.  I took it back to the 26" triple step rims with the red tires.
I had the wrong grips, tires, stem, saddle and reflector.  It was missing the battery tube and rear rack. It looked okay, but proud to get it back to original resemblence.

The whole goal for me was to not restore it, so everything added was patina matched painted.  The tires and grips were rubbed down with black acrylic paint to antique them.  This isn't to fool anyone, but to give a more cohesive appearance
The battery tube is a reproduction, wish it could be real but they just aren't on the market

Here are the rest of the pictures  









Hope you guys like what was done.  i do... loving the balloon tire roll with the long spring saddle suspension bounce.  oooo  yeah


----------



## axsepul (Feb 14, 2013)

any updates


----------

