# Pierce Model BR Amateur Racer



## piercer_99 (Jun 8, 2019)

So, I was looking for a Pierce Project, and was blessed to find this one from @New Mexico Brant

I have wanted a Pierce bicycle, since I first found out that there used to be a bike name Pierce, after all, my name is Pierce and it just seems right.

Anyway, got it paid for, and it is in transit to my house presently, the package will arrive on Tuesday sometime, depending on when FedEx thinks I should have it.

I have Keven (@KevinsBikes ) building me a set of wheels for it, I opted to roll on War Time New Departure hubs, D and WL, because I have a good set that has been rebuilt, and, I want to ride this bike as soon as possible, yes I know it won't be original, but what the heck.  Last I heard, one of the wheels is built, the rear, so after the front, they will be on the way to me.   I probably won't be sporting a Person's Professional saddle either, because I want to enjoy riding it, in comfort. 

So, until Tuesday when I get the bike, and get started on it, I can just dream about how awesome it could be.   It will need a lot, but it is worth it to me. One of the bummers with Pierce is actually  knowing the year, it is a crap shoot on that, so it's either a 1920's, towards the later part, or an early 30's.  Maybe I will just call it a 1930 and go with that.   Heck that is the year my Dad was born.   My Westfield is a 29, and that is the year my Mom was born.

Anyway,   here is a tease, of what is coming.   I am planning on not getting to carried away while rebuilding it, and get photos of it during the process to share here.

Pierce


























































stay tuned, this rider is going to be fast.


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## Miq (Jun 8, 2019)

Looks like it’s gonna be a sweet ride Pierce!  Love the Blackout ND hubs.  Can’t wait to see pics of the night rides on it.


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## KevinsBikes (Jun 9, 2019)

Wheels are all done!


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## CURTIS L LINDGREN (Jun 9, 2019)

Great Bike !     That's a Keeper  For Sure !     Lookin' forward to seein' that bad boy put together.    How big is the frame on that bike ?    It's NICE !!


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## piercer_99 (Jun 9, 2019)

CURTIS L LINDGREN said:


> Great Bike !     That's a Keeper  For Sure !     Lookin' forward to seein' that bad boy put together.    How big is the frame on that bike ?    It's NICE !!



It is supposed to be a 21" frame, it is still in transit, delivery is Tuesday.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 10, 2019)

Well then, now it gets serious. 

Just a couple of notes, this frame is stupid light. 6.5 pounds, and it is an Angola Pierce.


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## Mr. Monkeyarms (Jun 10, 2019)

Looks great so far...


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## piercer_99 (Jun 10, 2019)

CURTIS L LINDGREN said:


> Great Bike !     That's a Keeper  For Sure !     Lookin' forward to seein' that bad boy put together.    How big is the frame on that bike ?    It's NICE !!



The frame is indeed a 21", not to bad, my 1929 Westfield is 20", and it is a hump back, so if the top bar were straight, it would be around  22"


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## piercer_99 (Jun 10, 2019)

Mr. Monkeyarms said:


> Looks great so far...



it's going to look this way for a bit, I have some work to do on the fork before it will be a rider again.


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## Mr. Monkeyarms (Jun 10, 2019)

Lol! I was going to suggest straightening the fork while you are waiting for wheels but figured you were on top of it! 

This should be good...


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## Hammerhead (Jun 11, 2019)

Awesome project. Looks great! Liking the wheels.
Hammerhead


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## piercer_99 (Jun 14, 2019)

Wheels arrived this morning,  tires just arrived also.

Still need to fix the original fork or find another.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 14, 2019)

A little bit of brass and frame cleaning. 

Not too much though.   The pins are delicate.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 14, 2019)

the saddle is in really bad shape, it is a Person's Professional.  Unfortunately they are very hard to find.

This one actually falls apart if you look at it for to long, so it is going to be wrapped up and stored.















I found this Brook's saddle for it, it is on the way here from the Pacific North West, it has an aged look to it, hope it works for it.   Right after I bought it, I found you can still order Person's #77 racer saddles from India, they look really nice and are not that expensive at all.    If the Brooks doesn't work right, I will probably order one of the new Person's.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 14, 2019)

That moment when you realize that you only have 1 700c tube.  





Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 14, 2019)

Sometimes quickly,  sometimes slowly. 

Not much more without a fork.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 15, 2019)

__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10156552288892921


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## piercer_99 (Jun 16, 2019)

well I left the fork with the surgeon today, he said that he will do his best to make it better.

I have seen the results of his other surgeries and have high hopes on this one.  

I will find out tomorrow if all goes well, as long as he doesn't have a tee time or something to distract him from getting the fork on the table (bench, whatever).

The fork has bends in 3 different areas, steer tube, fork legs (tines) to the back about 5 degrees, and also (looking forward) to the left about 3 degrees.  To me it is major surgery, the doctor doesn't seem as concerned as I do though.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 18, 2019)

Talked with the doctor tonight,  it seems surgery is delayed while he tries to understand how the fork got itself into this condition,  or something. 

Seems like it should be done by Thursday.  Which is ok, as the new saddle arrives Friday or Saturday,  and I always try to make sure I have a saddle on the bike I am riding,  none of that bare back crap for me.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 20, 2019)

cause if you like it, you should put a saddle on it...

(and the fork isn't ready yet)


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## piercer_99 (Jun 20, 2019)

I'm supposed to be working on the bathroom remodel. 

So might as well do a mockup of the Pierce.  

This is it, with a fork, not the fork.

I guess I have to wait for the correct parts, it is going to be sweet.  In my opinion anyway.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 20, 2019)

The fork is as repaired as it will ever be. There is a bend in the crown that can't be taken out.  It does look really straight and true,  so it will work.















Then the silly replacement axles for New Departure WL hubs are 5-5/8" long,  you have to hold your mouth just right to finesse them into a closed dropout fork.

If it fits, it rolls.













Now all I need is the time to assemble everything.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 21, 2019)

Knocked the surface rust down on the fork, rubbing compound and polish it up. 

The nickel plate is shot, but they are smooth and shiny. 

Slow going,  however it will get there.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 21, 2019)

Had a little time tonight.

So on this Pierce,  the headset doesn't have cages for the bearings, they are free bearings.  The bottom cup holds 23 as does the top.  Having never worked on this bike before,  I figured that it would be most practical to assemble the fork and headset upside down.

It worked,  surprisingly rather well.

The crank is similar,  no cages, and I don't have time tonight to tackle that.

The bike now weighs in at 23.3 pounds,  still very light for a steel bicycle. 

Of course,  I had to ride it, crank and chain be damned.   I straddled up, git a running downhill start,  coasted about 800 feet, both ways- twice.  It's a blast, can't wait to really ride it.


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## Balloonoob (Jun 21, 2019)

piercer_99 said:


> Had a little time tonight.
> 
> So on this Pierce,  the headset doesn't have cages for the bearings, they are free bearings.  The bottom cup holds 23 as does the top.  Having never worked on this bike before,  I figured that it would be most practical to assemble the fork and headset upside down.
> 
> ...



Looking good man. Hopefully the forks work well for you. Not long ago i was striding on my pedal less bike as well smiling from ear to ear too. Liking the progress.


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## piercer_99 (Jun 21, 2019)

Balloonoob said:


> Looking good man. Hopefully the forks work well for you. Not long ago i was striding on my pedal less bike as well smiling from ear to ear too. Liking the progress.



the fork works great.


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## Hammerhead (Jun 22, 2019)

Coming along nicely, looks AWESOME! I really like the way those wheels and tires make the bike pop. Excellent work!
Hammerhead


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## Mr. Monkeyarms (Jun 22, 2019)

Such a cool bike. And getting better all the time!


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## piercer_99 (Jul 9, 2019)

Well, it's together. 

Had to use a one piece crank set on it, not from a Pierce,  but that's how it goes sometimes. 

I had bought a chain for it a few months back, when I pulled it out of the package to use it, I noticed that almost half of the links have hairline cracks,  so I will get another chain that is in better shape and safer condition to ride it regularly. 

Anyway,  without further adieu...


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## Hammerhead (Jul 10, 2019)

^^^^AWESOME! ^^^^
Hammerhead


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## Mr. Monkeyarms (Jul 10, 2019)

Looking good Pierce!! How does it ride?


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## bricycle (Jul 10, 2019)

A Nice updated cycle!


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## piercer_99 (Jul 10, 2019)

Mr. Monkeyarms said:


> Looking good Pierce!! How does it ride?



pretty freaking sweet.

scary fast though, I swapped out the bars for a set of Torrington, for daily use, instead of the drop bars, still as fast, not as scary though.


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## Mr. Monkeyarms (Jul 10, 2019)

Awesome. Enjoy!!


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## piercer_99 (Jul 12, 2019)

well, after riding this for a few days, it is pretty sweet to ride.

With that in mind, there is something wrong though, the bike tracks to the right.  This is due to there being a slight bend in the fork crown still, you cannot let go of the bar or it will pull to the right fiercely.  I really noticed it yesterday when riding and I looked down and the bike looks to be doglegging, similar to a truck out of alignment or a tractor trailer out of alignment.

I won't be riding it a bunch, ok well maybe just a little daily, however I will either need to find a way to repair this fork crown, or find another Pierce fork to replace this with.  It is really dangerous the way it is.  You can tell, when riding the bicycle, how out it is by the sight line of the bike.   The front wheel has to be turned about 2 to 3 degrees to the right for the bike to go straight.   If it was only being ridden on a circular track, to the left, it probably would not matter.

Anyway, it still looks really pretty, just needs some work to be a daily rider.


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## Balloonoob (Jul 12, 2019)

Bummer man. As far in as you are I'm sure you'll either find a highly skilled magician or a replacement fork.


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## piercer_99 (Jul 12, 2019)

well, after further investigation, I discovered that the frame has a 1/2" bend in it, I should be able to fix it, as on my 1963 Otasco Flying O, I had a 3 inch bend in the frame and was able to fix that.

Already got about a quarter inch of it out, just don't want to tweak it too much at one time.


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## piercer_99 (Jul 12, 2019)

Well the frame is fixed,  I still need to tweak the fork a little,  however it rides straight now.

Can't let go of the handle bar without it pulling to the right,  pretty sure the fork can be aligned a bit and that will work. 

Broke it all down to the frame and it's back together again. 

Some beauty pictures for kicks.  It polishes up nicely for an old bicycle.


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## Miq (Jul 12, 2019)

Glad you got it squared up.  it looks killer!!!  I really like the wheels/tires and blackout hubs.


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## piercer_99 (Jul 12, 2019)

Miq said:


> Glad you got it squared up.  it looks killer!!!  I really like the wheels/tires and blackout hubs.



It rides better, once I have some time to dial in the fork, I am hoping to be able to do a hands free ride.   


I love the wheels, they are really nice.   Glad I had the set of hubs for it, I know they aren't period correct, but what the heck, they look great.


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## Hammerhead (Jul 13, 2019)

AWESOME! That is one SICK bike. Hope the fork comes out straight. Looks amazing.
Hammerhead


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## piercer_99 (May 26, 2020)

Well then, I found a Pierce 1 piece crankset and chain wheel for it, after months of searching.   Then it has sat in the garage for months, because it is easier to just ride it, over working on it.

Well I needed the Cleveland crankset and wheel for another build,  so tonight was the night.

Still rides awesome and I really like the proper setup on it.  I also swapped the chain,  I had bought a newer chain for it 10 months ago.

I also took the time to shoot some photos of the inside of the hanger bracket,  to show the frame connections,  marvelous engineering.

Oh well, he's a Racer.









The Pierce axle adjuster bolt. It is fat, it has fine threads, nothing else I have even thinks about working in the slot.

Someday I will find a pair for my Motor Bike.















Where the down tube and the seat tube, come into the hanger bracket, the tubes are slightly fluted/flared out, with a tongue section on the lower side, that extends almost an inch
The tongue is then riveted to the hanger bracket inner sleeve, I don't think you have to worry about the brazing giving way at the stress points like on some machines.

Inside the head tube, there is a similar setup, where the top tube and the down tube are tied to the inside of the head tube.

The engineers really put a lot of thought into the design.
























Just going to say, while the Pierce chain wheel and crank look right on this, they are a booger to get together, but once together, they work very well.




Still the most fun bike I own.
Fast.


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## piercer_99 (Dec 9, 2022)

After really enjoying this bike for awhile now, I rode it today for the last time.  It is heading back to New York for the next phase of its journey.  

It's still scary fast for a hundred year old.

The color is fascinating as is the traces of box pinstripes on it.  The brass bell stays with me.


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