# Info needed on this airman



## kos22us (Jan 29, 2014)

did A little research on this airman deluxe i just bought, couldnt find a whole lot about it, its my understanding the airman is a monark built bicycle with some findings mentioning something about spiegel which mine doesnt mention anything about, at any rate i just had a few questions about mine, first being year or at least era ?    the serial # under crank housing is P477561 if that means anything,  2ndly i searched through yahoo images for airman deluxe and i couldnt find any that had this style of chrome fenders and or a delta silver ray so im wondering if these are original to the bike, also wondering about the 1/2" chainring & crank  ?           any help is appreciated    thanks


----------



## Jennifer Parker (Jan 29, 2014)

*Oh, Mama...*

I have got to get me one of these! Couldn't help myself!


----------



## scrubbinrims (Jan 29, 2014)

Looks to me like a '35 Shelby...interesting rainbow frame that might predate the wishbone design.
Fenders have me thinking earlier, rack a little later, maybe into '36
Nice bike!
Chris


----------



## fordmike65 (Jan 29, 2014)

Awesome! Love the headbadge. Does look early Shelby. Happen to have a better pic of the seat stays?  Think I've seen another frame like this before. 

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk


----------



## jpromo (Jan 30, 2014)

That's a nice looking bike; awesome find.

The crankset has been replaced but somebody replaced it with a later ring with a very similar pattern to a prewar Shelby. I'd guess they swapped a modern wheelset on but tried to keep it as original looking as possible.


----------



## 66TigerCat (Jan 30, 2014)

Sweet bike. Love that head badge !


----------



## DonChristie (Jan 30, 2014)

Badge is real cool! Chain guard is definately Shelby! Search Google for Shelby airman bike, there are a few similiar examples. Not sayin its a Shelby tho.


----------



## jpromo (Jan 30, 2014)

Fork appears to be Shelby too.


----------



## slick (Jan 30, 2014)

Bike has got to be a shelby. The fenders are boggling me though. They appear to be shelby fenders, but the front one has the fitting for the wire conduit on it? That leads me to believe the bike had a hanging tank but I have nevet seen a frame like this with a tank???? I am interested in buying the bike if you decide to sell.


----------



## dougfisk (Jan 30, 2014)

slick said:


> Bike has got to be a shelby. The fenders are boggling me though. They appear to be shelby fenders, but the front one has the fitting for the wire conduit on it?...




Slick, I am thinking the conduit attached to a clamp-on battery can.


----------



## kos22us (Jan 30, 2014)

ok so were calling this a mid 30's airman badged shelby built bicycle with a way later crank set, correct  ?  

any ideas on value ?


----------



## younggun'85 (Jan 30, 2014)

crankset looks like the one pictured in th early 66 fastback ad. crank looks like the peaked one on the early 10 speed varsities.

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=53114


----------



## kos22us (Jan 31, 2014)

ok now im convinced this is a shelby built bicycle, if you do a completed listings search on ebay for shelby under highest price about the fifth one down youll see a listing for a shelby traveler, look through the pics & you'll see the fork trim and the paint scheme on the frame is exactly the same along with the truss rod setup and the chainguard, in the desription the buyer says he knows nothing about it so i think its safe to say the badge probably said shelby for him to come to that conclusion, thanks to all the cabers who gave their input and or comments


----------



## jpromo (Jan 31, 2014)

kos22us said:


> ok now im convinced this is a shelby built bicycle, if you do a completed listings search on ebay for shelby under highest price about the fifth one down youll see a listing for a shelby traveler, look through the pics & you'll see the fork trim and the paint scheme on the frame is exactly the same along with the truss rod setup and the chainguard, in the desription the buyer says he knows nothing about it so i think its safe to say the badge probably said shelby for him to come to that conclusion, thanks to all the cabers who gave their input and or comments




The parts have been certainly Shelby, the uncertainty came in the frame itself. While the frames are very similar between the one on ebay and yours, there is one major difference. The frame on ebay is your everyday '36-39ish Shelby balloon frame. Look at the back of his bike, the top of the seat stays start in front of the seat tube and spread around it (it's what people have called the wishbone stays in this thread). Yours are mounted at the seat tube. That's why the uncertainty. It's not a frame we traditionally recognize as Shelby, possibly because it's a very early and seldom seen version of the common frame. Cheers!


----------



## rustjunkie (Jan 31, 2014)

One of these frames showed up here this week. Here's pics of the "wishbone" and Barney the oddball:


----------



## dougfisk (Jan 31, 2014)

alw said:


> One of these frames showed up here this week.  Here's pics of... Barney the oddball:
> 
> img]




Shelby made more ballooner frame varieties than anyone I am aware of during our golden age, mid to late 30's.  Phil schooled us a little while ago when another *non*-wishbone rainbow bar frame showed up and nobody could ID it correctly.  Shelby made higher priced wishbone frame series *and* lower priced non-wishbone seies in *all* style configurations.  The non-wisbones are seldom pictured in literature commonly shared.

And don't imagine that it is an early or transitional thing... this headbadge in not early, it is 37 to 41 in my estimation.


----------



## dougfisk (Jan 31, 2014)

Here's Barneys older brother (maybe some artistic license?) in the middle of the page...


----------



## fordmike65 (Jan 31, 2014)

dougfisk said:


> Here's Barneys older brother (maybe some artistic license?) in the middle of the page...




The lower bar looks to be spaced a bit lower than the ones pictured,no? Starts from the downtube instead of the headtube...


----------



## dougfisk (Jan 31, 2014)

fordmike65 said:


> The lower bar looks to be spaced a bit lower than the ones pictured,no? Starts from the downtube instead of the headtube...




Yes and it looks straight not curved - a la motobike.  That is why I suggest "older brother" or "artistic license".  This is a 36 catalog... I'll speculate in 37 or so Barney was Gambles _"Low Priced Double Bar"_.


----------



## fordmike65 (Jan 31, 2014)

dougfisk said:


> Yes and it looks straight not curved - a la motobike.  That is why I suggest "older brother" or "artistic license".  This is a 36 catalog... I'll speculate in 37 or so Barney was Gambles _"Low Priced Double Bar"_.




Ah, missed that in you post. Possibly. I'm not too familiar with Shelby's, but sure is an interesting frame.


----------



## cds2323 (Jan 31, 2014)

Doug,

The other day you posted a link to a 1938 Western Auto catalog in another thread ( the one you found the Gambles ad in). If you look closely you'll see the double curve non Airflo frame.


----------



## scrubbinrims (Jan 31, 2014)

The silver ray has a glass lens and if original to the bike, puts it no later than '37.
This bicycle never had a tank, so the point DF made about the battery tube is accurate, but also declassifies it as a low model with such factory built electrification...plus it has a rack.
With the raingutters, I just don't see this being a late issue model and I am sticking with '36 (when this rack appeared) until more lit proves otherwise.
Chris


----------



## dougfisk (Jan 31, 2014)

cds2323 said:


> Doug,
> 
> The other day you posted a link to a 1938 Western Auto catalog in another thread ( the one you found the Gambles ad in). If you look closely you'll see the double curve non Airflo frame.




I see it... different seat stays and seat clamp from Barney though... or artistic license?

We who are interested in Shelbys really need more Western Flyer and Gambles catalog images.


----------



## dougfisk (Jan 31, 2014)

scrubbinrims said:


> The silver ray has a glass lens and if original to the bike, puts it no later than '37.
> This bicycle never had a tank, so the point DF made about the battery tube is accurate, but also declassifies it as a low model with such factory built electrification...plus it has a rack.
> With the raingutters, I just don't see this being a late issue model and I am sticking with '36 (when this rack appeared) until more lit proves otherwise.
> Chris




Chris, I agree with all that you said about the Airman... I was talking about the purple frame ("Barney").  Perhaps the badge was changed, or perhaps my belief of the badge usage is wrong...  I am open to advance of my education.


----------



## rustjunkie (Jan 31, 2014)

The Hiawatha streamline locomotive depicted on the Gamble's badge debuted 1935.
IIRC I've had ~1936-37 Murray built bikes with this badge.
Here's Barney's serial # R586328 and some detail shots.
Can we get the Airman serial # plz?


----------



## kos22us (Jan 31, 2014)

the airman serial is  P477561

also that is a piece of reflective tape on the seat tube between the two bars not bright original paint, some asked about that so just clearing up


thanks


----------



## kos22us (Feb 4, 2014)

several cabers wanted to know when i would be listing the airman

its been listed   !    ebay item #   161217616802   &   161217622150



          .99 cent start out bid     




                     thanks


----------



## rollfaster (Mar 9, 2020)

Here’s another.


----------



## SKPC (Mar 9, 2020)

These 1935 and perhaps even late 34 Shelby-built frames are certainly some of my favorites.  The pre-wishbone frames with pinched seat-stays welded in back of the seat tube and the big-space rainbow top tube frame suggest 35. Of course this is only thoughtful conjecture as the Shelby serials are not cracked yet and may never be.  This Shelby moto frame below perhaps precedes the rainbow curved double top tubes design. It has the same rear end and clearly Shelby.  This one may be earlier than 35 imo.  See the below pics of this motobike-style frame sporting the badge. *  Most* of the rainbow curved-top tube frames that I have seen sport other badges from jobbers.


----------



## SKPC (Mar 9, 2020)

^^^^(BB)


----------

