# TOC Spalding Chainless Question



## cr250mark (May 25, 2019)

Recently acquired this Toc Spalding. Chainless 
Besides some history on the Start up of Spalding bicycles , little on the Cabe  I could not find much reading info on this model. 
Did find a excellent og ad on Brown Saddle thanks to caber. 

Believe to be 1890 s
Outstanding nickel features to this bicycle 
Bars , stem , crank , sprocket , pedals and hubs.
including a near mint Brown saddle with beautiful nickel leaf spring . 
I’m curious to the light weight of this bike. 
The tires I have now are hose , I know this has a part in the light weight . 
These are Used creatively for display only obviously ( until I stumble upon a decent set of og displayers or have a set made  ) 
Frame tube size and metal quality  I’m assuming is another feature that comes into play with weight 
Man this bike feels like aluminum is so light. 
Also has a unique rear gear housing compared to the others I’ve seen ( Columbia )
Any other info would be great. 
Thank you 
Mark


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## fordmike65 (May 25, 2019)




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## KevinsBikes (May 25, 2019)

Thats one beautiful machine - that I guess you already knew.  Congrats!


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## cr250mark (May 25, 2019)

More picts


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## fordmike65 (May 25, 2019)




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## GiovanniLiCalsi (May 25, 2019)

Bicycle envy!
I must go to confession, tomorrow!


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## corbettclassics (May 25, 2019)

I believe it’s 1899 and I have the original catalogue for the bike.  I’ll be selling the catalogue here in a couple of weeks.


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## gkeep (May 25, 2019)

Amazing machine!! Congratulations! The 25th Bicycle Corp rode Spaldings all over teh western states in teh 1890s. You might contact the director of the documentary about their ride from Missoula to St. Louis in 1898. He may have learned a fair amount about Spalding bikes while researching the story. Read down to the bike specs information on his website where the model they rode weighs in at 23 lbs. Pretty respectable weight even for a modern bike.
http://followingthelieutenant.blogspot.com/

I have an old friend who is a Spalding descendant, he's a great fiddler and professional historian/author but I don't think he is very knowledgeable about his ancestors bikes.


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## catfish (May 25, 2019)

Beautiful bike


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## cr250mark (May 26, 2019)

gkeep said:


> Amazing machine!! Congratulations! The 25th Bicycle Corp rode Spaldings all over teh western states in teh 1890s. You might contact the director of the documentary about their ride from Missoula to St. Louis in 1898. He may have learned a fair amount about Spalding bikes while researching the story. Read down to the bike specs information on his website where the model they rode weighs in at 23 lbs. Pretty respectable weight even for a modern bike.
> http://followingthelieutenant.blogspot.com/
> 
> I have an old friend who is a Spalding descendant, he's a great fiddler and professional historian/author but I don't think he is very knowledgeable about his ancestors bikes.





Thank you for the tip and info. 
Cool Article /  story with some good specifics when referring to the Spalding Bicycle 
Much appreciated. 

Thank you 
Mark


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## GiovanniLiCalsi (May 26, 2019)




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## cr250mark (May 27, 2019)

GiovanniLiCalsi said:


>





Gio

What a great short piece of American History wrapped up in that Video. 
Thanks for posting 
Hope a few others will enjoy this also. 
Great pictures and early illustrations 
Really opens the door for the imagery of Bicycle use , besides the typical vision of purely kids , fun and pleasure rides. 
Work , transportation , cool leather and gun features during this era. 
Very cool !
Thank you 
Mark


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## David Brown (May 28, 2019)

That is one nice original chainless what find. I HAD A Spalding like that some years ago but I think mine was a year older. But sure not as nice as yours.


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## bricycle (May 28, 2019)

someone put a 1895 saddle on a 1899 bike????? 
She be Sweet Mark!!!!!


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## GiovanniLiCalsi (May 28, 2019)

bricycle said:


> someone put a 1895 saddle on a 1899 bike?????
> She be Sweet Mark!!!!!



Gotta recycle those old saddles!   Hahahaha!


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## Andrew Gorman (May 28, 2019)

Patent date has no relation to the date of manufacture....


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## Jesse McCauley (May 29, 2019)

Ahhhhh I snoozed and lost on this one haha 
I have been thinking about it hanging in the rafters of that antique store for a while now..... 
Glad it has a happy new home!


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## corbettclassics (Jun 12, 2019)

Just checked my 1898 catalogue and it's not 1898.  It does mention the rims in black with red center bands though as your bike is.  Full desrciption of the chainless mechanism with several pages devoted to it.  I think your bike is 1899 or 1900.  The 1898 bike doesn't have that cone on the rear mechanism. 

Here's another one that was sold by a Cabe member several yrs ago and I think we figured it to be 1899 or 1900.  I would have to check through my archives to see how I came up with the yrs and I don't have time right now.


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