# Another mystery bike



## fat tire trader (Feb 16, 2013)

Hello,
Here is a bike that I have had for over 30 years and I still do not know who made it. Can anyone help? You can see it here

http://www.fattiretrading.com/1906mystery.html

Thanks,
Chris


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## fat tire trader (Feb 23, 2013)

lost without a name...


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## rollfaster (Feb 24, 2013)

*mystery bike*

i recently seen an iver johnson have looks very close to this bike.


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## fat tire trader (Mar 26, 2013)

That is interesting. This bike does not have Iver cranks and bottom bracket, nor the Iver style fork. I'm not sure what year they started making their cranks. I'll have to study my Iver catalogs and photos of Ivers online.
Thanks,
Chris


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## fat tire trader (Dec 20, 2013)

I'm still puzzled, anyone know who made this bike?


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## Iverider (Dec 20, 2013)

The rear dropouts don't look Iver except for their nicely finished appearance. The adjuster hole on an Iver is drilled into the forging rather than stamped. This frame looks more like an early Westfield built frame. The chainring is Fauber and is commonly found on Great Western Mfg. bicycles of the era, but the rear dropouts don't match that of a Crown bicycle either.

You can access a mess of Iver catalogs online if you want to verify. The oldest in my sig line has the closest rear dropout in appearance but they are still different.


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## fat tire trader (Dec 20, 2013)

Thanks Brian,
I know its not an Iver, 57 Spitfire said that it looks similar...


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## fordsnake (Dec 20, 2013)

Chris, how about the Patee?


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## fat tire trader (Dec 20, 2013)

The Pattee appears to have a collet type seat post cluster instead of a expanding seat post. In addition the fork, which is hard to see in the picture looks like it has a crown with a spear point on the fork blade, while mine has a triple plate fork crown. My fork is nickel plated. By the way, the lock smith finished the lock on my Flowcycle and just called to tell me that the lock on my BSA is done, so they will have room to work on one of your bikes after I pick up the BSA this morning.
Thanks!
Chris


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## fordsnake (Dec 20, 2013)

Chris, the Patee bike looks a lot like yours? I never discern a bikes DNA by a quill, handlebars, pedals, or a seat post collet...these items could've been changed or removed to the owners discretion once the bike left the dealer. Many high-end bikes from the 1890's came with the expanding seat clamp, or added as an aftermarket upgrade. It was not proprietary to any particular brand or model.



























Regarding the Patee's fork: they did come with the triple plate fork.





Cool about the keys...next week I'll drop off my Flocycle and Wingbar.


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## fat tire trader (Mar 4, 2014)

Namaste,
Well, I still don't know what kind of bike this is. Someone recently posted pics of a bike that looks very similar. Which he claims to be a 1901 Indian. So, I asked my Indian Bicycle Guru. The leading light of Indian Bicycles tells me that it is not possible that it is a 1901 Indian, he said that he doubts that it is even an Indian from a different year. But as the pundit says, "we are all here to learn".

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?54707-OK-who-collects-early-racing-bikes/page2

See posts 12 and 13

Patric, aka hoofhearted asked me to take more pictures, so I took more pics and added them to the page.
Look here

http://www.fattiretrading.com/1906mystery.html


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## fat tire trader (Nov 8, 2017)

Its been 4 years since I started this thread. I still do not have a positive ID. Pattee seems the closest, any ideas?


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## Blue Streak (Nov 8, 2017)

The rear drop outs and seat post binder system look like Tribune. Fork and crank assembly are not Tribune. Are there holes in fork neck for a name badge. Is there a serial number on bottom of frame under crank?


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## fat tire trader (Nov 8, 2017)

Blue Streak said:


> The rear drop outs and seat post binder system look like Tribune. Fork and crank assembly are not Tribune. Are there holes in fork neck for a name badge. Is there a serial number on bottom of frame under crank?



No head badge holes. No serial numbers. Fork seems original.


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## shoe3 (Nov 8, 2017)

fat tire trader said:


> No head badge holes. No serial numbers. Fork seems original.


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## fat tire trader (Nov 9, 2017)

That Mead frame does look similar. The fork does not. The image quality is so poor, its hard to really tell. What year is that?
Thanks,
Chris


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## sam (Nov 9, 2017)

1911 mead catalog


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## sam (Nov 9, 2017)




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## fat tire trader (Nov 16, 2019)

When will we be able to identify a bike with DNA? This mystery remains unsolved...


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