# Turn of the century content: Wright Van Cleve copycat w/ferrier fork? (PICTURES)



## cudak888 (Jun 22, 2011)

Hello all; long-time resident of Bikeforums.net Classic & Vintage (VLW collector) here. 

I stumbled upon this machine during a job that I've been doing for the last two days; figured I would share the photos here as well:






It's not a Wright Van Cleve, but the tubing, lugs, and "Ferrier" stamped dual plate fork crown seem to imitate this one quite well (save for the geometry), right down to the Ferrier (?) fork crown and blades. 

It has a similar seat lug binder on it to some of the other, existing Wright machines; ditto for the rear stays and dropouts. Granted, I'd assume these lugs and tubing were common in their era; hence the similarity to the Wright machine.













Not the Wright badge, obviously: 





Pedal threads are stripped, and the headset has been buggered up as well - both fixable with some brass to the headset threads (plus re-threading) and helicoils to the crankset. Someone stuck a sleeve in the seatpost too, as if they didn't understand the hex binder used back then.

Otherwise, it's pretty solid - save for the severely warped wood rims.

Straight-pull spokes - and folks thought that was innovative in the _19_80's. Hardly:





No luck on getting them to sell, and no - I can't tell you who owns it. Sorry.

-Kurt


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## 66TigerCat (Jun 22, 2011)

Man ! That fork is so cool as are the hubs and....well everything.


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## cudak888 (Jun 22, 2011)

66TigerCat said:


> Man ! That fork is so cool as are the hubs and....well everything.




What's more, it outclasses a Peugeot UO-8 in lightness as well - no more than 25 pounds or so, despite its appearance; about on par with a Paramount P13/15/10. Quite a shock, given what it looks like.

-Kurt


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## frogger1903 (Jun 22, 2011)

Interesting bike ! Have any photos of the chainring ?
          Dennis


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## 66TigerCat (Jun 22, 2011)

No luck on getting them to sell, and no - I can't tell you who owns it. Sorry.

-Kurt[/QUOTE]

Kurt -

How many other bikes does the owner have ? Anything as interesting ?

Jim


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## cudak888 (Jun 22, 2011)

frogger1903 said:


> Interesting bike ! Have any photos of the chainring ?




This is the best I can do. Note the keyhole-style cottered cranks - a design far superior to the conventional cottered crank that became the norm until the 1980's.





A few other photos:










66TigerCat said:


> How many other bikes does the owner have ? Anything as interesting ?
> 
> Jim




Just a brace of random, late '50s Schwinn middleweights of varying condition, one Huffy, and a J.C. Higgins Flightliner. Nothing to write home about.

-Kurt


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## pelletman (Jun 27, 2011)

That bike is a Tribune, a pretty common make.  Most you see are blue.  It is what Charles "Mile a Minute" Murphy rode.


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## cudak888 (Aug 9, 2011)

pelletman said:


> That bike is a Tribune, a pretty common make.  Most you see are blue.  It is what Charles "Mile a Minute" Murphy rode.




Good to know. What details betray its origins? I notice that the Murphy bike (and a few other images I've dug up) have different dropouts and seatstay-to-seatlug arrangements.

-Kurt


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## pelletman (Aug 10, 2011)

The shape of the nametag.  I could be wrong but I am fairly certain


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## catfish (Aug 13, 2011)

I think this bike is a Fenton.


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## Mark Dulabaum (Feb 2, 2017)

Catfish you are correct - it is indeed a Fenton made in Jamestown N. Y. Between 1894 - 1898 by the Fenton Metallic Manufacturing Company. I recently purchased this bicycle and am looking for a head badge and any further information or parts anyone may have or may know who I could contact.
Thank you 
Mark Dulabaum


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## David Brown (Feb 2, 2017)

Looks to have a Columbia ball end spoke front hub.


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## Rambler (Feb 2, 2017)

It appears that Mark Dulabaum just purchased this same bicycle; http://thecabe.com/forum/threads/fenton-bicycle.104522/


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## bricycle (Feb 2, 2017)

kool saddle...


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## redline1968 (Feb 4, 2017)

I looked at my pope same fork as yours. The outline on the bike suggests to me this is a Columbia built bike. In my opinion by the ballend spokes seems to be around 1899 to 1902-3 in date. A roadster bike.


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## Mark Dulabaum (Sep 27, 2020)

Yes I bought this Fenton bicycle at a flea market from a gentlemen who ran a movie prop company


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## Mark Dulabaum (Sep 27, 2020)

It is a 1896 Fenton


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