# Bone shaker straighten spring out question



## redline1968 (Dec 10, 2015)

Here are a before as found condition and after I worked on it for a bit I got the fork off greased it. Got the spring off. My question is it appears to have a natural man made curve which fits the bike which looks correct or is it suppose to be straight but not too straight? Most pics I see looks straight.


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## Wheeled Relics (Dec 10, 2015)

Wowza!


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## redline1968 (Dec 10, 2015)

Thanks dude. I can see me showing this puppy at next Years car show.....:0


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## vuniw (Dec 10, 2015)

Looks great! it suddenly doesn't appear as overwhelming to restore


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## redline1968 (Dec 10, 2015)

The bike is amazing after 148 yrs things came off with out too much trouble.  I'm going full on  resto with this one...Wheels scare me I see $ leaving my pocket in the future.


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## Andrew Gorman (Dec 10, 2015)

The spring looks good as is, but it might have sagged in the fire.  Is it still springy, and where do your feet end up when you sit on it?   The seat is very close to the backbone-  does the spring bottom out when you sit on it? I'd keep looking at more velocipedes before I did anything to it.  Have you found the velorama museum in the Netherlands or the Sterba in Czech Republic?  Both have a lot of velocipdes, and there are even more pictures if you search on photobucket for tourist pictures.
http://www.sterba-bike.cz/en/?lang=EN
http://www.velorama.nl/?ref=dutchplaces
The Stutzman wheels are not scary expensive- I don't recall how much.  Unlike wagon or buggy wheels velocipede wheels are not dished.


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## frampton (Dec 10, 2015)

Hopefully you will bring it to the Iron Ranch next September.


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## redline1968 (Dec 10, 2015)

I think it looks nice too. I'll test it to see the springiness to be sure. I'll look at the pics on that site thank you. I'D bring it but someone's going to pester me on buying it...lol  I could whizzerise it... wow they have one h-ll of a collection.


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## cyclingday (Dec 10, 2015)

What a fantastic find and discovery.
Nice going on the resurection, Mark.
I can see that this little gem has landed in very capable hands.
Congratulations to both the bike and its new owner.


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## wasp3245 (Dec 10, 2015)

Perfect accessory for the kitchen table .

Many American velocipedes had lower saddle springs ..... you had a the entire population who had NEVER ridden a bike ...and they were learning in a wood floored hall with many others ..renting the machines for $1.00 and hour.  So every rider was a rookie... some learn fast, some learn slow , some ..well.  There were a large number of crashes ...so by having a low saddle spring   you could place your foot on the ground to prevent falling. The French having the benefit of ride-able roads offered lower saddle springs for learning and higher for actual riding .... higher the position the better for riding.
In the USA  doing circles for an hour trying to avoid crashes with follow novices you did not have time to realize your riding position was not optimum.     Robert Sterba's most excellent web site  is a great place to spend many hours touring the world's greatest bicycle museums  and viewing many different velocipede styles.    http://www.sterba-bike.cz/en/?lang=EN











A few examples of riding rinks ... any vacant store front, second , third floor space, church, skating rink  was game for the short lived Velocipede craze that swept across America.  As you can see radiators and support columns in the center just added to the sport of survival as you tried to master defying gravity with the art of balance.   The last image is the typical Hanlon all American frame style ...note how close to the ground the rider is ...feet go out in front of you .
Cheers Carey


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## oldspoke (Dec 10, 2015)

*Saddle Angle*

Cool find Redline ! A true survivor.

I would resist painting it and leave the metal parts a natural iron with the funky dark patina. Oil it {see the Waxoyl discussion on the Wheelmen site} and dull down the rebuilt wheels when you've had them made by an Amish wheelwright. An old bike looking old. Just my biased view. This "Shaker" will look nice when together.

I believe that the saddle pan would of had a wooden wedge beneath it - thicker to the rear of the pan - this would serve to level the pan out when mounted by the rider. If sat upon as pictured the rider would slide off the back.

Very nice bike ! Congratz !!

Glenn


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## redline1968 (Dec 10, 2015)

Thank you all yes your right on the table ornament but the wife would throw it and me out.... I snuck it in to photo when she's not here.. keep it like it is...it's  Funny you brought it up I was just thinking the same thing.. You convinced me I won't touch the aged patina and I will "antique" the replacement wood and seat cover as close to what I think 140+year old wood/seat would look like. I feel a lot better about this decision thank you.


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