# Wha????



## 66TigerCat (Sep 29, 2020)

Skip tooth pathracer Brooks heavy patina major Taylor steel frame...
					

Small, heavy, needs wheels trued and maybe the aes greased and rebuilt. Coaster brake. Major...



					boston.craigslist.org


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## tripple3 (Sep 29, 2020)

Not mine/copy/Paste. For Archives.

*Skip tooth pathracer Brooks heavy patina major Taylor steel frame bike - $500 (Newton Highlands)*
image 1 of 9
bicycle frame material: *steel*
bicycle type: *other*
brake type: *coaster*
electric assist: *none*
frame size: *Small*
handlebar type: *bullhorn*
make / manufacturer: *Major Taylor*
suspension: *none (rigid)*
wheel size: *other/unknown*
Small, heavy, needs wheels trued and maybe the aes greased and rebuilt. Coaster brake. Major Taylor bars Great sealed patina. Weighs a ton. Is small. I’m 5’8” and it’s about right, but still small.


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## Big Moe (Sep 29, 2020)

I dig it. Too bad I don't have 500.00 to buy it.


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## Euphman06 (Sep 29, 2020)

No way that frame geometry is right...right? That head tube angle looks way off, but I can't tell if the down tube is tweaked. Maybe it's built that way...would be quite a nimble bike with such a short wheelbase.


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## 66TigerCat (Sep 29, 2020)

In the pic with just the handlebar you can see a slight bend at the downtube/headtube junction. So, yeah, tweaked. 

Schwinn ??


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## OldSkipTooth (Sep 29, 2020)

I’m not seeing anything “Major” here...


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## stoney (Sep 29, 2020)

Front end is tweaked. If you look at the 1st picture the top tube from left to right has an uphill grade to it. That's what my eyes are showing me anyway.


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## NBHAA (Sep 29, 2020)

It is too bad that Major Taylor didn't get all of this notoriety when he could have used it–meaning when he was alive.

Sorry. What the ad shows really appears to a Huffman-made  WWII Victory (war-restricted) bicycle with a bent fork. Somebody has added a racing saddle and racing bars to make it look racy. Then claimed "Major Taylor" did it. Poor Major. Assure you...this certainly is not anything Major Taylor would have been involved with. No way, no how. And... Major Taylor was long dead by the time the bicycle in the pics was dreamed up.

As for the odd geometry of the head tube and what appears to be "bends" we have had numerous WWII Huffman-built Victory models with odd welds and canted head tubes such as this. It was common in as much as converted and scrap tubing was used on many of these bicycles. Common to see the head tube at an odd and unwieldy angle. Very, very common on these wartime bicycles frames. Once you have seen a few of them, this aspect becomes very familiar and just makes it even easier to identify. And all we had over many years came with black painted "flying bananas" sprocket.

However, Major Taylor DID design and engineer many things (and we have some of them) but not the bicycle shown. The stem below is the original prototype piece designed and engineered by Major Taylor. Too bad Major never got any royalties from all the the stems produced with his name on them... and no real credit for creating it until recent years. It was the first extension stem that prevented handlebars from twisting during hard riding. ,We have had this prototype since the 1970s (and it was very old then), back when hardly anyone even knew who he was. And yes, we have his original book... autographed with an elaborate example...


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## rollfaster (Sep 29, 2020)

Sprocket looks Huffman.


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## 66TigerCat (Sep 29, 2020)

NBHAA said:


> It is too bad that Major Taylor didn't get all of this notoriety when he could have used it–meaning when he was alive.
> 
> Sorry. What the ad shows really appears to a Huffman-made  WWII Victory (war-restricted) bicycle with a bent fork. Somebody has added a racing saddle and racing bars to make it look racy. Then claimed "Major Taylor" did it. Poor Major. Assure you...this certainly is not anything Major Taylor would have been involved with. No way, no how. And... Major Taylor was long dead by the time the bicycle in the pics was dreamed up.
> 
> ...




Thanks for the info. 

I'm curious about the stem. What is the provenance ? The diamond shaped tube wasn't employed until after Taylor had retired from racing. The tubes of the stems he used were round. Likewise with the wedge retainer. No used until later. That stem looks like an Accles and Pollock, made in England.


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## NBHAA (Sep 29, 2020)

66TigerCat said:


> Thanks for the info.
> 
> I'm curious about the stem. What is the provenance ? The diamond shaped tube wasn't employed until after Taylor had retired from racing. The tubes of the stems he used were round. Likewise with the wedge retainer. No used until later. That stem looks like an Accles and Pollock, made in England.



You are welcome. Ahhh... an analysis. The stem absolutely, positively did not come from England. And not a "tube" but solid steel. Again, it is a prototype part. Came from right here in the USA... and had it for over 50 years.


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## 66TigerCat (Sep 30, 2020)

Here is an excellent thread from 2018 about this type of stem - https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/d...-real-major-taylor-stem-from-a-non-mt.141833/


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## Euphman06 (Oct 1, 2020)

That was a fun little read there.


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## PlasticNerd (Feb 17, 2021)

NBHAA said:


> It is too bad that Major Taylor didn't get all of this notoriety when he could have used it–meaning when he was alive.
> 
> Sorry. What the ad shows really appears to a Huffman-made  WWII Victory (war-restricted) bicycle with a bent fork. Somebody has added a racing saddle and racing bars to make it look racy. Then claimed "Major Taylor" did it. Poor Major. Assure you...this certainly is not anything Major Taylor would have been involved with. No way, no how. And... Major Taylor was long dead by the time the bicycle in the pics was dreamed up.
> 
> ...



It is too bad Major didn't get the credit he deserves, he was one of cyclings finest in his day. I would love to read the book. Now I will make it a search to find a copy for myself. Thanks Leon, Gary


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## Junkman Bob (Feb 17, 2021)

That bicycle looks similar to my Firestone badged Huffman ... looks to have blacked out parts as well ... am i way off or in the ballpark ?


Bob


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