# G.W. Grady New England Motobike: Who built this frame?



## New Mexico Brant (Jun 1, 2020)

As posted in this week’s show-and-tell, I just bought this teens/twenties period "New England" badged bike.  Please help me out with identification of the frame builder.  G.W. Grady was known to be both a bicycle jobber and a manufacturer as well.  Any thoughts?


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## Freqman1 (Jun 1, 2020)

Almost looks like some Schwinn DNA there either the same size tube under the top tube and chainring. That fork is what really throws me as well as the top fender bridge and seat stays. V/r Shawn


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## New Mexico Brant (Jun 1, 2020)

Freqman1 said:


> Almost looks like some Schwinn DNA there either the same size tube under the top tube and chainring. That fork is what really throws me as well as the top fender bridge and seat stays. V/r Shawn



The fork with the encased crown maybe a New England Cycle Co. exclusive design.  There are a few other G.W. Grady bikes with the same fork.  I am not aware of any other company using this fork design.


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## Goldenindian (Jun 1, 2020)

It looks pretty close to these Shelby built lindy bicycles....kind of the last of the 28” bikes ...the sprocket is international stamping so jobbered out to many companies/bicycles. 





I know I have seen similar fork....still searching....hope this helps. Thanks for sharing.


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## dave the wave (Jun 1, 2020)

what glen said shelby all the way.and the rare Lindy type frame.


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## New Mexico Brant (Jun 2, 2020)

Thank you for the input Glen and Dave.  Filmonger posted patent information Shelby filed in 1922 for what seems to be the same fork; check out the modified design in figure #8.







DESCRIPTION
16cm M m46 A.DMEEELBACH FORK CROWN y 2 Sheets-Shen 1 Filed July s, 1922 0MM/Mi MQW @et l@ w24@ A. D. MEISELBACH FORK CROWN Shams-sham. 2'

Filed July 3, 1922 Y Patented Oct. 14, 1924.

PATENT oFFlcE.

UNITED STATES AUGUST D. MEISELBAGH, 0F SHELBY, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO MARGARET MEISELBACH, OF SHELBY, OHIO.

FORK CROWN.

Application filed July 3, 1922. Serial No. 572,379.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, AUGUST D. MnisnL- BACH, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Shelby, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in a Fork Crown, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in tubular constructions and has special reference to improvements to what are known as front forks for bicycles and the like.

The object of my invention is to provide a fork particularly a front fork for a bicycle frame in which the fork sides shall be connected to the stem by a pressed sheet metal crown of simple and strong construction; which crown while being made of parts readily produced by the ordinary punch and press method shall afford extended sockets both for the fork sides and the stem; which crown shall be exceedingly light and strong; which shall be made of a minimum number of pieces readily and cheaply produced by ordinary manufacturing processes; and the use of which crown shall result in an exceedingly strong and rigid fork of light weight and one which can be produced at relatively low manufacturing cost.

A particular feature of my invention resides in its hollow box-like solid form, being composed of an outer shell forming the top and sides of the box and an inner sheet metal member forming the bottom of the box and the inner sides of the socket spaces for the upper ends of the fork sides. These two sheet metal members are adapted to be connected by a central thimble forming a socket for the lower end of the fork stem. The crown is completed by brazing together the several parts including the fork sides and the stem.

My novel fork crown is capable of being made either straight on top or curved or with its end portions inclined downwardly to suit the demands. Furthermore, by the use of tubular doweling parts for connecting the fork sides with the crown l am enabled to make flush or smooth joints between the fork sides and the outer ends of the crown, this producing forms which are desirable for some uses.

My invention will be more Y,readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming. part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of a fork particularly adapted for use in a bicycle as a front fork and made in accordance with my invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are horizontal sectional views on the lines 22 and 3 3 respectively of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary central vertical sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical transverse central .sectional View on the line 5--5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a central section of the several parts of the crown as shown in Figure 5, the several parts being shown separated from each other and in position to be assembled;

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the inner member of the crown;

Figure 8 is a sectional view similar to FigureJ 5 showing a modified shape of crown; an

Figure 9 is a sectional view similar to Figure 5 showing a fork with flush joints between the fork sides and crown.


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## Goldenindian (Jun 2, 2020)

I have seen a few rangers with a similar fork but they have ribs on the sides. I hesitate to post because it’s not the same but still...this was the one I was thinking of...also I can’t seem to find it but I think there is a pictures of a teens ranger girls bicycle somewhere on here that has no ribs...can’t find it. 



I see now that it even more blocky and straight across on the bottom...no arch...sorry for the post..


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## bricycle (Jun 2, 2020)

I always loved that bike on Sanford and Son...


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## SKPC (Jun 2, 2020)

NMB has seemed to have sleuthed his way to a determination of who this maker "is"....I was also thinking Shelby, but here on the Cabe there is very little concerning Shelby cycles pre-33 and the fork threw me off as well.  In terms of Shelby's, you just don't see them often complete pre-33, so there is not much to go on.  Your head tube internal flanges are similar to an old Shelby frame I own.   Shelby also used the same size top tubes in their moto frames.  Shelby also "pinched" seat stays from their beginnings apparently.   Looks very similar to the big-tank 34/5 Shelby frames we see,(Edit: but the head tube is not as long to be able to accept one without mods).  Chain adjusters are not typical Shelby and maybe replaced:  as we all know, cranksets were replaced all the time.  This sprocket was used by many as per the above posts.......  @New Mexico Brant …..what does the crank construction look like in the middle?  Did all the early Shelby's mark "SMB" on their cranks or was there a definitive time that this stamping started?  Did not* all *the "Lindy-type" frames have tighter top tubes than this frame has?   It seems to repeat "27" in the serial number BB stampings and is not the typical Shelby serial numbers we usually see......  1927?   @slick ??
And lastly, is there a brazing/welding "weep hole" in the lower top tube on the bottom where it intersects the down tube?  All my older shelby frames have this weep hole.  See below two "known" features of my Shelby-badged moto frame...


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## Archie Sturmer (Jun 2, 2020)

Looks like a 3” height McCauley #1001 tank, for 3.5” head tubes, might fit the frame.


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## bentwoody66 (Jun 4, 2020)

Would this have any clues to the manufacturer?












Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## SKPC (Jun 4, 2020)

Headset cups.  Truss hardware. Lower top tube diameter. Chainring.


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## Archie Sturmer (Nov 1, 2021)

Grady chain ring sprocket looks peculiar; looks like there are not any drive pin/holes, similar to Westfield’s double-D drive design.


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## SKPC (Nov 1, 2021)




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## oldmtrcyc (Nov 2, 2021)

Similarities


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## SKPC (Nov 5, 2021)

_Portions from the “Historic Link to “Bicycle Craze” of 1896


_
A.D. Meiselbach bicycle factory. Image from the book Milwaukee--A Half Century's Progress.
The A.D. Meiselbach buildings merit a mention in national economic history as a artifacts of a classic “Boom and Bust” cycle. In this case it was the Bicycle Craze, which struck the nation (and world) soon after the 1885 invention of the “Rover Safety Bicycle.” The innovation featured a chain drive and equal-sized wheels with pneumatic tires, mounted on a hollow tube frame. This build is similar to the vast majority of bicycles in common use today. Everybody wanted a bicycle, whether they could afford it or not. Factories sprung up across the nation producing bicycles and their components. Milwaukee, with its expertise in manufacturing, was a natural center for the industry.
     By 1896, when this factory opened at the height of “Wheel Fever,” it was the largest in the northwest and one of 150 bicycle plants around the nation, together producing over 1,000 different makes, as demand soared into the millions of units. According to Milwaukee, a Half Century’s Progress, 1846-1896 the new plant, located six miles from downtown, was a marvel to behold. It sat on five acres, and included a test and a speeding track, as well as railroad access, which made such a remote plant economically viable for nationwide business. Entirely powered by steam, it employed 400 workers, including young Harley. Meiselbach was a “maker to the trade,” creating bicycles for the many brands out there, as well as producing a house brand bearing the catchy Meiselbach name. The workers were busy in 1896: “The demand for their machines is increasing at such an astonishing rate that the combined forces of the factories in the United States cannot satisfy the call.”
     In fact it was last call for the existing bicycle industry. Over-production, loose credit, a saturated market , mounting inventories of unsold goods and extreme price competition led to a crash. Bicycles that once sold for $100 went for $40. Meiselbach sold his interest in the business just two years later, in 1898. In 1899 the American Bicycle Company was organized, with the largest manufacturers banding together. Meiselbach was absorbed into the combine.
_*This cycle*_
  Almost 20 years later, in *1920-24 *a group from Chicago organized the_ *Shelby Cycle Frame Builders* _in a factory which was located at the site of the current Police Department building(Shelby ohio)...The company built bicycle frames that were shipped to other factories for enameling and assembling. In *1924*, factory superintendent Leon A. Smith and 18 others kept the factory open after stockholders abandoned the company. According to Drain, a year later, local businessman Joseph Seltzer invested in the plant and the company transitioned from just making bicycle frames to manufacturing whole bicycles. At its high point, the factory employed as many as 390 people and had $3 million in sales.


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## Archie Sturmer (Nov 5, 2021)

So, was the current police department building (Shelby), also in Milwaukee Wisconsin, or Milwaukie Oregon, or New England?


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## SKPC (Nov 5, 2021)

The *Shelby Cycle Company* later manufactured bicycles in Shelby, Ohio from* 1925 to 1953*... and in 1928 manufactured the well known Charles Lindbergh  "Lindy Flyer" bicycle.  Backer Joe Seltzer, who infused the company with an additional $250,000, became president. Factory superintendent Leon A. Smith brought back from Dayton three train-car loads of bicycle manufacturing equipment from the *Davis Sewing Machine C**o*.

             From "what's it worth", a Milwaukee publication.
     When the _A.D. Meiselbach_ bicycle factory opened on July 16, 1896, (Milwaukee) the two-building complex with 150,000 square feet of space on five acres was one of the largest factories outside the city limits. The nation’s bicycle craze was in full swing, and_ young William Harley, then 15_, got a job there, the future engineer rising rapidly to draftsman. After a few years he took his experience with him to Barth Bicycle Company, where he began to seriously pursue his plans for a motorized bicycle, leading to the launch of the Harley-Davidson in 1903.
     The Meiselbach plant structures still exist, spanning the addresses of 5070-5152 N. 35th St. The two principal buildings have long been under separate ownership, with the larger of the two, known as 5152 N. 35th St. serving as the headquarters of Stainless Foundry & Engineering Co., which has many buildings in the Old North Milwaukee neighborhood.
     Meiselbachs' Fork may or may not have changed to the more traditional fork style seen after 1924 on the *Shelby Cycle Company*'s offerings.


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