# 1919 arch bar



## 56 Vette (Dec 14, 2015)

Picked this one up yesterday, sitting in a garage in Marion Ohio since the early 70's. Badged as a Thistle by the Beckley & Ralston Co Chicaco. Very little info out there on that company, other than golf clubs and auto parts, and some info from lowlux. The chainring and serial # pattern lead me to believe it's 1919 Davis made, but any other info would be appreciated. Original owner WCorians is etched and stamped on bottom bracket and Jul 15 1919 stamped also. Serial # appears to be 516853 parallel to the chain ring with a 9 close to the middle of bottom bracket. Wheels, pedals, stem, gripsView attachment 258226, fender braces, and saddle are wrong, fenders also, maybe. Any info on correct parts would be helpful, this one will be a period correct refurbish to ride and Enjoy. Possible connection to President Harding, but not holding my breath on that one! Lol. Thanks Joe.View attachment 258227View attachment 258228


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## 56 Vette (Dec 14, 2015)

The badge.


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## hoofhearted (Dec 14, 2015)

*56 Vette ... how 'bout more pics .. whole bicycle
viewed from chain side ... chainring .. front fork blades ..
under crankcase (numbers distribution) ... any other
part of frame, please.

Two of your attachments do not open within your text.

THANKS .......*



...... patric


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## bricycle (Dec 14, 2015)

Being a new Arch lover, great score!!!  Yea, saddle, stem fenders braces, pedals, grips added


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## 56 Vette (Dec 14, 2015)

Here's a few more pics, not sure why others didn't load. Thanks Joe. Any other pics I'd be happy to get.


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## bricycle (Dec 14, 2015)

If for some reason you part with her I will give her a good home.


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## 56 Vette (Dec 14, 2015)

bricycle said:


> If for some reason you part with her I will give her a good home.



No problem Bricycle, I will keep you in mind. Having a ball poking around about the history on this one for now. Also just just really enjoy looking at it with the graceful lines. Joe


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## bricycle (Dec 14, 2015)

Thank you Joe. Maybe strip the bottom of BB area to see what all the messages are...


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## Goldenindian (Dec 15, 2015)

*1917 B&R arch bar*

You may have seen my 1917 catalog floating around. The Thistle is in there and it looks real close. 

The finish options are
Canary Yellow with black head and mast!!! 
optional color:
Black with single panel gold stripe. 

Well hope this helps

Also, look at the last line. Not Chicago, Dayton Ohio, which is probably why all the bicycle look to be Davis parts......


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## Goldenindian (Dec 15, 2015)

It looks to me Fenders /seat/handlebar stem/wheels and tires, are not correct. The 1917 catalog will help  Your machine looks like the black options, but could be a repaint. If you decide to restore, let me know, I can help with seat tube decal. Its a small thing but an important one; let me know. Yellow and black would be pretty cool.


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## 56 Vette (Dec 15, 2015)

Outstanding! Goldenindian, awesome info to have, I agree the yellow and black would look great. Thank you so much for posting, there is very limited info for Beckley Ralston on the net. This info will definitely help get this one close to where it needs to be. Thanks again! Joe


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## 56 Vette (Dec 16, 2015)

Really don't have a lot of time to give this arch bar right now with all of the Christmas things going on, let alone cutting wood, and redoing 2 bedrooms.Life,huh! I took a rag soaked with goof off to the fork, and sure seems like nickel plating under the black paint. This one will have to wait til after new year's, but pretty excited to get my hands on it a little. Joe


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## shoe3 (Dec 21, 2015)

Bike is totally sweet, would give birth to ride it, i am male


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## bricycle (Dec 21, 2015)

With fork legs like that, may have been Mead built.


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## filmonger (Dec 21, 2015)

Didn't Tillie Anderson ride for the thistle team?


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## Goldenindian (Dec 21, 2015)

nickel fork

It does say, in the specs in the catalog, nickel plated fork. I know this is a mead trait and the catalog is Chicago, but the only other bicycles they sell are Dayton's of Ohio and on most models say they come from Ohio. Davis and Mead parts???? Sure looks that why. Beckley and Ralston assembled bicycles???


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## catfish (Dec 21, 2015)

Nice catalog! Thanks for posting. 



Goldenindian said:


> You may have seen my 1917 catalog floating around. The Thistle is in there and it looks real close.
> 
> The finish options are
> Canary Yellow with black head and mast!!!
> ...


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## Nick-theCut (Dec 22, 2015)

Cool bike.  Has great bones.  It just seems that many Chicago bike companies had similar parts, i.e. Mead looking fork.  It's quite possible these types of similarities come from that they could all be surplus and bought by these smaller bicycle assemblers.  I quickly speculate, that is all.  Very cool catalog.


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## 56 Vette (Dec 22, 2015)

Thanks for all the different insight on this one, trying to unlock the mystery these old bikes hold is a pretty fascinating task. I've got a lot to learn, and sometimes a comment here or there sends me to another source to look for info. If I'm correct that's what a forum is for and the cabe is an excellent source for all of us to learn and bounce things off each other. Thanks again I appreciate it! Joe


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## filmonger (Dec 23, 2015)




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## rideahiggins (Dec 25, 2015)

I have one of those chain rings. Unfortunately someone ground off the shorter teeth.


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## tocbike (Dec 25, 2015)

if you decide to sell, I would also be interested in it


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## 56 Vette (Apr 7, 2017)

Wow, can't believe it's been this long and I still don't have this one done! Oh wait, that's right, I got schooled on how parts for these verses parts for Schwinns are so readily available!! Lol. Just found a another piece to the puzzle today, maybe not 100% correct, but pretty close. So far I have been able to track down Davis pedals, short sided Davis fenders, and braces to fit them, wood clad wheels with morrow hubs, and today a saddle. With swap season coming up, I may just be able to get this one on the road again! I will post some pics maybe next week when I have the parts all organized. Joe


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## The Admiral (Apr 8, 2017)

56 Vette said:


> Wow, can't believe it's been this long and I still don't have this one done! Oh wait, that's right, I got schooled on how parts for these verses parts for Schwinns are so readily available!! Lol. Just found a another piece to the puzzle today, maybe not 100% correct, but pretty close. So far I have been able to track down Davis pedals, short sided Davis fenders, and braces to fit them, wood clad wheels with morrow hubs, and today a saddle. With swap season coming up, I may just be able to get this one on the road again! I will post some pics maybe next week when I have the parts all organized. Joe




I'm also trying to restore a Davis built bike right now and you're right...parts are super hard to find!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cyclingday (Apr 8, 2017)

Here's a catalog entry from the 1921 Beckley -Ralston Co.
Just a few subtle option changes from the 1917 edition, but that's about it.


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## rustyspoke66 (Apr 8, 2017)

Cool, canary yellow!!


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