# Help i.d. my new project? Schwinn or Mead?



## Kevauxtonic (Dec 11, 2017)

https://flic.kr/p/EgNNas https://flic.kr/p/CL4yAF [URL]https://flic.kr/p/214e2f2 [/URL]I bid on this sucker, after watching it go to auction twice, or maybe once and one time ‘buy it now’. https://flic.kr/p/22mktnC, https://flic.kr/p/22pyjdv, I honestly dont win auctions often, and somehow lucked out and beat all other bidders with my original bid (I won by $8.00)!! 
  So im still waiting for it to make its voyage down the long, long road from Cerritos, CA. to my front door in Bakersfield, CA. (3 hour drive at most, i think). Fingers crossed it arrives by the 24th so i have a gift to open with the family? In the meantime, can anyone tell me exactly what kind of frame/ and fork as the base for my whizzer project? On the listing, the seller said “schwinn? Mead? Unknown maker?”, but I wanted to say its not a Mead-because the steering tube has vertical holes tapped for the badge screws, and Mead-(at least the examples i looked at)-had a badge that was tapped into the tube horizontally. Poor way to identify, im sure, but that was my start. So i found similar bikes in my “OOP” vintage schwinn books that were almost DEAD ringers, except for one feature: the bars running from the seat tube, down to the rear dropouts, are arched a bit on my frame, and the closest I found was a Schwinn B-9/ B-10 (cant remember if its a “double diamond”), except the bars on the B-9 or B-10 seemed to be straight as all hell, & seemed to form TWO DIAMOND SHAPES on either side of the seat tube? So the plot thickens....
    The forks: I dont even know where to begin, but I think this was the typical deluxe fork before Arnold Schwinn patented the much loved springer in (39??)..or thereabouts?? In all of my 25+ years building/ riding/ restoring, i cant say that I ever learned too much or saw many of these type of fork, if ever?? Certainly NEVER with a cycle lock!? 
   I ran across a listing on ebay for a 37 or 39, straightbar, slightly camel-humped top bar, and the very same lack of a seat tube as mine. 

My best guess, AND IM NO EXPERT, is that it is absolutely a prewar Schwinn, due to:
1) the badge holes in steer tube
2) the rear dropouts on a schwinn mean it IS Pre-War, cause they went to the front dropout after production started again after WW2-(im probably off, but this is what i believed to be gospel) 
3) the welds are nice and smooth, and done in the typical Schwinn way-compared to my 40’s CWC Hawthorne (the luxury liner/ wes flyer model with the killer springers)-where they seemed to be almost “pressed” or “spot welded” or something? Like you can see that the frame is made from a few separate pieces of tubing electrically welded to one another. Whereas Schwinn frames seemingly looked to be produced with one continuous piece of steel tubing-by some Bastard aligator of a beast who could handle the tubing whilst redhot and bend it like a pretzel, into its final shape! But i know you guys will know what the differences in processes were, with the different companies producing bikes at this time? 
4) the forks i saw on the B-9 and B-10 were dead ringers for the ones on mine, (except didnt have a possible semi- gnarly couple degree bend backwards in them like mine do)
https://flic.kr/p/22pyfLv, https://flic.kr/p/21jjaGG
   Thats where Im at. Sorry for the long-winded questions/ answers...i just want to be as thorough as possible and provide everything ive found out thus far, & comparisons made.  
  Any, and ALL help is welcomed with OPEN ARMS!!! if anyone can tell me where i can take the forks to get the broken key removed, and rekeyed, Id appreciate it immensely as well!! Thank you fellow CABE members for such an amazing site like this-where those of us who grew up during the era when these were new-can ‘chew the fat’ with those of us who did not-where mutual respect is given, and much needed info (and sometimes parts and trade secrets) can be shared with one another without labeling the newbies as “poseurs”, or “wanna be’s”. I love this site, and am proud to be a part of it again.⚒⚒⚒


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## Kevauxtonic (Dec 14, 2017)

New to CABE, and got a bit talkative after taking a xanax the other night. No replies, so id like to start over. Thank you!

Kevauxtonic


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## ballooney (Dec 14, 2017)

Welcome. Post a pic of your bike here in the thread. The Flickr links require a login.  
Wes Pinchot can help you out with the broken key and replacement.


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## island schwinn (Dec 14, 2017)

Member Wes Pinchot can help with the fork lock.lack of response probably has to do with a lack of pictures.try posting up some good pics and you'll get some help.welcome and good luck.


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## Kevauxtonic (Dec 15, 2017)

Kevauxtonic said:


> New to CABE, and got a bit talkative after taking a xanax the other night. No replies, so i.d. like to start over. Thank you!
> 
> Kevauxtonic















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## Kevauxtonic (Dec 15, 2017)

island schwinn said:


> Member Wes Pinchot can help with the fork lock.lack of response probably has to do with a lack of pictures.try posting up some good pics and you'll get some help.welcome and good luck.




Thank you so much for the reply! Never have i felt more welcomed among a new group-EVER...!  many thanks for the info on the lock, and for the encouragement as well! I posted a couple of photos, and in the process of posting more. 


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## Kevauxtonic (Dec 15, 2017)

ballooney said:


> Welcome. Post a pic of your bike here in the thread. The Flickr links require a login.
> Wes Pinchot can help you out with the broken key and replacement.




Thank you so much for the broken key info, and for welcoming me amongst the ranks! Ive posted a few pics and am in the process of posting more. It seems that i cant attach more than 2 or 3 pics on here without the app shutting down on me, resulting in a loss of all my pics and text? But im trying my best! 


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## GTs58 (Dec 15, 2017)

Here's one that showed up here a week ago or so. Big Moe's frame. Has the straight seat stay though.


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## Kevauxtonic (Dec 16, 2017)

GTs58 said:


> Here's one that showed up here a week ago or so. Big Moe's frame. Has the straight seat stay though.
> 
> View attachment 725197
> 
> View attachment 725198



Oh wow! Thats really different looking! Did it start out with only one top cross-bar (cant think what the proper term is), or did it have two-a second connecting from the steertube, down to the seat-like a panther, or a DX? Do you know what year that frame is? Thank you for the pics!


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## ZE52414 (Dec 16, 2017)

34-35ish. He's actually selling it in the for Sale section.


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## Cooper S. (Dec 17, 2017)

Looks to me like a 36 schwinn frame


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## Kevauxtonic (Dec 19, 2017)

Cooper S. said:


> Looks to me like a 36 schwinn frame




Any idea what model it could be? 36 motorbike/ autocycle/ etc.? Thank you very much for the info @Cooper S.! Your info (and all the info ive recieved) is indispensable....and I am honored to belong to such a community as ours! 


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## Kevauxtonic (Dec 21, 2017)

Bump


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## bikemonkey (Dec 21, 2017)

Kevauxtonic said:


> Bump



You may want to consider this device at some point...


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## Kevauxtonic (Dec 22, 2017)

bikemonkey said:


> You may want to consider this device at some point...
> 
> View attachment 727435



Ive been trying to find a cheap, sure fire way to straighten my forks, and ive not seen this method used before? What is this contraption called, or what does it consist of? I was relieved to find that the awful bend wasnt in the threaded steer-tube, but in the blades (legs?). Seeing as Im basically right at the poverty line-are there any “easy peasey” way to get them back into semi-alignment? Thank you for the reply @Bikermaniac


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## RustySprockets (Dec 22, 2017)

I saw that you were listed in Bakersfield, so I made a quick search of bike co-operatives that serve that area.  You might want to check out the folks at  BikeBakersfield and see if they have/lend a fork straightening tool called the "Little Brute."  My co-op here in Baltimore has one and it looks like a mutated bumper jack...but it gets the job done. Give them a call--us bike lovers are a friendly, helpful lot.  At a shop rental rate of $2 per hour, I don't see how you can go wrong.

http://bikebakersfield.org/bike-kitchen/


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## Cooper S. (Dec 22, 2017)

Kevauxtonic said:


> Any idea what model it could be? 36 motorbike/ autocycle/ etc.? Thank you very much for the info @Cooper S.! Your info (and all the info ive recieved) is indispensable....and I am honored to belong to such a community as ours!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Motorbike. If you just google pictures of each you should be able to tell, mostly in the down tube. (The bottom most tube)


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## bikemonkey (Dec 22, 2017)

Kevauxtonic said:


> View attachment 727671
> I've been trying to find a cheap, sure fire way to straighten my forks, and ive not seen this method used before? What is this contraption called, or what does it consist of? I was relieved to find that the awful bend wasnt in the threaded steer-tube, but in the blades (legs?). Seeing as Im basically right at the poverty line-are there any “easy peasey” way to get them back into semi-alignment? Thank you for the reply @Bikermaniac



In my setup I am using a cheap bottle jack from Harbor Freight, a front axle, and some two by fours. Don't know if it will work for you. Sometimes it is risky straightening these forks as they may later fail at the fork crown without warning. I have never seen a Schwinn/Ashtabula fork fail after straightening and we repaired a bunch over the years.
The co-op mentioned by _RustySprockets_ sound like a great resource - hope you can get things straightened out.


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## RustySprockets (Dec 24, 2017)

A second, less accurate method of straightening a fork at home is to spin it around backwards, then use a common ratchet strap to "pull" the axle assembly _toward_ the bottom bracket, rather than push it away as Bikemonkey has pictured.  Just pointing out that there are solutions...some of 'em better than others.


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## bikemonkey (Dec 24, 2017)

RustySprockets said:


> A second, less accurate method of straightening a fork at home is to spin it around backwards, then use a common ratchet strap to "pull" the axle assembly _toward_ the bottom bracket, rather than push it away as Bikemonkey has pictured.  Just pointing out that there are solutions...some of 'em better than others.



A third less accurate way is to turn the fork backwards and ram the wheel into a fence post (a solution I saw mentioned on the net that was employed after a particular nasty accident while touring).


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