1892 sterling track bike find.

[walter branche]

londenberry

search out information on annie londonberry ,first women to ride around the world ,, she was given a 1894 sterling mans bicycle ,, to make the trip ,, you will see there are not adjustable handlebars on sterlings ,, .. so far i can only find the adjustable feature on 1896 tandem bikes,, also that crank set up with the extra sprocket is not a factory setup ,,. if you were racing ,you would not add weight ,,i am not trying to be critical of your bike ,, only trying to teach,that there are many differences in dating a machine ,,.your nameplate is a later issue ,,your hubs are similar ,,only of a later issue ,, i have owned 6 sterling bikes ,, and never have i seen a set of adjustable handlebars ,, that was probably done buy the restoration person ,, all of the measurements on the sterling were odd ,, so that you could not interchange parts from other bikes ,,.. [email protected]

 

[redline1968]

areocycles were all red and silver right. comparing a racer to a standard is hard to do. the frame matches the copeke bike in design and parts are very similar if not on. as for the adjustable bars, fixed racing bars makes no sense. the bike is and will be a sterling and frame diameter is concurrent with a early track bike with what i have allready. still the is no reason for it have a different badge since it was restored along time ago. when value was not a concern. it could be original as far as i know. i did look at the pictures and there is some type of indication on top of the bars. but it just a drawing not a photo. and this is a rare bike.

 

[redline1968]

after a carfull look at the bike, you'll notice on the chain ring, it has the same adapter as mine. look carfully you'll see a outline on it.. next the bars are standard not racing and the frame apperars the same as mine in thickness. of course this is from a old print. mark

 

[runningbarre]

Wow! I don't believe I have seen such a bike before. High quality ! First rate!

 

[redline1968]

thank you very much.. i did some reserch and found the part on the chain ring is called a " sprocket wheel" it is patented in 1892. this was used to make the bike faster. and in further research i found that the pope company did have a adjustable sterring head similar to mine in a patent of 1887. its interesting to read to weird patents. if any one cares, take a look at them. they help in some of the dating on bikes. mark

 

[redline1968]

if you read the article on the woman the bike was 21lb's. just weighed mine 23lb's too close to be off. cool........

 

[Claysgarage]

Is the frame aluminum?

 

[redline1968]

no, its all old steel. amazing technology for the time. mark

 

[pelletman]

The bicycle industry of the 1890's was the automotive industry of its day.

 

[Andrew Gorman]

Bicycles and sewing machines made 20th century industry/manufacturing possible-mass production of sturdy, precision and lightweight parts on a scale unimaginable a decade or two earlier. Firearms had a role to play as well, but the domestic products were made in far greater quantities.