1915 Napoleon project

[PhilipJ]

Here are some pics of the work I've done to repair the back rim.

I still have some work to do on the rim fix. Afterward, I'm going to sand the rims and schellac them. I wanted to keep the bike as original as possible but the paint on the rims is pretty rough. Plus I really like the look of schellac on rims. I've rebuilt wood rims before and it's by far my favorite part of bringing TOC bikes back to life. I'm going to save it for last. Besides the rims I still have work to do on the hubs, rack, stand and the mounting hardware for the fenders.

Below is a pic of what the rims will look like finished.

Cheers,
Phil

 

[squeedals]

Is that an original high wheeler in the background??

 

[PhilipJ]

Yes. It's an 1888 Columbia 54".

 

[bricycle]

Nice work!

 

[Wheeled Relics]

Nice to see how the wood looks under the old red paint. Starting to think about wood wheels.

 

[willswares1220]

I like what you did with that preservation rather than a total, all out restoration to preserve the original paint & plating.

And, thanks for the recipe on cleaning!

 

[squeedals]

Yes. It's an 1888 Columbia 54".

Nice.........very nice...........

 

[ZOO]

Tank???

I never knew the napoleon had a tank in 1915.

 

[PhilipJ]

Does now.

 

[PhilipJ]

I'm sure there is someone more knowledgeable about this topic than me who could provide better feedback. But what I understand is during the teens tanks, along with a lot of other accessories, were options added to bikes.