1923 ?? Ladies Mead Ranger - From forgotten to ridden 3 week resurrection - with BONUS 1924 Mens Mead Ranger Superbe - Double Resurrection

[cyclonecoaster.com]

Well here is the "as found" pic of my current project - a ladies odd color black & dark red with gold pins 1923 Mead Ranger that I have had for about three weeks at this point -

BONUS build - a Mens 1924 Mead Ranger Superbe back burner resurrection - By finding her diamond in the rough it inspired me to get this one back on the road to ride alongside hers

I started with the Ladies - Ladies 1st as they say - then if I had the time I would get mine together

The goal on this one is to make it a rider using the original hubs with modeln Velocity Blunt style aluminum replacement rims with a faux original finish to the wheel set since the petrified US Rubber Co. tires & wood wheels would not every ride again.

To completely restore this bicycle - out of the question - tastefully embrace what needs to be refinished is the goal here as if was " new " - so make it a rider with a wheels - tires - a seat & refresh the fenders - service the moving parts & add a basket for the puppies

First pic is what this project started as ....

 

[cyclonecoaster.com]

The original paint was strong on the frame - dark red & black with thin gold pins - Nickel plating had seen better days on the bars & stem - but the fork crown & center rib were hanging in there along with the crank set

The fenders would need some help ... I was lucky enough to find a NOS black fender set from a friend at the Long Beach Vets Swapmeet the next morning after I picked this bicycle up though

I painted the center ridge on the stepped fenders & had Tom Clark do the fine gold pins as seen below

 

[Archie Sturmer]

Nice work.
I have seen some Mead/Premier bikes that looked to have been Davis-built, with that black & accent paint, versus golden brown.

1923 seems fairly-late for the ribbed forks w/ forged crown; how was the date determined?

We also notice that the decal is not the latter one (with the patent dates up to 1922).

Also, does the chain ring front sprocket look like the pre-1918 pattern?

 

[cyclonecoaster.com]

Yes the ribbed fork is odd with that crown - BUT the mens 1924 also has a ribbed center ridge down its fork with the later style top crown & that is rendered in the Mead 1924 catalog

Hard to find info on it .. I was going by original hubs .. ND Model A rear & the ND front hub on the wooden wheel set ... I don't have much in the earlier bikes .. I am just going by what I can find from the local experts in the area that know more than I do & the forums .. The chainring is machined on both sides along the outside & it uses the wider standard pitch chain ... The Mens Mead has a lot of the same features but its a simple tankless diamond frame like a modern 10 speed shape the Mead Ranger Superbe model .. I will post a pic of that one too

 

[cyclonecoaster.com]

 

[cyclonecoaster.com]

Here is the original wood front wheel and hub …

And here is the modem interpretation I replaced it with .. velocity blunt style hoops with my color match center dark red & thin gold pinstripes by Tom Clark

 

[markivpedalpusher]

Well done Frank - A beautiful bike in person !!

 

[cyclonecoaster.com]

The modern replacement Velocity Blunt aluminum period correct profile wheel was masked off much like the fenders ... then Tom Clark in action making the wheel look like the original ... it's difficult to capture the metallic gold pins they look solid gold/yellow in the pics ... but yes they are metallic gold in person

The wheels were laced up using double butted black finish stainless spokes with Torrington original finish spoke nipples … then new tubes - rim strips & my choice in tires for this build a ginger colored tire with a interesting tread design that I haven't seen used by anyone yet - plus I could make them tubeless if I wanted to

 

[cyclonecoaster.com]

Nice work.
I have seen some Mead/Premier bikes that looked to have been Davis-built, with that black & accent paint, versus golden brown.

1923 seems fairly-late for the ribbed forks w/ forged crown; how was the date determined?

We also notice that the decal is not the latter one (with the patent dates up to 1922).

Also, does the chain ring front sprocket look like the pre-1918 pattern?

@Archie Sturmer ...Yes the ribbed fork is odd with that crown - do you have any literature on what years they were used - I know in later Mead bicycle such as the balloon bicycle built Meads, well the Schwinn built Mead bicycles were odd with earlier & end lot parts / surplus parts on later bicycles built .. maybe this was the case from the beginning bring the price point down for Mead - just an observation

Here is a pic of the chainring before cleaning it up .. old dirt & grease built up over the nickel plating ..with the same crank arm as the mens 1924 I have
.

 

[cyclonecoaster.com]

Here are the Ladies & mens chainrings sided by side .. The ladies has the guard that now blocks it .. but refer to the last post for the comparison ... The mens is flipped around with the chain drive on the outside face chain drive & not machined on both sides with the chain drive in the center as the rendering from the 1924 catalog shows & the ladies is ..