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53 schwinn traveler
- Thread starter Spacecowboy
- Start date
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rennfaron
Wore out three sets of tires already!
Just interesting I have never seen this once on a Traveler and I have seen hundreds of examples. Those side red bands, assuming they light up from the hole you can kind of see through on the red material, is unique to these types of lights you usually find on Travelers. Cool find.
Oilit
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
I believe this was the article, looks like it may be the same one you quoted.
www.marwi-eu.com
MARWI | History of Union
www.marwi-eu.com
Spacecowboy
Look Ma, No Hands!
The light does shine through a bit, local slow roll ride tested. Got the full 30 lumens going on.
Didn't know that about the brake pads, thanks.
They were positioned as in the picture, with words down and openings at the rear.
All I've ever used are ones that are crimped over on all four sides. The ones on the bike now are 60s john bull no.25, rear are 70s shimano. They're the only black ones I had available at the time.
Yea, I had figured the light was added later. They had mentioned it stopped working, guess it was probaly when the rear light got damaged.
I had just picked up a crusty 63 this summer, except the stainless fenders. So that's where I just started reading up on them. Unfortunately there's no room for 63 anymore, except the fenders.
Hadn't noticed the wear down on the hub, good catch. Yea I didn't clean that hub either, the bike was quite clean when listed. Except the chrome.
Was lucky to have had picked up a pair of "city or mustasche bars" at the last bg swap. Only bought them because they were different from north road bars. Couldnt believe they matched the same straight back angle of the original set.
Didn't know that about the brake pads, thanks.
They were positioned as in the picture, with words down and openings at the rear.
All I've ever used are ones that are crimped over on all four sides. The ones on the bike now are 60s john bull no.25, rear are 70s shimano. They're the only black ones I had available at the time.
Yea, I had figured the light was added later. They had mentioned it stopped working, guess it was probaly when the rear light got damaged.
I had just picked up a crusty 63 this summer, except the stainless fenders. So that's where I just started reading up on them. Unfortunately there's no room for 63 anymore, except the fenders.
Hadn't noticed the wear down on the hub, good catch. Yea I didn't clean that hub either, the bike was quite clean when listed. Except the chrome.
Was lucky to have had picked up a pair of "city or mustasche bars" at the last bg swap. Only bought them because they were different from north road bars. Couldnt believe they matched the same straight back angle of the original set.
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Spacecowboy
Look Ma, No Hands!
Yes, that is the same light kit, except the rear. The second picture is the same light kit. The rear in the first set is more similar to a miller 53r. The melas ltik049 rear has a smaller bulb holder that comes in from the wheel side. I tried swapping one in from a miller one. The hole is about an 1/8th too small.
Adding in, the first tail light looks more like the ptr-023 or 29 prewar model.
Adding in, the first tail light looks more like the ptr-023 or 29 prewar model.
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Spacecowboy
Look Ma, No Hands!
found an ebay ad with a company history of Melas. I copied the text for after the link expires. I couldn't find the ad on the app, just from a search engine and a web page.
"MELAS logo (around 1949)The pre-WWII logo was still in use in the late 1940s.
i seem to have found where he originally got this info from.
The Melas brand seems to have become Rebo lighting and electronics Gmbh in current times. So possibly Union didn't get the lights, only the pedal reflector biz in the 37 purchase. The rebo link explains alot more than the snippet above.
www.rebo-group.de
Melas Ptr 23 Strut Taillight Well Preserved ca.1935 Prewar Real Glass | eBay
The was founded Metal goods factory Alfred Schwarz in Eisenach in 1907 and the product range already included all parts of bicycle lighting in various designs before the Second World War. 1937 became MELAS taken over by the company Union. After 1945 the company was put under Soviet management...
www.ebay.com
"MELAS logo (around 1949)The pre-WWII logo was still in use in the late 1940s.
- until approx. 1946 metaloil factory Alfred Sblack
- 1947 "Melas" LEB electric vehicle accessories vorm. Metallwerk A. Schwarz, Eisenach/Thür.
i seem to have found where he originally got this info from.
The Melas brand seems to have become Rebo lighting and electronics Gmbh in current times. So possibly Union didn't get the lights, only the pedal reflector biz in the 37 purchase. The rebo link explains alot more than the snippet above.
Unternehmensgeschichte | Rebo Lighting & Electronics GmbH
www.rebo-group.de
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John D. Williams
Finally riding a big boys bike
Not to complicate matters, but I just restored and sold a '52 World Traveler that had a Lohmanns front and rear light and generator. It looked stock to me. Here are pics.
Spacecowboy
Look Ma, No Hands!
Nice looking bike , thanks for posting. I wouldn't doubt the setup is original, I was just referring to mine as matching up to the one particular advertisement.
Have seen others for 53 with the superior fenders and different lights. There are atleast 3 different generator lights shown, plus there was also the dynohub option. Attaching those adverts. Am not indicating one light is more correct than another, just that the one I got with the bike happened to match the look of the one ad. If ya check out the second ad it also features the quadrant shifter, so the image is obviously recycled from before the traveler model.
Haven't heard of Lohman before, much like Melas. I suppose there were quite a few companies at first. I like rear on the fender light, been considering the modern alternate.
It seems my melas rear light version is very common on ebay de, but not so much on the ebay here.
Have also found that Reynolds made a similar alloy handlebar called the "north road, flat" Btw.
Have seen others for 53 with the superior fenders and different lights. There are atleast 3 different generator lights shown, plus there was also the dynohub option. Attaching those adverts. Am not indicating one light is more correct than another, just that the one I got with the bike happened to match the look of the one ad. If ya check out the second ad it also features the quadrant shifter, so the image is obviously recycled from before the traveler model.
Haven't heard of Lohman before, much like Melas. I suppose there were quite a few companies at first. I like rear on the fender light, been considering the modern alternate.
It seems my melas rear light version is very common on ebay de, but not so much on the ebay here.
Have also found that Reynolds made a similar alloy handlebar called the "north road, flat" Btw.
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rennfaron
Wore out three sets of tires already!
Ads #2 and #3 shown, which are basically the same illustration of the Traveler, are concepts as far as I know. I've never found a Traveler setup with those decals, chain ring or fenders. The concept looks like a mashup of a late 40s/early 50s Continental and a Traveler. Maybe at some point they thought the Traveler would look more like that, but it didn't. It would be a nice looking Traveler if they did.
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