Leadheavy52
'Lil Knee Scuffer
Hi Austin,
I've been meaning to join here for a while, and this bike finally got me to...
The reinforcements on the frame are something you'd see on a Motorpacing bike, and the clip on the stem would be the upper clip for a stem support rod.
Most also has a seat support, and the wear on the paint right under the front end of the seat looks about right for a clamp that might have been loose for a while.
I've been looking for pics of one like this, which I think I've seen before, but I can't find it.
Pacing bikes are pretty special, and would have almost all been custom built. They got used fairly hard, and after a point, some got converted to being normal bikes either for training or just warmups.
They also got used for a long time, even much more recently.
I have a couple, one from the 20's or 30's And one from the 80's
The older one had a similar conversion, but they'd even removed the racing bars and put on flat bars. It had also been crashed heavily and had the steerer repaired with a solid steel slug and pins where it had cracked.
Here's a before and after pic of it as I bought it, and once I got it mostly fixed up. I don't have a stem support, as the fork isn't tapped for one It's original, so it was probably raced without it.
Steve Birmingham
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Thank you, Steve, for both the comments on my bicycle and for joining the forum as well. I was familiar with motorpace bicycling, but never figured mine was possibly used for that sport as well. Curious about the additional reinforcements and it makes sense to have more support than not when racing in this manner. Those guys must have had balls bigger than their chainrings to get into that sport. Between the accidents and deaths, I imagine riding behind an early century motorcycle was enough to make you pass out.
The fork that came on the bike is not drilled to receive the other end of a handlebar support rod, but I know that's likely not an original fork to the bicycle. At least I don't suspect it is. I am still in the process of getting the Pierce back together and will definitely be turning my research to the stayers of that era. I have been very gently cleaning and will hold off on the reassembly until the spring time. Another post that I posted in put my Pierce to the 1914 manufacture year, shortly before Pierce switched manufacture to Angola. I sure wish this bike could tell stories. It looks like it spent its fair share of time as an amateur racer's bike as well.
Do you have a better photo of how the seat support is attached at the seat on your bicycle? This may also provide clues.
- Austin