C. C. Schultz
Look Ma, No Hands!
Hi,
I’m hoping someone has a late 1920s to late 1930s Ariel, BSA or Raleigh ladies bike. I have a ladies bike that other CABE members have been able to provide information on. The bike was recently repainted so the colours are not the original ones and the tires are new.
What I have learned is my bike is likely a WWll era rebuild, apparently this was a practice at that time to support the war effort. It is a conglomeration of the parts of many bicycles. The chain wheel is likely a Huffman, the saddle is a Troxel, the fenders, wheels and chain guard are 1940’s era and may be european. The handlebars and head lamp anchor were likely 1920s or 1930s.
The bike frame could be a 1928 Raleigh, a late 1930’s BSA or a late 1920’s Ariel. It would be the british Ariel and not the maker from Goshen Indianna. It has a serial number C12159 on the seat tube top below the seat.
There is an online list for Raleigh serial numbers and while it doesn’t state the letter C was ever used as a prefix, if it had been this would have occurred in 1928. There is an Ariel serial number prefix resource but it is for motorcycles, I couldn’t locate one for bikes. A historical source on BSA bicycles stated there is no serial number list available.
I believe it is more likely to be a BSA or Ariel bike as the photos of those more closely resemble this bike’s frame. The forks and seat stay don’t resemble those of either three manufacturers but they could have been replaced in a rebuild.
I am hoping someone has a late 1930’s BSA, late 1920’s Ariel or 1928 Raleigh ladies model and could verify if the serial number is close to mine.
As a side note, I also learned the handle grips are likely worth 10x the value of the rest of the bike!
Thanks
Clark
I’m hoping someone has a late 1920s to late 1930s Ariel, BSA or Raleigh ladies bike. I have a ladies bike that other CABE members have been able to provide information on. The bike was recently repainted so the colours are not the original ones and the tires are new.
What I have learned is my bike is likely a WWll era rebuild, apparently this was a practice at that time to support the war effort. It is a conglomeration of the parts of many bicycles. The chain wheel is likely a Huffman, the saddle is a Troxel, the fenders, wheels and chain guard are 1940’s era and may be european. The handlebars and head lamp anchor were likely 1920s or 1930s.
The bike frame could be a 1928 Raleigh, a late 1930’s BSA or a late 1920’s Ariel. It would be the british Ariel and not the maker from Goshen Indianna. It has a serial number C12159 on the seat tube top below the seat.
There is an online list for Raleigh serial numbers and while it doesn’t state the letter C was ever used as a prefix, if it had been this would have occurred in 1928. There is an Ariel serial number prefix resource but it is for motorcycles, I couldn’t locate one for bikes. A historical source on BSA bicycles stated there is no serial number list available.
I believe it is more likely to be a BSA or Ariel bike as the photos of those more closely resemble this bike’s frame. The forks and seat stay don’t resemble those of either three manufacturers but they could have been replaced in a rebuild.
I am hoping someone has a late 1930’s BSA, late 1920’s Ariel or 1928 Raleigh ladies model and could verify if the serial number is close to mine.
As a side note, I also learned the handle grips are likely worth 10x the value of the rest of the bike!
Thanks
Clark
