cyclingday
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
I’ve been working on a 1939 Elgin Twin-Bar lately, and a couple of things struck me about being unusual for its time.
The rear reflector is a specially housed plastic type made to fit the unusual shape of the peaked/gothic type fenders.
I was surprised to see the use of plastic this early, so I looked it up to see if I could find out when the first use of plastic reflectors started?
Although I didn’t come across any firm date/timeline, I did find out that this type of reflector was invented by a man named, Jonathan Cass Stimson.
And the new material he was using, was called, Stimsonite.
Hence the name of the reflector.
The other somewhat odd thing on this bike, was the use of a Philips head screw in the cast zinc head shroud.
My first thought, was that it was a replacement, but the timeline for its introduction does line up with the manufacture of this bicycle.
Nothing too earth shattering, but I just thought it odd, that some technological advancements took so long to become mainstream after they first appeared in practical use.
Another amazing example of cutting edge technology that showed up on the 1935 Elgin Bluebird, was it’s use of an Allen Head Capscrew in its streamlined handlebar stem.
That thing seemed to be from another planet at that time.
It took decades before the Allen Head Capscrew found widespread use in the industry.
These are just a few of the technological oddities for their time that I have noticed, so please feel free to add any others that you may have seen, that surprised you along the way.
The rear reflector is a specially housed plastic type made to fit the unusual shape of the peaked/gothic type fenders.
I was surprised to see the use of plastic this early, so I looked it up to see if I could find out when the first use of plastic reflectors started?
Although I didn’t come across any firm date/timeline, I did find out that this type of reflector was invented by a man named, Jonathan Cass Stimson.
And the new material he was using, was called, Stimsonite.
Hence the name of the reflector.
The other somewhat odd thing on this bike, was the use of a Philips head screw in the cast zinc head shroud.
My first thought, was that it was a replacement, but the timeline for its introduction does line up with the manufacture of this bicycle.
Nothing too earth shattering, but I just thought it odd, that some technological advancements took so long to become mainstream after they first appeared in practical use.
Another amazing example of cutting edge technology that showed up on the 1935 Elgin Bluebird, was it’s use of an Allen Head Capscrew in its streamlined handlebar stem.
That thing seemed to be from another planet at that time.
It took decades before the Allen Head Capscrew found widespread use in the industry.
These are just a few of the technological oddities for their time that I have noticed, so please feel free to add any others that you may have seen, that surprised you along the way.
