When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Faux TOC's

#eBayPartner    Most Recent BUY IT NOW Items Listed on eBay
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
Again, this is a fact finding mission, I need to wait until at least the fall, but please keep the suggestions coming, they are very helpful.

I see some of these old bikes have a bend in the top tube, why?

More questions to come...

JB
As well as the excellent reason from @Archie Sturmer, the reasoning behind frame shape was often purely to make any particular manufacturers product stand out from the crowd.
So the 'cool' kid could show off that he had the latest product.

When one manufacturer invented a design it was frequently copied; Iver Johnsons "truss-bridge" design probably being one of the most replicated unusual designs for example.
There must be at least a 100 different versions known of this I reckon.
And from the Model 908 'Arch-Bar' pictured in the line up above it's still being replicated.

In reality there is little difference between any of the myriad frame style variations unless you are a pretty serious racer and are going down the Velodrome route, but most of these are incredibly uncomfortable to use for more than a couple of miles.
I would stick to the basic diamond safety frame for a comfortable ride, pretty much unchanged since its inception in the late 1880's, something in steel with a nice rake on the forks for a leisurely, laid-back, shock absorbing ride.
 
Excellent, thank you for the heads up: it wasn't until last week I even knew IJ made bikes. Hmmm? I just looked it up on Wikipedia, very cool, he was Norwegian, from Bergen: did you know that it should be pronounced Eever Yonson?

I'm liking the look of the bikes from the mid to late 90's, those are ones that have caught my eye the most. I'm thinking maybe I can make/fabricate my own handle bars, and just paint them silver to emulate the look, then I'll need a funky gooseneck too, hmmmm?

I really want an acetylene head lamp, did they have red tail lamps like that too?

JB
 
I understand the track bike, I think, dropped bars and no brakes, fixed gears. What makes a "roadster"? and what other kinds did they have? Was the roadster what would become a "cruiser"?

JB
 
Since the TOC-bikes were so tall, what's it like mounting and dismounting them? I see where the way most people do it is to start from a roll and throw your leg over cowboy-style: I'm afraid I don't have the coordination for that...

JB
 
I've always wanted an arch/truss bike, but they're beyond my crumbs budget! I bought a rough '64 Schwinn frame that was a Racer or Traveler, with a few flecks of coppertone paint left. It'll make a cool truss bike, if I ever get around to it!
 
Do it! Here's one I built a few years ago out of junk.
eyzklN7.jpg
 
Was the roadster what would become a "cruiser"?
Not really. Cruiser is just a late 1970s term for "Ballooner". Ballooner's originated at Schwinn in 1933, with smaller diameter fatter tires (26x2.125), and removable inner tubes for easier flat repairs. They were originally marketed for kids. It created a craze that changed the whole American bike industry.

There was a resurgence of interest in the late 1970s, and the available "Ballooner" or "Cruiser" type bikes were all used and decades old. The American manufacturers started making them again.

Today, no one seems to know what it means and when you see a used "Cruiser" advertised, it could be literally any type of bicycle.
 
Back
Top