First post in the antique forum; 1908 Peerless.

[jpromo]

Not to make you feel bad but you just missed a pair of pedals on ebay by 2 days. It might be worth contacting the seller to make sure the buyer actually paid up.

Ha, that's typical! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[jpromo]

Nice bike, it looks like its a few years older than mine,

The peerless coaster brake was essentially a rebranded musselman armless, like what was used on the racycles and such.

That it does; same paint scheme and all, in about matching condition too. When looking around, that chainring seemed to turn up around 1912-14?

Riddle me this--is your rear wheel a steel clad too? I'd be shocked if this was an original feature of the "deluxe" bike mentioned in the ad. I get adding a coaster brake, but to have two different rims? Also, did clad hoops exist this early? I'd be thrilled to find this was original.

Here's the ad I keep referencing:

 

[jpromo]

It looks like the couple years' difference in our bikes consisted of a change in the Peerless hub. Here's that same 1908 ad:

 

[Coaster Brake]

Both wheels are steel clad, the front one was painted at some point and that protected the nickel.
I wish whoever painted the front would have done them both...
I think mine is around '10-'14 ish

 

[DonChristie]

great bike! glad a Caber got it. i also wanted it! nice it will be kept original!

 

[Wheeled Relics]

That bike has mystique. Everything about it is amazing. Looking at the other ought and teens peerless in this thread I’m curious about the forks. I have what might be a 1913 with reinforce rib mead type forks.originally it had the six arm peerless 26t chainring. I replaced that w six arm 16t ring from 1898 tandom partout.

 

[Archie Sturmer]

Makes one wonder about the Peerless Cycle Works Chicago and any connection to Sears Chicago.

Was PCW a Chicago jobber and/or an early coaster brake hub manufacturer?
Were circa ~1908 Sears’ Peerless bicycles built or assembled by a PCW Chicago?
Does the 1908 Sears catalog picture show a Peerless coaster brake hub built or designed by PCW?

Most Sears Peerless ads show the Davis #2 chain ring sprocket; the six-arms version was a Davis #8. (Not sure which sprockets were used on Sears Napoleon bicycles?).

 

[Archie Sturmer]

Thinking that the Sears Peerless with black paint, and a 6-arm (Davis number 8) sprocket might be of the earlier years, as the later catalogs list a “light” Brewster green, and then, later, a Moss green(?).

Shirley, any light green would be lighter than black?

Some earlier catalogs mention “Jet” black, but with white accents(?).

Thinking that the 6-arms (Davis #8) sprocket, might be a carryover from the last of the black and red Sears Elgin King models; or diamond-frame (non-motorbike) Napoleon models(?).