Alienbaby17
Finally riding a big boys bike
A friend sent me a text yesterday and asked me if I wanted a pair of “old cruiser frames.” Initially I saw one was a Silver King and told him he could probably sell it for some real cash. He insisted that he was too busy to deal with it and told me if I could make a buck on it that I could have it. I couldn’t turn that down and got in the car.
When I got there I noticed right away that the frame had been repaired twice and rather crudely at that. I’d come across town at that point and I’d never had a Silver King so I still gladly accepted the frames. The repairs are ugly but probably solid. If I was going to ride it I would leave them alone. If I was just going to display it I might be tempted to clean them up.
The frame is a Hawthorne badged bike. I understand they were made my Monark Silver King and are very similar to the Monark branded bikes.
I have some questions.
I was under the impression that Silver Kings were maybe exclusively or almost exclusively all 24” bikes. This seems bigger than a 24” bike. When I measured the frame it looks like it’s about 18.5” (see photo) Am I measuring it wrong or is this a 26” bike?
The serial number is near (not directly under) the crank. (See photo). I looked this up and for Monark bikes it looks like it falls somewhere between 1937 and 1938. Does that seem correct?
If I wanted to complete this bike would it have had a Monark sprocket or inch-pitch Hawthorne sprocket?
Still not sure what I will do with it but I’m kind of excited about it.
Thanks for any help.
When I got there I noticed right away that the frame had been repaired twice and rather crudely at that. I’d come across town at that point and I’d never had a Silver King so I still gladly accepted the frames. The repairs are ugly but probably solid. If I was going to ride it I would leave them alone. If I was just going to display it I might be tempted to clean them up.
The frame is a Hawthorne badged bike. I understand they were made my Monark Silver King and are very similar to the Monark branded bikes.
I have some questions.
I was under the impression that Silver Kings were maybe exclusively or almost exclusively all 24” bikes. This seems bigger than a 24” bike. When I measured the frame it looks like it’s about 18.5” (see photo) Am I measuring it wrong or is this a 26” bike?
The serial number is near (not directly under) the crank. (See photo). I looked this up and for Monark bikes it looks like it falls somewhere between 1937 and 1938. Does that seem correct?
If I wanted to complete this bike would it have had a Monark sprocket or inch-pitch Hawthorne sprocket?
Still not sure what I will do with it but I’m kind of excited about it.
Thanks for any help.