Help Dating my old Elgin

[Archie Sturmer]

Thanks for the tips so far; there IS a stamp serial number on the underside of the bottom bracket; looks like a “T 681” or “T 687” last number is hard to make out. So what does this tell us???

I believe that the “T” prefix indicates a 1932 motorbike built by Snyder at Little Falls NY.

 

[HarveyRanch]

I was able to clean some crust off the rear hub enough to read it; The writing is Stamp side to side not around the hub like one of the previous photos. says 36 13 at top, then the writing, then what appears to be a
“B 3” possibly below?

 

[gkeep]

What ISO/BSD are the tires that fit these G&J clincher rims, I might have a set I can use on my bike if I get tires for them. OP said 27X1-1/4" on this one.

Great find that will clean up beautifully! Congrats!

The iso size for these is 642mm. If they’re clincher G&J rims there are two choices for riding tires, Vee Rubber makes a 642x37 mm tire I’ve been using on my teens Pierce for about 8 years. Better option is the Rubena 635mm tires that don’t have a wire bead. I spent 45 minutes this morning removing one of the old crusty Vee Rubber tires. The stiff wire beads can be a nightmare getting them on or off,
I just received Rubenas from PecoBikes in Slovakia last week. Nobody stocks this size in North America, you have to order from Europe or Australia. There is a thread dedicated to tire options for these rims.
Surprisingly the tires made it from Slovakia to California in one week by mail.

This is how far I got with my park steel tire levers after twenty minutes 😬 finally gave up and cut the wire bead since the tires are falling apart anyway.

These are the bead less Rubenas that a lot of folks use on their 28” G&J steel clincher rims.

I ordered a set of brown for my Pierce and my neighbor wanted two sets in black for his 1928 Motobike. They also come in red and cream but the cream ones have not been available for a few years.

 

[JBone]

That is a really awesome bicycle find... Congratulations!!!

 

[gkeep]

Here's the thread all about tires for these rims. https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/official-g-j-clincher-rims-thread.188936/.

 

[HarveyRanch]

I believe that the “T” prefix indicates a 1932 motorbike built by Snyder at Little Falls NY.

How do you know that the “T” represents 1932? please explain, and again thank you for the continued information!!

 

[Mercian]

Hi @HarveyRanch

That's nice, an early dated Morrow hub. I've not seen one in this early format before.

Here's a 1917/18 one I own, the stamping is side to side, like yours, but the format is a little different, and gives the full patent dates. By the time yours was made, the patents would have expired.:

So, yours is a 36 13, which is a typical number of holes and spoke gauge.

B3 is July to Sept (Quarter 3) of 1932. Codes start at A1 in 1931.

This links nicely with @Archie Sturmer 's date of 1932 for the frame, and it seems likely that it is the original hub. If this is the case, since the hub needed to be made and then delivered to Snyder, then the earliest the bike could have been completed is July 1932.

Best Regards,

Adrian

 

[HarveyRanch]

Hi @HarveyRanch

That's nice, an early dated Morrow hub. I've not seen one in this early format before.

View attachment 1894378

Here's a 1917/18 one I own, the stamping is side to side, like yours, but the format is a little different, and gives the full patent dates. By the time yours was made, the patents would have expired.:

View attachment 1894379

So, yours is a 36 13, which is a typical number of holes and spoke gauge.

B3 is July to Sept (Quarter 3) of 1932. Codes start at A1 in 1931.

This links nicely with @Archie Sturmer 's date of 1932 for the frame, and it seems likely that it is the original hub. If this is the case, since the hub needed to be made and then delivered to Snyder, then the earliest the bike could have been completed is July 1932.

Best Regards,

Adrian

Thanks to you and everyone else for all info. Looks like we have definitively confirmed the year. So the bike is a 1932 Elgin / Snyder Motobike then?

 

[HarveyRanch]

Another interesting thing, I opened the toolbox (tank) today and found an old rag stuffed up in there with a wrench in it. The rag looked like the sleeve of an early shirt. The “monkey” wrench had manufacturers markings which i was able to research and date to sometime around 1908-1918.

 

[HARPO]

What a rare treasure to find this complete and in this condition! Just beautiful! And with a tool the person used to work on it way back no less. 🙂 Best of luck with owning it, you lucky devil.