Help Dating my old Elgin

[Archie Sturmer]

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

Manufacturers like H.P. Snyder Manufacturing Co. commonly used letters to designate the year. Some members have reverse engineered a list from 1936 when a so-called one-year-only feature was observed, or no-sooner-than features, or no-later-than features, and other examples believed to be accurately dated.
Members use a pencil and paper or just their fingers and count the years with the letters, forwards or backwards.

For Snyder's older factory in Little Falls NY, letters from the later part of the alphabet were used: 1936–X; 1935–W; 1934–V; 1933–U; 1932–T; 1931–S; 1930–R; or 1937–Y; 1938–Z, etc.. The method becomes less reliable when letters might be skipped; but if we see examples we can confirm that a letter was not skipped.
Manufacturers did skip letters, sometimes.

Nothing is certain, but we may assign some measure of likelihood; (in your case you also have the hub with a date stamp?).

 

[HarveyRanch]

Manufacturers like H.P. Snyder Manufacturing Co. commonly used letters to designate the year. Some members have reverse engineered a list from 1936 when a so-called one-year-only feature was observed, or no-sooner-than features, or no-later-than features, and other examples believed to be accurately dated.
Members use a pencil and paper or just their fingers and count the years with the letters, forwards or backwards.

For Snyder's Little Falls NY older factory, letters from the later part of the alphabet were used: 1936-X; 1935-W; 1934-V; 1933-U; 1932-T; 1931-S; 1930-R; or 1937-Y; 1938-Z, etc.. The method becomes less reliable when letters might be skipped; but if we see examples we can confirm that a letter was not skipped.
Manufacturers did skip letters, sometimes.

Nothing is certain, but we may assign some measure of likelihood; (in your case you also have the hub with a date stamp?).

So it’s an Elgin but made by Snyder? And sold through Sears? Trying to understand this part…
And the model is “motobike”?

 

[Archie Sturmer]

Sears was a mail-order catalog company that sold bicycles built by bicycle manufacturers.
In the early 1930's, Sears was also supplied bicycles, built by the Westfield Manufacturing Co.
[Westfield would have used different letter stamps; e.g., 1932–K].
Earlier, Sears was supplied by the Excelsior Manufacturing Co.

(picture was originally posted by another member on this site).

When we see a bike from a major retailer, hardware store, tire store, we often first desire to know who was the actual builder.

Older Sears catalogs explained, "The term "Motor-Bike" has reference only to the type of frame, meaning that it is built on the order of a motorcycle".

 

[piercer_99]

Sears was a mail-order catalog company that sold bicycles built by bicycle manufacturers.
In the early 1930's, Sears was also supplied bicycles, built by the Westfield Manufacturing Co.
[Westfield would have used different letter stamps; e.g., 1932–K].
Earlier, Sears was supplied by the Excelsior Manufacturing Co.
View attachment 1894865
(picture was originally posted by another member on this site).

When we see a bike from a major retailer, hardware store, tire store, we often first desire to know who was the actual builder.

Older Sears catalogs explained, "The term "Motor-Bike" has reference only to the type of frame, meaning that it is built on the order of a motorcycle".

It was a popular style of bicycle for many years.

 

[razinhellcustomz]

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.

View attachment 1894387

I've found a couple of these old wrenchs at farm auctions and are always a cool.addition to any old bike. Nice old Elgin. Enjoy and RideOn. Mark.

 

[Bryan Akens]

Fantastic bike....and definitely a Morrow rear Hub......I have a Ladies Elgin with that same hub.....I wonder how common it is to find a Morrow on an Elgin?? Be very careful if You try to remove that handlebar stem....It can easily be damaged if it is well rusted in there...