Kennewick Man
Look Ma, No Hands!
Hi all,
I'm new to the CABE and have found quite a bit of helpful information on the forum today. I have a bit of a conundrum in identifying and figuring out the age of a bike I recently purchased. The guy I bought the bike from stated that it was given to him by a British expat who was/is a professor in Boston. He told that the guy always referred to the bike as a Birmingham. I'm aware that throughout history, there were quite a few firms producing bicycles in Birmingham, England but my mind immediately went to the most famous(?) Birmingham brand, B.S.A.
The bike itself has been clearly spray painted a few times over it's life span so there aren't very many visible identification marks; no headbadge or tubing logos, no visible serial number. The geometry of the frame and the 28" wheels suggests to me that it's an older European bike (maybe 1930's) and it's surprisingly lightweight. I own a few bikes (Dutch, Japanese, Italian) from the 50's, 60's and 70's and this bike is significantly lighter than any of them. In fact, it's almost as light as a modern road bike I once owned. Because I don't have a ton of experience with early 20th century/Pre War bicycles, I don't know if the lightweight nature of the bike is common for that era. Also, the pedals appear to be plastic with reflectors which suggests to me that maybe its post 1960's. It's highly likely that the bike has been modified in many ways so this may not be significant. I also noticed that it has a rear coaster brake only, with no front brake at all. The coaster hub is made by the American company Bendix which adds to the confusion. This suggests that either it's an older, modified British bike or an American bike (though I've never come across many American bikes with this geometry). It has a Brooks saddle with a bit of bicycle chain attached (which is something I've only ever seen on older British bikes).
If any one could help narrow it down based on these photos, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance!!
I'm new to the CABE and have found quite a bit of helpful information on the forum today. I have a bit of a conundrum in identifying and figuring out the age of a bike I recently purchased. The guy I bought the bike from stated that it was given to him by a British expat who was/is a professor in Boston. He told that the guy always referred to the bike as a Birmingham. I'm aware that throughout history, there were quite a few firms producing bicycles in Birmingham, England but my mind immediately went to the most famous(?) Birmingham brand, B.S.A.
The bike itself has been clearly spray painted a few times over it's life span so there aren't very many visible identification marks; no headbadge or tubing logos, no visible serial number. The geometry of the frame and the 28" wheels suggests to me that it's an older European bike (maybe 1930's) and it's surprisingly lightweight. I own a few bikes (Dutch, Japanese, Italian) from the 50's, 60's and 70's and this bike is significantly lighter than any of them. In fact, it's almost as light as a modern road bike I once owned. Because I don't have a ton of experience with early 20th century/Pre War bicycles, I don't know if the lightweight nature of the bike is common for that era. Also, the pedals appear to be plastic with reflectors which suggests to me that maybe its post 1960's. It's highly likely that the bike has been modified in many ways so this may not be significant. I also noticed that it has a rear coaster brake only, with no front brake at all. The coaster hub is made by the American company Bendix which adds to the confusion. This suggests that either it's an older, modified British bike or an American bike (though I've never come across many American bikes with this geometry). It has a Brooks saddle with a bit of bicycle chain attached (which is something I've only ever seen on older British bikes).
If any one could help narrow it down based on these photos, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance!!