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I Would Like to Know ? Excelsior? EC Simmons ? Peerless ? Colson ?

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Lux Low

Finally riding a big boys bike
I have this Truss frame and have had many frames with some distinct construction traits. The Fender bridges are Unique and made 3/8" tubing with clean attachment, Which is on the small side. The Bottom 2 stays attaching to the bottom bracket are oval, not round, which is not very common. Also the Arch Bar has a unique Block attaching the 2 bars. Tring to Identify the Actual manufacturer?

I do know quite a bit about this construction. EC Simmons Hardware Bikes have this Construction from my experience the Teens but possibly early 1900s and 1920s. I have also found a Original Early 1900 or teens Peerless with this construction Trait. From my research I know Colson made some EC Simmons Bicycles but think later than this trait. Colson uses a 3/8" straight tubing and oval bottom stays some ballooners ( Clipper & Bullnose ) which made Colson a suspect, but I have a Colson Silver Ring which is the earliest Colson I have had, and the construction is not anywhere the same as the manufacturer in question. My Main suspect is a True Michigan City Excelsior. I think Michigan City Excelsior made some EC Simmons Bicycles . This is where I have landed.

Can Anybody Confirm this construction trait or Manufacturer on a True Michigan City Excelsior?

Does anybody know who made Peerless Bicycles or is it the manufacturer in question “Peerless” ?

Does anybody have a Super Early Colson with this type Construction?

Has anybody seen this construction on other bikes that may clue us in.

I don’t think any of the references of the brands above have anything to do with Reconstituted Rollfast HP Snyder Ballooner Bikes. The Manufacture in question is from the wood Wheel Era.
simmons arch identify.jpg
simmons arch identify 2.jpg
 
Teens “Peerless” bikes were solid by Sears, a 19th century concern which may have since closed. DPH and Shelby had later Peerless badges. Sears Peerless bikes sported a Davis #2 chain ring, 3-hearts, later in 1/2” pitch.

All the Sears Peerless models that I have seen printed ads for was for the diamond frames.
We may have seen a couple of EC Simmons threads, showing the arch bar truss frame examples.
 
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If that's t
Teens “Peerless” bikes were solid by Sears, a 19th century concern which may have since closed. DPH and Shelby had later Peerless badges. Sears Peerless bikes sported a Davis #2 chain ring, 3-hearts, later in 1/2” pitch.

If that's the Case, I can assume Peerless made bikes Directly for Simmons Hardware because the Frame above. I pretty sure is not HP Snyder, and Don't Think Shelby But i will Further Investigate that
 
Simmons may have purchased from different makers, perhaps in different years; we have also seen their arch bar truss frames with chain stays made of well-rounded tubes, 19 gage 3/4" tapered to 5/8" as in one catalog.
I believe that Peerless may have been a 19th C. Ohio manufacturer, but when the arch bar truss frames were more common, I believe that Peerless was not a manufacturer (any longer).
 
If the manufacturer didn’t violate the Iver Johnson Truss bridge Patent, that would make this frame late teens at the earliest. I believe I have a Simmons hardware double bar roadster but it shares none of the characteristics of your frame. It does share the same color scheme as some of the Simmons bikes on the CABE orange with green darts, and the Westminster badge I found for it fits perfectly.

Some of the catalog pages i’ve seen suggest that they were jobber built bikes with different options for much of the available equipment.
 
The two Peerless bikes that I have , a 1908 and a 1914 appear to both be Davis built bikes. It is to my understanding that the 1908 model was the first year for the Sears Peerless name plate as per the 1914 Sears ad. ( see last pic ) I do not have a 1908 catalog but the 1910 and 1914 catalogs show the bikes with the same basic Davis type frame.
1910 (10).jpg


image.jpg


A0055-05-150dpi.jpeg
 
The Key to the Simmons arch bar frame definitely wound be small 3/8" bridges which the top was NOT drilled and in think someone drilled the bottom ( i do think the bike came with fenders). The reason i came up with peerless is because i saw and amazing original Peerless with same 3/8" tubing bridges (was a diamond frame though). I am drawn to Arch Bar / Truss bridge frames and bikes . Guess since I have had for 3 of them all Simmons bagged and on going mystery. All my Knowledge is hands on with literature back up, fender bridges, frame connection, and dropouts tell a the DNA and parts attached are telling you like what school it went to. Here's a 1918 Simmons ad

simmons1918.jpg
 
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