Monark Research

[Matt3te]

Hi,

Your paint scheme is exactly the same as my Firestone Special Cruiser (by the way I can't find any meaningful information about this bike) which I understand would have been built by Monark in the early fifties. I am not sure if this could give a clue regarding tank and racks etc. Hope this helps.



Matt

 

[rjs5700]

Hi Matt........your Firestone was built by D.P. Harris/Rollfast not Monark. Monark also made bikes for Firestone. Many of the tire/auto, hardware stores, catalogs, etc. contracted different bike manufacturers to build their bikes. Some would even have bikes from two or three different manufacturers at the same time.
John

 

[Matt3te]

Thanks for the info John. I have never seen another one of these on the web or any of the forums. Is this because it is a rare bike or is it of no interest. Also do you have any idea of it's age? I was told 1951. Any help you can give would be great. Matt.

 

[Adamtinkerer]

The serial # dates it as a 1952, according to the Monark serial number list in the NBJ 'Introduction to Classic Bicycles' book. ~Adam

 

[Metalman]

Did you ever find any info on the 24" Monark? I recently picked up a skip tooth 24" Monark that no one seems to know about.

 

[MrMonark13]

Did you ever find any info on the 24" Monark? I recently picked up a skip tooth 24" Monark that no one seems to know about.

View attachment 1802393

Chainring is CWC Roadmaster. Looks like a ladies frame cut and modified into a men’s.

 

[Metalman]

Chainring is CWC Roadmaster. Looks like a ladies frame cut and modified into a men’s.

I already had the guy from the national bicycle museum say it's real and hasn't been modified including that short vertical bar. But the CWC chainring is standard on every pre-war Monark I've seen.

 

[MrMonark13]

I already had the guy from the national bicycle museum say it's real and hasn't been modified including that short vertical bar. But the CWC chainring is standard on every pre-war Monark I've seen.

Monark bicycle’s never came with CWC chainrings, especially prewar. They only used their own skip tooth chainrings on early aluminum bikes. I certainly can’t vouch for the originality of that frame as it looks identical to a prewar ladies frame, upside down.

 

[Freqman1]

I already had the guy from the national bicycle museum say it's real and hasn't been modified including that short vertical bar. But the CWC chainring is standard on every pre-war Monark I've seen.

CWC is a 1" pitch (skip tooth) whereas the Monark is a 1/2" pitch drive.

 

[Metalman]

CWC is a 1" pitch (skip tooth) whereas the Monark is a 1/2" pitch drive.

So, same spiral design, but the difference is skip tooth or not. Correct? I'm learning. If so, what does it mean to have a CWC on this bike? It's been pointed out twice for some reason.