New Departure mdl A

[vincev]

can someone tell me about what year this New Departure Model A was made?It has old type script.this script looks older than the ones i've seen. This is on this old wood rim Elgin.This might help narrow down the age of the bike..

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[Andrew Gorman]

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...odels-A-B-C-and-D-some-rough-dates&highlight=
Best I can figure out is that it was in production before 1906, and was replaced by the Model C in 1927/1928. The Elgin badge might help you pin down the date closer than the hub- look at old Sears catalogs. Here's one:
http://www.nostalgic.net/bicycle220.htm

 

[SirMike1983]

That almost looks to me like a Columbia-made Elgin.

Model A was 1920s and earlier, if I recall.

 

[rustyspoke66]

Hope this doesnt sound crazy but how did they attach the headbadge? Most I've seen have screws holding them on.

 

[pelletman]

Does anyone know what date the first coaster brake turned up?

 

[Andrew Gorman]

Ca. 1897 or 1898 as best I've been able to turn up, although I'm sure something was patented well before that. Trolling through google books Eclipse Machine and a few other companies were selling an "automatic coaster and brake" by 1897, with New Departure and Corbin coming soon after. The American Bicycle Company had some kind of coaster hub available during their brief tenure, but I don't know if it really was a coaster brake. Someday I'll be able to spend some time in a real library and pin this down a little better. The early coaster brakes were not cheap, but had real advantages and seem to be standard equipment ca. 1910, although fixed hubs were available for decades more.

 

[pelletman]

Thanks! I recall seeing them in someone's 1898 catalog, probably Columbia