New Guy, need a hand indentifying pre-33 bicycle!

[circa1939]

Hello. I've been hitting the cabe here and there and decided to join, always loved old bicycles pre-WWII.

Well, here's what I have here,...(mind you i'm just learning about pre-3 bikes, so sorry if I use the wrong terms, etc.)

I'm trying to identify the cycle I bought and really need some good solid info and help from the knowledgable fellows here. I know it isn't much to go on, but hopefully I can get an idea of what I have.

I bought a great piece earlier today at the Trexlertown Swap Meet here in PA. I have been wanting to get myself a nice little old bicycle for a while now.

The badge was not there but the two small rivets are still there.

The paint is just a slopppy household paint, done,..well who knows when it was done actually,..it looks pretty old. However underneth (as some of this blue paint is flaking off) is what appears to be a gloss black laquer finish.
The crank and sprocket after cleaning off some of the old grease reads, "Fauber Special". The seat reads "Troxel". and the tires are "Gillette" made in USA.

Lastly, it has wooden rims.

Here are some photos.
Thanks a million in advance, as it is greatly appreciated!

 

[circa1939]

More photos...

 

[Andrew Gorman]

The block chain and the nice quality cranks make me think the bike is earlier (pre-1910s) than later. The diamond profile of the cranks could narrow the field some more. Nice bike!

 

[circa1939]

Thank you very much for the info,....sounds like a good start!

I decided to take some enamel reducer to it with a rag. That old blue paint just came off all over! Beneath that thick blue gob of paint all over it, is what looks to be black laquer with some blue accents outlined/pinstriped with gold. Very interesting! Like uncovering history!

 

[pelletman]

preserve, don't restore!

 

[circa1939]

preserve, don't restore!

That's the idea.

What's on there now, that blue that you see in the photos is a brush job with old paint, you can see it, but you could see the gold that is the pinstrip showing through from underneath, so that's why i took some auto paint reducer to that old paint that's covering the original paintjob underneath, and started to see if the paint is good and worth preserving or completely gone. So far, it looks pretty good!

Do you have any info that might be helpful to me with IDing this bike by chance?

So far on the paint job, its black, with a medium blue color accents outlined with a gold pinstripe. hopefully more to come!

 

[ejlwheels]

Assuming the block chain, pedals, stem and handlebars are original to the bike, they would date it to around 1900. The is a bike with nearly identical stem and handlebars on page 49 of the book "The American Bicycle" that is dated 1897.

 

[circa1939]

Assuming the block chain, pedals, stem and handlebars are original to the bike, they would date it to around 1900. The is a bike with nearly identical stem and handlebars on page 49 of the book "The American Bicycle" that is dated 1897.

Thanks so much for the infomation.

I'l have to seek out a copy of, The American Bicycle, Thanks!

I'm trying to see if there's any kind of outline that can be seen, but there doens't seem to be. Anyone know if there is a way to get the little bit of the outline there might be to show up by using any kind of chemicals, or light? Infrared,..black light?? Anything??

One last thing, I'm a bit short on the lingo of technical terms, adn thus far, I've learned that i have a "block chain", however, are there any other technical names of distinct items that are on this bike, such as the stem? I was briefly told that type was called something specifically, but I cannot recall what it was??

thanks!!

 

[ejlwheels]

I checked out the book from my local library.
That is just one book. There are many others.

You can't even say that a bike pictured in a book is "accurate" since it may have been changed by someone along the way. Even if it is a period photo, the components may be altered or repaired by the owner. There were 3000 makers in 1897, so sometimes the best you can do is assemble pieces from a similar time period that work together. Period ads can be a good reference. But most frames from 1900 look pretty much the same.

Block chain means the shorter links are solid rather than plates and rollers.
The tires are single tube tires, meaning the tube and tire are one unit rather than a separate removable inner tube inside of a tire.

 

[circa1939]

Anything regarding the "stem" / neck? I was thinking of looking it up and seeing if I can find more info on it, etc.

Also cleaned the rear hub, and it reads "New Departure".

Thanks