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ORPHAN AND ULTRA RARE BIKE THREAD, THE HARDLY EVER SEEN.

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Don’t get me wrong.
I’ve got a few diamond frames in the bunch.
But in the landscaping business, I used to tell people not to discount something because it’s so common.
It’s common for a reason.
It looks good.
It’s easy to grow.
And it’s easy to get.
Everybody is looking for the ultra rare.
It’s ultra rare for a reason.
It was a design failure.
It doesn’t look good.
It’s impossible to get, because there was no mass appeal.
It faded off into obscurity.
I get the appeal now.
You want to have something different.
That’s cool!
It’s a good thing, there are people around like that, because these old forlorn relics need someone to love them, since most did not.
If you’re a cow, do you like green grass, or brown grass?
My guess is, if you like brown grass, you’re going to have the pasture all to yourself.
Fair enough. To be honest I like green grass, but if I see some brown grass that looks interesting I'll give it a nibble.
 
I'm not a Dayton/Huffman expert of any kind, but I've not seen this combination of 3 rib tank, single flex and lit rack on any other bikes or in the literature. By all appearances, it's very original and been together this way from the beginning. It's date coded 11-40 on back of fork, and externally on the pedal crank. It has the welded on kickstand.

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Not anything as exciting as a complete bike, but I just discovered this glass lens in a 1939 Delta Torpedo light.
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It had a cats eye like glow, when reflecting light back to its source, like a Schwinn Fenderbomb, or a Persons Reflecto Light.
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I don’t think it’s original equipment, but it’s a good idea.
Maybe some kind of early prototype lens?
I don’t know?
Anyone else ever come across a glass lens in a Delta Torpedo Light?
 
This model was a bit of an orphan, due to the Twin Flex debacle at Huffman mfg. in 1938.
The 1938 Super Streamline, got a few updates from the 1937 model, but hardly anyone noticed, because the production line had to regroup, revamp and redesign, after having to completely recall the initial delivery of the new Twin Flex model.
The recall was such a disaster, that the new model was dubbed the “Death Bike,” due to nearly bankrupting the company.
All was made right eventually, but not without a few casualties.
One of which, was the demise of the super stylish, Super Streamline model.
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I don’t know what the actual production numbers were for the 1938 version, but I suspect it was pretty low.
They had their hands full, getting the Twin Flex redesigned, and manufactured, so I can only assume, that the Super Streamline got somewhat kicked to the curb.
The main difference between the 38 model from the 37 model, was the inclusion of a gracefully curved downtube.
It also got a chrome tank and a redesigned chainguard, but it was the curved downtube that set this one apart from the rest of the Streamline frame models.
I’m sure, there must be some period photographs of this model in circulation, but I can’t say that I’ve seen any.
It’s definitely a rare bird in today’s collectors circle.
I have no doubt, that an original barn find of this model will pop up some day, and what a glorious day that will be.
But for now, there are only a few of these bikes known to exist.
So, if you would like to add one of these bikes to the collection, but cannot find one, you can thank the Twin Flex Cushioned model for that.
 
This model was a bit of an orphan, due to the Twin Flex debacle at Huffman mfg. in 1938.
The 1938 Super Streamline, got a few updates from the 1937 model, but hardly anyone noticed, because the production line had to regroup, revamp and redesign, after having to completely recall the initial delivery of the new Twin Flex model.
The recall was such a disaster, that the new model was dubbed the “Death Bike,” due to nearly bankrupting the company.
All was made right eventually, but not without a few casualties.
One of which, was the demise of the super stylish, Super Streamline model.
View attachment 1633338
View attachment 1633337View attachment 1633339
I don’t know what the actual production numbers were for the 1938 version, but I suspect it was pretty low.
They had their hands full, getting the Twin Flex redesigned, and manufactured, so I can only assume, that the Super Streamline got somewhat kicked to the curb.
The main difference between the 38 model from the 37 model, was the inclusion of a gracefully curved downtube.
It also got a chrome tank and a redesigned chainguard, but it was the curved downtube that set this one apart from the rest of the Streamline frame models.
I’m sure, there must be some period photographs of this model in circulation, but I can’t say that I’ve seen any.
It’s definitely a rare bird in today’s collectors circle.
I have no doubt, that an original barn find of this model will pop up some day, and what a glorious day that will be.
But for now, there are only a few of these bikes known to exist.
So, if you would like to add one of these bikes to the collection, but cannot find one, you can thank the Twin Flex Cushioned model for that.



The company didn't name the '38 Twin Flex "the Death Bike!"
That name didn't happen until around 1990, at the Motel 6, in Ann Arbor, by 4 guys, bike meet tired/drunk.
(Phil Scott, Pat Cafaro, me, and Tim Geddors.)
There was no known literature at the time, let alone the bike.
Within 2 years, the catalogs popped up and a nice one rolled into a meet.
Phil always swore he saw one, in the back of a truck, at a rainy Perrysburg fall meet, in the 1980's.
The old guy, driving the truck, didn't unload and just drove away with a load of bikes.
 
Obviously, the company wouldn’t call their own mistake, “ The Death Bike.”
Who would do that?
Only a bunch of drunk guys at the Motel 6 would do that. Lol!

The recall of the first Twin Flex design in 1938, caused a huge backlash, that nearly bankrupted the company.

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

The rest is for the guys at the Motel 6 to figure out.
😎
 
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