The Pope arrived from the east coast this morning, no no not the Pope, the Pope! Unpacked and ready to start going over this beautiful piece. I love the dirt and the aging here, and there is a lot of it! Flaking plate/paint on the chain ring what I imagine to be a service color of blue, but with a green tint perhaps from age/wear. Nickel is peeking through on the forks. The wheels are very interesting, they are heavy spokes, exactly as described in the Pope "Daily Service" literature, the rims appear to be 28" wood hoops with metal cladding on the outer surface where the tire would glue on. The metal cladding is not an insert for clinchers, it is flat all the way across for glue on's. The handlebars are narrow, appear to be of an earlier generation of geometry(?) with a quill bolt directly down through the center of the bars and a locking ring that is perfectly round with a spanner hole in it. The grips are leather wrapped wood. The drive train appears upon initial inspection to spin free. The pope specific crank is intact, cottered crank arms with a slightly smaller diameter bottom bracket than 'american standard'. Skip tooth chain, ND model A rear hub. The pedals are very unique early moto-bike pedals / late quill style pedals (?) No saddle or seat post. Fenders are straight, fit tightly and were not removed to ship. Very pleased overall with my initial inspection and will start posting some photos tonight and over the weekend.
