dhruid
On Training Wheels
I’m new to the CABE and am trying to find some assistance and advice regarding my project and also get some newbie type questions answered.
I recently had the good fortune to stumble across an old bike that is in remarkably good condition for its age (although I don’t know what that age it is yet). I acquired the bike from an antique dealer in British Columbia last summer. This is my first look at it upon discovery.
I have searched and searched on the internet to try and determine the origin and age of this bike to no avail. There are some markings on the bike and components, but so far that hasn’t helped with identification.
Here’s what I have found:
Head badge. Simpson’s Roamer (or Roamer Simpson’s).
Ok, it seems pretty straightforward that this bike is a Simpson’s Roamer, but that doesn’t really tell me much about it or its age. When googling this name I come across countless links to The Simpson’s TV show and spinoff products. Frustrating to say the least.
I did however come across two items on eBay that were interesting dead ends. One was an identical head badge (in much worse shape than mine and they were asking $400 US!!!). The second was an ad from a 1927 California Hardware Co. catalog for a Roamer bicycle.
The bike shown in the ad is very similar to mine, but not identical. The description of the bike in the catalog matches mine closely too right down to the color options. The main differences are that my bike has a parallel double top tube, the catalog bike’s top tubes are not parallel. The chainring is different as is the chain description. The catalog describes a 1” skip tooth chain and my bike has a more common ½” link chain. The saddle on the catalog bike has the long ‘dongle’ type springs, mine does not. The catalog bike has a New Departure coaster brake, my bike’s brake has no markings to indicate a brake manufacturer. Apparently there are lots of old bikes out there with the Roamer label. It seems to have been a popular moniker.
Serial Number. Located on the lug of the of the down tube/top tube.
Rear Hub. Stamped ‘Made in Canada – Pat. 1937’. I’m not sure if the 1937 is in reference to the year of the patent or the patent number.
Front Hub. Stamped ‘Phillips Celtonia – All Steel Hub - Large Balls ¼ - Made in England’.
Coaster brake retainer arm. Has no markings at all.
Pedals. Stamped ‘Brampton - Made in England’.
Cranks. Cottered cranks stamped ‘Utility - Britishmade’.
That’s pretty much the low down on the bike. Now for my newbie questions.
1) The bike has some struts coming from the top of the head tube, secured at the beneath the top of the fork and attached at the front axel. What are these called and what is their purpose? I see them on lots of old bikes but never on newer bikes.
2) There is a cross bar or support on the handlebars. What is it’s purpose?
3) The bike is missing a kickstand that is attached to the rear axel. Is there a name for this type of kickstand and where can I find one?
4) The fenders are banged up a bit, what is the best way to go about getting the dings out without doing damage to the paint?
5) Now for the most important question. The saddle is made by Wrights of England. It’s in fairly decent shape but is very dry and has some small cracks.
I figure that I have one shot at getting this saddle in riding shape without doing any damage to it. In searching the internet, I have found lots of opinions, but little useful information. I don’t want to just jump on this saddle and ride for fear of causing irreversible damage. I also don’t want to just start slathering it with questionable products and do more harm than good. The saddle springs had some sort of black coating on them. I don’t think it was paint. I wire brushed this finish off and am content to have this bare metal finish, but I’m wondering if there is an easy way to restore the black finish?
6) Since the coaster brakes have no markings, I’m wondering if there is some sort of generic way to go about rebuilding these. I want to dismantle, clean and re-grease the rear hub and that would involve dealing with the brake mechanism. Most of the advice I’ve seen regarding coaster brakes says to use regular grease for the bearings (I always use marine grease when working on my other bikes) and high temp grease on the brakes themselves. Since heat buildup from the brakes could easily be transferred to the rest of the hub, wouldn’t it make more sense to just use the high temp grease throughout? Also, both of the hubs as well as the bottom bracket have oil ports. What type of oil is recommended for insertion into these ports? How much, how often? I’m thinking something like Phil’s Tenacious Oil would be a good choice because of it’s high viscosity and it smells sort of like 90W.
My theory is that this bike could have been manufactured in Canada or possibly England for sale in Canada. I say this not only because I purchased the bike in Canada and it has Vancouver, BC registration stickers on it from the early 50s and 60s,
but because of the wheels and the rear hub. It would not make sense to me that a British bike would use Canadian components when similar components would have been readily available in England. Also, I have no indication or clues that this bike has origins in the US. About the wheels. The inscription on the tires says 28” x 1-1/2”. I thought that these would be the 635mm size as noted on Sheldon Brown’s website. In actually measuring the wheels, it turns out that they are what Sheldon calls a “rare Canadian designation” and they are actually 622mm (700c). That would suggest that perhaps the wheels are of Canadian origin? The only Canadian manufacturer I have been able to find is CCM (Canadian Cycle and Motor Co. Ltd.) I also found this poster on the internet and the bike shown looks very much like mine. Still no date of manufacturer reference tho’.
Most of the photos I have included here are pre-cleanup. Disassembling and cleaning has been a pleasant surprise. Everything has come apart with ease, including the cotters on the cranks. No frozen seat post or quill. As far as I can tell, the only part that has been bent out of shape is one of the dust caps on a pedal. Of course the fenders and fender stays have suffered some banging around, but they are the most fragile and vulnerable parts. I like to speculate on the history of the bike. My guess is that it was owned by an adult who used it a lot and took very good care of it. Since it has Vancouver, BC license stickers, it was operated in a wet coastal rainforest environment for at least part of its life. My guess that it was last used in the 60s and then stored out of sight in a garage or barn until it was acquired by an antiques dealer and then by me. Pure speculation on my part tho’.
Any information that folks can pass along regarding this bike would be much appreciated.
I am really looking forward to getting this bike in riding shape and going for a nice long ride…
I recently had the good fortune to stumble across an old bike that is in remarkably good condition for its age (although I don’t know what that age it is yet). I acquired the bike from an antique dealer in British Columbia last summer. This is my first look at it upon discovery.
I have searched and searched on the internet to try and determine the origin and age of this bike to no avail. There are some markings on the bike and components, but so far that hasn’t helped with identification.
Here’s what I have found:
Head badge. Simpson’s Roamer (or Roamer Simpson’s).
Ok, it seems pretty straightforward that this bike is a Simpson’s Roamer, but that doesn’t really tell me much about it or its age. When googling this name I come across countless links to The Simpson’s TV show and spinoff products. Frustrating to say the least.
I did however come across two items on eBay that were interesting dead ends. One was an identical head badge (in much worse shape than mine and they were asking $400 US!!!). The second was an ad from a 1927 California Hardware Co. catalog for a Roamer bicycle.
The bike shown in the ad is very similar to mine, but not identical. The description of the bike in the catalog matches mine closely too right down to the color options. The main differences are that my bike has a parallel double top tube, the catalog bike’s top tubes are not parallel. The chainring is different as is the chain description. The catalog describes a 1” skip tooth chain and my bike has a more common ½” link chain. The saddle on the catalog bike has the long ‘dongle’ type springs, mine does not. The catalog bike has a New Departure coaster brake, my bike’s brake has no markings to indicate a brake manufacturer. Apparently there are lots of old bikes out there with the Roamer label. It seems to have been a popular moniker.
Serial Number. Located on the lug of the of the down tube/top tube.
Rear Hub. Stamped ‘Made in Canada – Pat. 1937’. I’m not sure if the 1937 is in reference to the year of the patent or the patent number.
Front Hub. Stamped ‘Phillips Celtonia – All Steel Hub - Large Balls ¼ - Made in England’.
Coaster brake retainer arm. Has no markings at all.
Pedals. Stamped ‘Brampton - Made in England’.
Cranks. Cottered cranks stamped ‘Utility - Britishmade’.
That’s pretty much the low down on the bike. Now for my newbie questions.
1) The bike has some struts coming from the top of the head tube, secured at the beneath the top of the fork and attached at the front axel. What are these called and what is their purpose? I see them on lots of old bikes but never on newer bikes.
2) There is a cross bar or support on the handlebars. What is it’s purpose?
3) The bike is missing a kickstand that is attached to the rear axel. Is there a name for this type of kickstand and where can I find one?
4) The fenders are banged up a bit, what is the best way to go about getting the dings out without doing damage to the paint?
5) Now for the most important question. The saddle is made by Wrights of England. It’s in fairly decent shape but is very dry and has some small cracks.
I figure that I have one shot at getting this saddle in riding shape without doing any damage to it. In searching the internet, I have found lots of opinions, but little useful information. I don’t want to just jump on this saddle and ride for fear of causing irreversible damage. I also don’t want to just start slathering it with questionable products and do more harm than good. The saddle springs had some sort of black coating on them. I don’t think it was paint. I wire brushed this finish off and am content to have this bare metal finish, but I’m wondering if there is an easy way to restore the black finish?
6) Since the coaster brakes have no markings, I’m wondering if there is some sort of generic way to go about rebuilding these. I want to dismantle, clean and re-grease the rear hub and that would involve dealing with the brake mechanism. Most of the advice I’ve seen regarding coaster brakes says to use regular grease for the bearings (I always use marine grease when working on my other bikes) and high temp grease on the brakes themselves. Since heat buildup from the brakes could easily be transferred to the rest of the hub, wouldn’t it make more sense to just use the high temp grease throughout? Also, both of the hubs as well as the bottom bracket have oil ports. What type of oil is recommended for insertion into these ports? How much, how often? I’m thinking something like Phil’s Tenacious Oil would be a good choice because of it’s high viscosity and it smells sort of like 90W.
My theory is that this bike could have been manufactured in Canada or possibly England for sale in Canada. I say this not only because I purchased the bike in Canada and it has Vancouver, BC registration stickers on it from the early 50s and 60s,
but because of the wheels and the rear hub. It would not make sense to me that a British bike would use Canadian components when similar components would have been readily available in England. Also, I have no indication or clues that this bike has origins in the US. About the wheels. The inscription on the tires says 28” x 1-1/2”. I thought that these would be the 635mm size as noted on Sheldon Brown’s website. In actually measuring the wheels, it turns out that they are what Sheldon calls a “rare Canadian designation” and they are actually 622mm (700c). That would suggest that perhaps the wheels are of Canadian origin? The only Canadian manufacturer I have been able to find is CCM (Canadian Cycle and Motor Co. Ltd.) I also found this poster on the internet and the bike shown looks very much like mine. Still no date of manufacturer reference tho’.
Most of the photos I have included here are pre-cleanup. Disassembling and cleaning has been a pleasant surprise. Everything has come apart with ease, including the cotters on the cranks. No frozen seat post or quill. As far as I can tell, the only part that has been bent out of shape is one of the dust caps on a pedal. Of course the fenders and fender stays have suffered some banging around, but they are the most fragile and vulnerable parts. I like to speculate on the history of the bike. My guess is that it was owned by an adult who used it a lot and took very good care of it. Since it has Vancouver, BC license stickers, it was operated in a wet coastal rainforest environment for at least part of its life. My guess that it was last used in the 60s and then stored out of sight in a garage or barn until it was acquired by an antiques dealer and then by me. Pure speculation on my part tho’.
Any information that folks can pass along regarding this bike would be much appreciated.
I am really looking forward to getting this bike in riding shape and going for a nice long ride…
