The Tetanus Special-- A Bean Son Cadilac

[soddruntlestuntle]

So I wasn't able to attend the Rolling Relics San Francisco ride this time, but I did manage to bring home a piece of Bay Area history on Sunday:

I'd really been wanting a project to allow me to play around with Oxalic Acid and see what it can do. Been watching this one on my local Offer-Up page for months, and finally decided to pull the trigger. Sadly it's missing the rear wheel, but everything else is there, though the stem, seat and seat post appear to be non-original.

The crankset spun free, and I was amazed to find good grease when I opened it up.

I'm SURE there's a serial/reference number under there somewhere, I'll keep digging.

Not sure what my plans are other than to tear it down and see what a good OA bath will do. Might just stick a set of 26" drop centers on it and turn it into a fenderless runabout. In the meantime, anyone have an idea what vintage we're looking at here? Thanks to the CABE I DO know that Bean Son were a Schwinn distributor here on the west coast, but beyond that I know very little. Watch this space.

 

[NBHAA]

So I wasn't able to attend the Rolling Relics San Francisco ride this time, but I did manage to bring home a piece of Bay Area history on Sunday:

View attachment 2080761

View attachment 2080762

View attachment 2080763

View attachment 2080764

View attachment 2080765

I'd really been wanting a project to allow me to play around with Oxalic Acid and see what it can do. Been watching this one on my local Offer-Up page for months, and finally decided to pull the trigger. Sadly it's missing the rear wheel, but everything else is there, though the stem, seat and seat post appear to be non-original.

View attachment 2080768

The crankset spun free, and I was amazed to find good grease when I opened it up.

View attachment 2080771

I'm SURE there's a serial/reference number under there somewhere, I'll keep digging.

Not sure what my plans are other than to tear it down and see what a good OA bath will do. Might just stick a set of 26" drop centers on it and turn it into a fenderless runabout. In the meantime, anyone have an idea what vintage we're looking at here? Thanks to the CABE I DO know that Bean Son were a Schwinn distributor here on the west coast, but beyond that I know very little. Watch this space.

Bean Son was a wholesale-distributor. Period. There was no set tie to Schwinn. They also handled bicycles made by Snyder, Murray and others.

Bean Son existed for many, many years. We have numerous Bean Son catalogues and letterheads.

What you have there is not a "Cadillac" like the name of the car, but rather, a "CADILAC" with one "L"... as was one of Bean Son's brand names for bicycles they handled. The saddle mounted appears to be a very postwar Troxel.

One of the other names they put on bicycles they handled was "Packard" (not to be confused with the automobile).

Leon Dixon
National Bicycle History Archive of America
(NBHAA.com)

 

[soddruntlestuntle]

Bean Son was a wholesale-distributor. Period. There was no set tie to Schwinn. They also handled bicycles made by Snyder, Murray and others.

Bean Son existed for many, many years. We have numerous Bean Son catalogues and letterheads.

What you have there is not a "Cadillac" like the name of the car, but rather, a "CADILAC" with one "L"... as was one of Bean Son's brand names for bicycles they handled. The saddle mounted appears to be a very postwar Troxel.

One of the other names they put on bicycles they handled was "Packard" (not to be confused with the automobile).

Leon Dixon
National Bicycle History Archive of America
(NBHAA.com)

View attachment 2080859

View attachment 2080860

They distributed Schwinn, did they not?

 

[NBHAA]

They distributed Schwinn, did they not?

BSCO distributed Schwinn for a while. But they would not be accurately characterized simply as "a Schwinn Distributor." They were not tied to Schwinn and wholesale-distributed everything and anything. If you look on the billhead we provided from the teens, do you see a mention of "Schwinn"...? No.

Wilson Sales was more of a Schwinn Distributor. They had strong ties to Schwinn. Schwinn-Built bicycles were nearly all they handled for the majority of their existence. Very strongly associated with ASC on the west coast before ASC took over distributorships of their own bicycles.

 

[barneyguey]

 

[oldmtrcyc]

BSCO distributed Schwinn for a while. But they would not be accurately characterized simply as "a Schwinn Distributor." They were not tied to Schwinn...

Isn't that contrary to the "Schwinn Distributor" poster that @barneyguey posted? It shows Bean as the NorCal SCHWINN Distributor, so they must have been tied a bit?

 

[fat tire trader]

BSCO distributed Schwinn for a while. But they would not be accurately characterized simply as "a Schwinn Distributor." They were not tied to Schwinn and wholesale-distributed everything and anything. If you look on the billhead we provided from the teens, do you see a mention of "Schwinn"...? No.

Wilson Sales was more of a Schwinn Distributor. They had strong ties to Schwinn. Schwinn-Built bicycles were nearly all they handled for the majority of their existence. Very strongly associated with ASC on the west coast before ASC took over distributorships of their own bicycles.

NBHAA Thank you for sharing the information above.

I have copies of the same catalogs that the NBHAA shows above. They are from the 1960s. The catalogs are large, and Bean sold a wide variety of parts from many manufacturers, Schwinn being a small part. The 1917 letterhead is interesting, it is possibly the earliest Bean document that I have seen. Especially interesting that it lists Cadilac. Hopefully the NBHAA can take a look at any other Bean documents that it has to tell us when Bean started to distribute Schwinn. As someone that tries to collect SF Bay Area bicycle stuff, I think it is interesting that over the years, I have found many more badges than bikes. There is even one seen here on the cabe that has been placed on a bike that is not a Bean, but a Reading. Don't be misled...

The author of this thread wants to know the year of his bike. It is very similar to my Bean LaSalle which if the wheels are original, I think they are, has a pre date code Morrow coaster brake which makes it 1930 or earlier. My Cadilac has had its serial number filed off and it did not come with parts that are very helpful in establishing a date. For all of these bikes, I would say 1915 - 1930 +-

 

[Archie Sturmer]

As someone that tries to collect SF Bay Area bicycle stuff, I think it is interesting that over the years, I have found many more badges than bikes. There is even one seen here on the cabe that has been placed on a bike that is not a Bean, but a Reading. Don't be misled...

The author of this thread wants to know the year of his bike. It is very similar to my Bean LaSalle which if the wheels are original, I think they are, has a pre date code Morrow coaster brake which makes it 1930 or earlier. My Cadilac has had its serial number filed off and it did not come with parts that are very helpful in establishing a date. For all of these bikes, I would say 1915 - 1930 +-

The original poster professes to investigate the serial numbers further; (we’ll wait & see).

The frame looks somewhat similar to my 380k series Emblem Angola built motorbike, which (for now) I am guessing as a 1929-er.
[May be off +/- by a couple of years?].

Perhaps more do-it-yourself research and help from the CABE may prove insightful.

For example, members might investigate other examples of Emblem Angola built bikes for Sears, with the Alemite lubrication fittings, and compare those serial numbers.

If a bike has no serial numbers, well….

So, maybe I will not invest too much on a miss-speled Cadilac badge for my shorter frame Reading circle bar frame, and wait for a Reading badge or other.
(Maybe BH&P or Angelus badges may fit?).

 

[barneyguey]

I have a few photos of Bean sold bicycles, but I don't know the manufacturers of all of them. Here you go.

Bean 28 inch Emblem built bicycle , owned by Kevintothej

I was told this may not be Emblem built?

I don't know who owns this one, or who made it

Owner and manufacturer unknown

 

[barneyguey]

Here's a catalog from 1964. All the ads I have showing Bean Son was a Schwinn Distributor are from the sixties.