to restore or not?

[sloar]

i just picked this bike up and plan on doing a full restoration. i'm no novice to bicycle or car restorations so this wouldnt really be a problem for me. plans are to nickel plate everything. sandblast the frame and fork, do the necessary dent and ding fixes and repaint in a gloss black, reproduce the art work in gold leaf. restore the wood rims and respoke. and install white tires. i will probably never know the maker of the bike so i would use an appropriate headbadge to the time period. i plan on keeping the bike, is there any reason why i should not restore the bike? i know there are opinions to this question but am i going to hurt the value or will it help it? thanks

 

[abe lugo]

it would be nice if you can save or shoot images of those decals

You can have some similar one recreated and made to add to your restoration.

 

[sloar]

yeah i am going to put these graphics back on somehow.

 

[Gary Mc]

A full repaint restoration will kill the value in my opinion and you will never get your money out of it but it is your bike & your decision. I do however love the bike and love restorations from this period when done correctly and would probably do what you are considering were it mine and I planned on keeping it.

On the head badge I think you do the bike a disservice by badging it incorrectly. It will also always call the bike into question as to originality. I would not give up on finding out who made it. Enough research can possibly find the brand. Let me offer an option on the badge. Leave the holes where they are and go with a custom head badge you can design yourself. We have a CABE member "axsepul" who fabricates absolutely amazing custom head badges and if it were my bike I would do a custom design using original holes and either leave it forever or until the brand can be determined and the correct badge obtained.

It is a great bike BTW. My 2 cents....

 

[militarymonark]

I think this deserves a proper restoration, I think its beyond the line of keeping it as it is. I would def find out what kind of bike this is, walter branche would prob be able to tell you.

 

[2jakes]

to restore or not

What was it about the bike that made you decide to buy it ?
Do you plan on reselling or keeping it ? If you plan on keeping it ,
do you have to restore it right away ?
Years ago , I bought an old bike in similar condition. I just had this
thing about restoring & changing the color & what ever. I had it
painted & it turned out fine. But I miss the vintage old look & I kind
regret changing it. I would suggest to give it time & just clean it up.
It's looks nice as it is. Keep it original , don't make the mistake I did.
Just my 2 ¢ !

 

[sloar]

I plan on keeping it. It will be awhile before I start on it, I have two other projects ahead of it. So it will sit as is for the time being, hopefully I will be able to find out what it is by then. I bought it because I've always wanted a turn of the century wood rim bike. And I got a good deal for it.

 

[2jakes]

I plan on keeping it. It will be awhile before I start on it, I have two other projects ahead of it. So it will sit as is for the time being, hopefully I will be able to find out what it is by then. I bought it because I've always wanted a turn of the century wood rim bike. And I got a good deal for it.

Sounds Good ! I recently found an original Schwinn "Ace" Phantom & it needs work.
What I'm doing this time is replacing the parts as needed with better original parts.
What others say that it is beyond keeping original & restore now is probably the way to
go , just try & keep as much as possible…looking vintage. I like that you will be
nickle plating some parts . I had that done on a vintage bicycle horn & with time ,
it is developing a nice patina ! Good Luck & later perhaps post some before & after pics.

 

[Iverider]

That would be beautiful if totally restored, but instead of rebadging incorrectly, have someone like axsepaul
make you a custom badge, http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?28401-Custom-head-badges-made&highlight=custom+headbadge
or make it yourself. Put YOUR name on it just for fun. Use the holes that are already there, and someday, when someone comes up and says..."wow this is a beautiful_________." You can say...yeah, do you know where I can find tha badge?

If you google custom headbadge there are a number of others out there who do that sort of work. Some of them look nicer than others, but I feel it would be more genuine than representing the bike as another brand.

 

[bricycle]

That would be beautiful if totally restored, but instead of rebadging incorrectly, have someone like axsepaul
make you a custom badge, http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?28401-Custom-head-badges-made&highlight=custom+headbadge
or make it yourself. Put YOUR name on it just for fun. Use the holes that are already there, and someday, when someone comes up and says..."wow this is a beautiful_________." You can say...yeah, do you know where I can find tha badge?

If you google custom headbadge there are a number of others out there who do that sort of work. Some of them look nicer than others, but I feel it would be more genuine than representing the bike as another brand.

I've seen some "others work"...Xaviers puts them to shame...