A Murray built curved seat mast bike or frame with the electroforged sections was at the top of my list until this ‘41 Sears Collegiate frame turned up yesterday. Thanks heaps
@mrg.
Shipping an entire bike to Australia post pandemic is a ridiculously expensive proposition so I jumped at the opportunity to grab this frame to build a hot rod bike.
The construction for a prewar bike frame is amazing and ahead of its time with its beautiful streamlined electroforged sections. Schwinn became famous for using the same process years later. Steel must been way cheaper prewar as there’s about 50% more of it compared to most post war bike frames I’ve built! It is a porker but its mine and i’ve named it teenage dirtbag inspired by the Collegiate head badge, its hideous red oxide blow over and the aftermarket parts I slammed on it.
I have the correct chainguard, fork and truss rods on the way and I have a few things to finish it off but a quick test ride yesterday revealed it is a very decent rider with great geometry for such an old design. I also doubt I’ll see another cruising the streets of Melbourne anytime soon.