Hi,
last weekend I had the chance to get this nice old bicycle from a dealer in Germany. He bought the bike a long time ago from a collector in Austria. Unfortunately the headbadge is missing. There are no holes for a headbadge on the head tube, that's interesting. But it looks like there was a headbadge there once. The paint seems to be original. Remnants of ornaments can still be seen on the seat tube. The frame has the number 4043. As yo can see, the rear hub does not fit to the chain. We suspect that the rear hub has been replaced, but the rims are original. Can anyone identify the bike?
Based on my research I know that the handlebar is from the Kelly handle bar company in Cleveland. Attached you can see two patents. So the handle bar is from about 1899. Interesting is also that the bike seems to be quiet similar to the Kenmore from (see picture) and possibly around 1896 since it has the single seat stay bar. But the dropouts are different. I also saw quit similar ornaments here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7272500_c-1897-sterling-pneumatic-safety-bicycle
Thank you for your help.
last weekend I had the chance to get this nice old bicycle from a dealer in Germany. He bought the bike a long time ago from a collector in Austria. Unfortunately the headbadge is missing. There are no holes for a headbadge on the head tube, that's interesting. But it looks like there was a headbadge there once. The paint seems to be original. Remnants of ornaments can still be seen on the seat tube. The frame has the number 4043. As yo can see, the rear hub does not fit to the chain. We suspect that the rear hub has been replaced, but the rims are original. Can anyone identify the bike?
Based on my research I know that the handlebar is from the Kelly handle bar company in Cleveland. Attached you can see two patents. So the handle bar is from about 1899. Interesting is also that the bike seems to be quiet similar to the Kenmore from (see picture) and possibly around 1896 since it has the single seat stay bar. But the dropouts are different. I also saw quit similar ornaments here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7272500_c-1897-sterling-pneumatic-safety-bicycle
Thank you for your help.