The Economy and the Bicycle Hobby

With the majority of the shows behind us its time to take a look back and see how this year has been for the hobby. I’m a glass half-full guy so you won’t be reading about how the hobby is tanking and the younger crowd isn’t into collecting, etc… . What I will say is that I do believe the economy is affecting discretionary spending. In the shows I’ve attended this year the entry and mid-level stuff has been stagnant. I’ve seen a lot of pretty nice bikes that a year or two ago would have been snapped up immediately just languish. The same with parts for these bikes.

I think rampant inflation has dulled the market for this stuff right now. The cost of living, especially if you have a family, is outstripping earnings and folks just don’t have a lot extra for hobbies. A sit down meal at just about any restaurant for a family of four is going to wipe out a $100 bill pretty quick. I follow several other collectible markets such as luxury watches, cars, and motorcycles and have seen this same trend. The luxury watch market in the past two years was crazy with some watches seeing 100% gains. That has quickly subsided and WatchCharts.com shows a 30% decrease over the past year and the market is still in decline. While this may be more of a market correction I see entry and mid-level collector car and motorcycle sales have slowed as well.

On the flip side I still see top-shelf bicycles and parts bringing strong money. Personally I don’t dwell too much on the money aspect as that would just suck the fun out of it for me. Hobbies are supposed to be fun and offer a diversion from everyday life. Fortunately there are bikes that fit just about every budget and now may be a good time to pick up a bargain. Like everything the market and hobbies are cyclic so I’m sure we’ll see things turn around and the buying activities at swaps pick up. I look to the upcoming Copake auction as something of a bellwether to see where the market is heading. Regardless of how things are going its still good to get on an old bike and just enjoy the ride!

Restoring a Head Badge

This blog describes the methods I use to restore head badges. First let me say I do this is a last resort when either I can’t find another badge or the badge is too expensive to replace. The badge I’m doing for this blog is a fairly scarce private label badge (Cardinal) used by the Guarantee Bicycle Co. that was located in St. Louis, MO. I will use this badge on a ’49 Schwinn Autocycle (B6) that I will restore one day. 

A lot of the tips and tricks I use for head badges comes from over 50 years of building model cars. Like most things this takes practice and patience. If you try to skimp on either of these the results will likely not be satisfactory. Another thing to note is that the etched or embossed badges are easier to restore than those with printed lettering which will either require professional equipment or at the very least having a custom waterslide decal made. I suggest you practice a few times on an old badge so you get a feel for what works and what don’t for you.

The first step is to make sure the badge is straight. Set it against a headtube and see that it fits correctly. Now is the time to adjust (bend) it if needed. After you are satisfied its ok you need to strip the exisitng finish.

This is what the badge looked like after the black was stripped off. Notice more of a gold color where the paint was over the brass. This is due to the exposed areas oxidizing. 

For the next step I polished the entire badge. You could also use some white vinegar and water or soak in lemon juice for a bit to remove the oxidization before polishing to make it faster. I wasn’t too concerned with this because the recessed surfaces were going to be covered by paint. 

Because the primary color covered a large portion of the badge I decided to mask and spray the black. A couple of notes here. You could very well just use a brush and something like sign painters One Shot enamel. The tricky part here is reducing the paint enough to get it to flow out well without leaving brush marks. I chose a spray laquer which introduces its own problems which I’ll discuss in a moment. I used purple painters tape due to its translucent qualities and its pretty thin compared to traditional masking tape so it lays down well. 

Next is to trim where you don’t want painted. The key here is a very sharp exacto blade. I use a fresh blade when I do this. Also you young folks may get away with doing this without assistance but I use a jewelers visor to help these 61 year old eyes out! 

Like I said before I used a spray black laquer. Once I removed the tape I carefully used an exacto blade to removed the black off the lettering/raised areas. I mentioned a problem using laquer and that is it is a lot more brittle than enamel and prone to chipping when you are removing the paint. The trick here is to work the blade to the inside of where you are removing the paint. To avoid this you could use and airbrush to shoot some enamel. I don’t recommend aerosol enamels because the generally go on too thick.

This is only a two color badge and I could have masked it again to shoot the red. I didn’t do this because you risk lifting the black. I have used frisket paper which doesn’t have as much adhesion but in the interest of time on this one I decided just to paint the red with a brush. I did go with a model enamel here but One Shot is always a good choice as well. The model paint is a lot easier to get and much more affordable if you don’t use One Shot often. On the top right pic you can see the red has been trimmed whereas the bottom right “CARDINAL” lettering hasn’t.

I trimmed the red with an exacto knife–you are  basically, very carefully, scraping away paint (remember the patience part) revealing the brass again (same as I did the black). Once I did this I carefully wet sanded the large exposed brass area to removed any scrape marks left by the blade and polished again. This brings up another point. Some say they have success using a fine sandpaper 600/800 grit on a board and remove the paint off the high areas instead of using an exacto knife. I have done this but the problem is you run the risk of sanding into the ‘field’ and it is also tough to get the paint uniformly off the small letters on this badge. I suggest you experiment and see what works best for you depending on the badge you are doing. Lastly I shot a light coat of clear lacquer. I still need to lightly wet sand and polish this badge but I like to let the lacquer set for a couple of days before doing this. 

Enjoy the Ride–Shawn

Spring Bike Shows are here!

Well we are about to turn the corner into Spring and the bike show line-up looks healthy! Kicking off this year is a bike show in Atlanta. This one grows from the effort Pete D. did last year at his house in Hartwell, GA. Unfortunately severe weather the day before dampened (literally) enthusiasm and attendance was light. We still had a blast though with Pete and Mark providing a BBQ truck for breakfast and lunch. Thank goodness Pete’s wife was out of town because the BBQ truck had to be pulled out of the back yard and I think he spent the rest of the weekend filling in ruts!

The show this year will be held in Atlanta on March 12th. Please see my home page for flyers/info on all the shows. Years ago there was a show in Marietta when there was a healthy collector presence in this neck of the woods. I think we have regained that collector presence and I look forward to this show being the opening show each year to bicycle swaps.

Next up is the Knoxville. Iowa swap on April 16th. I have never attended this show and don’t know much about it and I’m not sure if this is a first year show or not. As I’ve said before bicycle shows/swaps are a great way to network and establish new relationships. You can accomplish only so much behind a keyboard and a lot of the good parts/bikes never see a public sale. Most of the stuff I acquire is done through a phone call, text, or email from people I’ve met at bike shows.

The Memory Lane Classics (MLC) show has traditionally always been the last week of April followed by the Ann Arbor (now Monroe) show. Monroe has moved to the first weekend in May so MLC has moved to Wed-Fri (May 3-5) to align with the Monroe show. Since the retail store is closed MLC is now held in downtown Bowling Green, OH at the fairgrounds. A pretty decent venue and even though it is totally outdoors this is a rain or shine event. I’ve been up there when it’s snowing and when you could wear a T-shirt (sometimes the same week) and regardless of weather there is always a huge crowd. This is the grand daddy of all bike swaps and people come from both coasts, Canada, Hawaii, and Alaska to attend this show. Many of the old timers who never touch a computer are there along with all the heavy hitters in the hobby. You never know what will show up and I’ve seen Deluxe Autocycles, Bluebirds, and all kinds of other rare parts and bikes just pop up here. Its always funny to watch a truck roll through the gate and a crowd gather and start following it until it parks. Then the person gets a lot of ‘help’ unloading!

For many years Paul and Annie Kleppert hosted and put on the “The Biggest, The Oldest, The Best” bicycle show and swap at Ann Arbor, MI. Paul and Annie are enjoying a well deserved retirement and the show has now moved down the road to Monroe. MI in a really nice facility. Cash awards are given out for “Classic Bike of the Year” winners and runners up as well as plaques for class winners in the bike show. Whether you win an award or not it is always fun showing one of your prized possessions. Because it follows MLC there are many of the same vendors but Monroe always draws its own unique blend of vendors to make it a different feel from MLC.

The Mercury ‘Pod’ Bikes

In 1937 Murray manufactured a new bike generally sold under the Mercury brand but Goodyear as well. The most notable feature of these bikes was the light and horn sitting atop the handlebars.

Murray produced these bikes with both single and dual headlight ‘pods’. The bikes were designed by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky a famous industrial designer of the time. Besides bicycles he also designed automobiles, kitchen items, and furniture.

Officially these bikes were known as the Mercury De Luxe (dual headlight) or Semi De Luxe (single headlight) line of bicycles. The pod required a special stem and bracket and was hinged at the front so the top could be lifted to insert batteries. The bikes also featured the first built in kickstand and regular Murray/Mercury bikes did not have this feature.

They were offered in both boys and girls models as well as juvenile versions. The more upscale models had chrome fender tips and a special paint scheme. Literature even shows a tricycle equipped with a pod but I have never seen one of these.  All of the boys pod bikes have tanks while the girls models do not. Both boys and girls versions also have hubcaps which are color keyed to the bike as well as a rear, spring loaded reflector to absorb contact with objects. Some sources say these were made from 1937-39. But from what I’ve seen these were probably produced in 1937 and possibly into 1938. I have never seen any ads other than the 1937 model year. Murray introduced its Pacemaker as the top-of-the-line offering for 1939 and it is unlikely they offered the pod bikes once the Pacemaker was available.  

Rivet Tools for the Restorer

Sooner or later if you mess with old bikes you may want to try your hand at restoring or at least refurbishing a project. The fenders of a bike usually take quite a beating and there is no good way to straighten them whether by hand or using a fender roller without removing the fender braces. The braces on every bike I’ve ever dealt with used tubular rivets (Fig 1.)

There are two ways to replace rivets. The cheapest and easiest is using fender rivet screws (Fig. 2) available from a variety of sources. These are nearly full proof and are used by a lot of people in the hobby. The only drawbacks I see with these are that they can loosen up over time and they are not 100% correct if you want a true factory look (underneath the fender). 

Of course the other option is to replace the rivets with the same type as used by the factory. To do this though requires a tool called a “rivet squeezer” (Fig 3.). The rivet tool I use was purchased through Hanson Rivet & Supply Co. out of Pacoima, CA www.HansonRivet.com The model I use is the HS 30E which will work for about 95% of the work you encounter. This tool has a 3″ reach with a 1 1/4″ opening.

The tool itself cost about $135 or so. Additionally you will need two dies that cost about $16 each. The rivets themselves I think were less than $10 per hundred. So when its all said and done you are in for a little under a couple hundred bucks once you add shipping. If you are only ever going to do one set of fenders then rivet screws may be the way to go but this is a small investment to give professional results if you plan on doing many projects.

I purchased three dies all together because I also wanted to be able to do the small rivets found on some lights and chain guards. The die to flare the tubular end is the same for both size rivets (Fig 4.). The order number for this die is CA2005-16. The die for the fender rivet head is CA2004-16 (Fig 5.). The fender rivets themselves are part number D3-7-ST, zinc plated (Fig 6.)

If you want to use the small rivets the die is part number CA2004-8 (Fig 7) and the rivets are part number MS20450-C9-7 steel clear zinc finish (Fig 8). 

Like was mentioned the rivet screws are nearly foolproof to install. Using a rivet squeezer is not difficult nor does it require any special skills. What it does require is that you are careful to make sure the dies are squarely centered before you start squeezing. Another thing to consider is the fender prep. I would not recommend using any body filler around the rivet holes as there is the possibility that it may pop out or crack when you secure the rivet. Because I rarely have help when doing this I lay the fender down on a towel on the workbench (kitchen table works fine too). Next I use a screw rivet in one hole to hold the brace to do the first rivet. This serves a dual purpose. First it holds the brace in place unless you are lucky enough to have a third hand. Secondly it ensures that the second rivet will line up. I didn’t mention removing old rivets but I simply use a 3/16″ drill bit and drill out the back side being careful not to get into the fender. Figs 9 & 10 show a fender I did on my ’36 Schwinn. I ‘aged’ the rivets by first glass beading them and then simply rubbing my grimy finger across them that was black from dirt and grease! There are several methods to age these rivets though just use your imagination. 

The last trick I want to share is that you can order different dies to get more ‘squeeze’. Some fenders and braces may be thinner than others and you won’t get the brace tight to the fender. My tip–don’t order another die but spend a few cents on some #10 washers and place one or two on the shank of the dies to be able to tighten the rivet more (Fig 11). If you don’t feel comfortable trying this for the first time on your freshly painted fender get an old fender, drill the rivet out, and practice first.  

Hopefully this has helped you decide if you need to take the plunge and add another tool to your arsenal. Personally this is one of the best tools I’ve bought and has come in very handy, is easy to use, and provides a factory look. Enjoy the ride!

Saving a (Donald) Duck

Shelby introduced the Donald Duck model in 1949 in both 20” and 24” models for both boys and girls. The boys bikes were yellow with blue trim and the girls models were blue with yellow trim. Sometime after the introduction both boys and girls 26” models were made which are very rare. These bikes were made under license from Walt Disney and would be made until 1951 with minor changes in paint pattern and equipment such as refelctors.

This bike is a 1949 24″ model and was bought in very rough condition and restored by the owner.  These bikes were never big sellers but are now dual interest collectibles prized by both by classic bicycle collectors and Disney collectors alike.

As the old saying goes “never say never”! I had said I would never own any of the themed bikes such as a Hopalong Cassidy (Hoppy), Gene Autry, or a Donald Duck. I’m not sure what happened when I saw this project offered up. I can’t blame it on being intoxicated because I don’t drink but whatever it was it wound up coming home with me from Memory Lane in 2016. 

So like a lot of projects this one languished because I wasn’t even sure I really wanted to restore it and thought I might just move it along. After sitting for three years I figured what the heck I had already sourced the couple of parts I needed as well as a set of decals. So in the early spring of 2019 I finally got after it. 

So the first thing is to take it apart and start stripping and cleaning. 

This bike was pretty rough especially the front half of the bike and it took a lot of glass beading to clean it up. So after a lot of prep I finally started shooting paint. Notice my high tech painting facility otherwise known as the basement porch! The key to this is picking a pleasant day with low humidity and no wind.

So after I got started on the paint I sent the parts out to be chromed to DeTray Plating in Independence, MO. Great service and less than a two week turn around. Keep in mind chrome is not cheap and this is what prevents a lot fo people from restoring a bike because most bikes simply aren’t worth it. I think the bill was about $600 for everything. I have spent as much as $1200 for some bikes and I’m sure something like a Phantom would go $2k easy. I also lucked out and Bob Ujsaszi hooked me up with an NOS seat.

Now comes the really fun part of a restoration for me–assembly. This is where you get to see the bike take shape and start to realize the fruits of your labor. While I was doing paint I was working at night on getting the electrics to work. The Donald Ducks have a unique horn/light set-up. When you press the horn the lights flash whether they are on or off. This requires a different wiring schematic then you typically find in a normal horn tank. The headlights mount on a special bracket which attaches to the head tube and places the lights at the eye openings.

Finally after about a year I finished the bike in time to show it at the Hurricane Coaster bike show in Charlotte. A big thanks to all who helped rescue this duck and get it rolling again. Enjoy the ride!

Pair Of 1897 Ramblers

I am helping a friend reduce some of his holdings and we have mostly been going through parts. Last weekend we decided to get the bikes down hanging from the rafters in his garage. This was no easy feat since when he first hung them he has run electrical conduit and added shelving in the rafters which gave a very narrow area to bring the bikes down through. Trying to one arm these at the top of a nine foot ladder was a little dicey but it was worth it once we got them down. 

Both of these bikes are largely original and mostly untouched over the last 123 years. The mens roadster has later (1920s) tires but is otherwise an original bike to include the seat, a very rare G&J tool box, and accessory lamp. Likewise the ladies roadster also has the toolbox, optional wooden handlebars, and an accessory lamp. Below are some detailed pictures of these extraordinary bikes. Enjoy the ride!