Antique Bikes – On occasion I build bicycles that have an antique look to them. I have no stock models for these bikes and they are specially built for style alone. It is often that I use very small diameter tubing [ 1” for the main tubes] to mimic the 1890’s frames as well as utilize an American bottom bracket shell to use a one piece crank [so I can use the Bomber ring pictured]. I also usually build the bikes with the geometry of the 1890’s bikes with very laid back frame angles [around 70 to 66 degrees] with a very long chainstays too [around 480 to 500mm].
The antique bikes are fun to ride [great for a sunny day ride] and very smooth, but would not make a very good fixed gear bike that most people would want. This laid back geometry is best suited to sitting down in the saddle and would not work very well for wheel locks and aggressive riding. I most often build these bikes with a single speed coaster brake hub [back pedal brake] and sometimes use a drum brake in the front. This allows me to have the rims powder coated and achieves very clean lines with no cables or cable stops on the frames.
My antique bikes will be developing over time and new ones will be brought to the site from time to time. I have made a new bike with a functioning rod/paddle brake which does work; however it is not a real brake in the sense or a modern brake. It is often I will use some older and used components to achieve the look or function that I am looking for. In the case of the Bomber chain ring, this ring only works on a one piece crank, which limits you to a ½ pedal [like a bmx bike etc…].
