Fixing a Victorian

[Nabeaquam]

Going to be signing out soon for tonight. Just how many bikes are out there with this perch?

Is the embossed name in the saddle something more that we don't know about?



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Gilford, Brown, Troxel and others all made similar saddles. The advertisements for this bicycle mentioned a specific brand or “similar high quality saddle”. I found an online photo of an 1890s Brown saddle and made the mental leap that they could have used a Brown brand saddle. There was nothing remaining on the original leather work except dirt and disintegration every time it was touched. I sent a picture of the Brown saddle to the harness shop and they had a nylon die made in the same script. It’s the closest fake thing to an original logo image on an old saddle I could find.

 

[Nabeaquam]

Going to be signing out soon for tonight. Just how many bikes are out there with this perch?

Is the embossed name in the saddle something more that we don't know about?



View attachment 648060

None, it’s a one off saddle. It’s smaller than the repop Troxel I had on it earlier. It’s also nicer. The Troxel is off my Flying Merkle. It is a beautiful job, this Brown faux job. This shop has made saddles for early board track motorcycles. Someone makes the reproduction board track motorcyle pans and they do the leather covering. There aren’t many very old board track motorcycles still around, handfuls. They do the board tracker seat reproductions, but only a few. People make reproduction board track motorcycles. This shop makes the seats. Here is a reproduction of a board track motorcycle. None of this model exist, it was recreated from reproducing existing parts and photos. All parts are new. New castings, everything. If your rich you can buy one, he makes one a year. This harness shop made the board tracker seat. No gears, no clutch, no brakes, no helmet, 120 mph top speed. To stop, push the broken off hacksaw blade and tape kill switch. Tires just sitting on the rims, no clinchers, terrible rubber. Overhead cam death machine. Gas and go. Paul Brodie, yeah the bicycle guy, he makes them, all by himself. His patina recreation was my inspiration.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

Brodie makes boardtrackers!
Oof....I have a bit of a thing for them....I really must crack on with my little boardtracker it's been sitting in the shed for far too long!
Might wheel it in later and blow some dust off it

 

[Nabeaquam]

Brodie makes boardtrackers!
Oof....I have a bit of a thing for them....I really must crack on with my little boardtracker it's been sitting in the shed for far too long!
Might wheel it in later and blow some dust off it

Brodie has a site where he has documented the build, in photos. There is also a video of a build but it skips a lot of the details. It’s fascinating to watch him build one. So much ingenious fabrication. He built a modern motorcycle for testing his engine. Things broke so he redesigned them. The original carburetor couldn’t be found, only one incomplete one. He made the missing parts and on his other ones the carb is all reproduction.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

Brodie has a site where he has documented the build, in photos. There is also a video of a build but it skips a lot of the details. It’s fascinating to watch him build one. So much ingenious fabrication. He built a modern motorcycle for testing his engine. Things broke so he redesigned them. The original carburetor couldn’t be found, only one incomplete one. He made the missing parts and on his other ones the carb is all reproduction.

I shall drink beer later and find this!
Might get me fired up on mine.

 

[Nabeaquam]

I shall drink beer later and find this!
Might get me fired up on mine.

I’s a little difficult to find, but the photo build is there. I’m not sure but it might be buried in his web page. I can never locate it right off. It’s been about two years since I last looked at it. It will keep you entertained for quite a few beers. I originally found it by accident, looking for something else and fell down an internet rabbit hole. Paul Brodie Excelsior Board Track Reproduction.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

I’s a little difficult to find, but the photo build is there. I’m not sure but it might be buried in his web page. I can never locate it right off. It’s been about two years since I last looked at it. It will keep you entertained for quite a few beers. I originally found it by accident, looking for something else and fell down an internet rabbit hole. Paul Brodie Excelsior Board Track Reproduction.

I will find it fear not...an Excelsior built by him is a must see

 

[Nabeaquam]

I will find it fear not...an Excelsior built by him is a must see

I just looked. There are many 2022 posts about his Excelsior project but the step by step build photos with explanations may be gone, I can’t find them. People probability don’t want all that detail so dummied down YouTube videos may have taken its place.

 

[Nabeaquam]

I rode it 3.8 miles. Everything worked. The seat stayed put, the pedal didn’t seize and the reversed chain is less noisy but still creaks and pops. It’s by far the worst riding position I have ever dealt with. If you go down on the drops your looking at the wheel with your neck cranked back. Your shoulders scream at you no matter where they are on the bars. So I’ll ride it a little each day until I get more use to it. I got ahold of the harness shop today and he wants to make more seats. He liked working on it. He said he can make a seat pan like mine as he has my measurements, but the curved seat clamp mounting rails are something he didn’t think about and deflated his idea to make more. I didn’t send him the rails so he didn’t know about the uniqueness of the design. I sent him pictures of the rails so he can figure out if he wants to make more. He can emboss any brand on the leather flap. So this seat could be had now minus the rails. It would have mounting bolts, but they would be in the same position as my seat. He can make any pan cover if you send him the pan and photos of what it looked like but would cost more than one like mine as he already has the pattern.

 

[Nabeaquam]

Since I think the Monarch is fixed I put the first saddle I was using on the Monarch back on my Flying Merkel Racer. I put the pedals that I was going to use on the Monarch on the Flying Merkel. The original pedals and seat were missing. I put my new wood clinchers on the Merkel as the original rims have tubular cyclocross tires replacing the original single tube tires. I rebuilt the original wheels using new spokes and kept the rest original. A Merkel decal set would cost the same as I paid for the bicycle ($300.00), so that’s not happening. This Is a very rare bicycle brand and the racer model is rarer yet. I’m trying to save the original wood grips, glueing them back together and corking the indent. I got fired up to work on some of my other bicycles by working on the Monarch.