TheWheelmen

Wheelmen Talk => General discussions on Wheelmen topics. => Topic started by: Chris Noonan on August 25, 2019, 02:02:30 PM

Title: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: Chris Noonan on August 25, 2019, 02:02:30 PM
Hi all,
    I'm a new member who'd like to introduce himself.  In late 1970's into the early 1980's I was the owner (with one partner) of a Bicycle Shop at the corner of E.19th St. and Second Ave in Manhattan, called the "Right Brothers Bicycle Shop".  Some time in our first year of business, a couple of guys who had a Demolition Company stopped in and asked if I might be interested in an old bike they had discovered in the attic of a building they were demolishing.  I asked to see it and they pulled it out of the back of their truck. I paid what they were asking for it, thinking it would look great hanging up on the wall above the shop's new bike display.  There it stayed, until the shop was sold a few years later, when I embarked on a new career. We also had a replica High Wheel bike, that I rode frequently in the streets of Manhattan. 
    My wife and I also owned a place in NH, where I now reside.  The antique bike was transported there and put in dry storage, where it has remained since.  Many years ago, I did some research and, in fact, tried to sign up for this forum (failed to get a response to my inquiry).  All I found out was that the Hoffman Company built bicycles (not re-badged from another supplier) from 1890 to 1895 in Cleveland , Ohio and then turned to Automobile production, if I remember correctly.
    I'm hoping that, perhaps, some of the Wheelmen might be able to shed some light on this brand and after viewing the attached photos, an evaluation of what I have.
Thanks to all
Chris
Title: Re: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: DelombardR on August 25, 2019, 10:20:44 PM
Chris,
Welcome to the Wheelmen Message Board.
I hope someone can lend some information on your bicycle! It looks in very good shape.
I've been amazed what some Wheelmen know about certain bicycles.
Richard
Title: Re: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: slcurts on August 26, 2019, 03:21:35 PM
Hi Chris,
Well, if you've figured out where the bike was built and when the company was in the bike business, that's honestly more than some of us ever find out about a bike we find. Have you asked the club librarian, Bill Smith, if he has any literature about it?

If your dates are correct, then just judging by the frame geometry, your bike is most likely from 1895. Earlier ones typically had sloping top tubes and huge head tubes, even longer than yours. By about 1895 the geometry had settled on a recognizably modern diamond frame, just a little taller and shorter than we'd ride now. Yours looks in terrific condition; just overhaul the bearings, find someone to fix the seat, and put some cyclocross tubular tires on it and it could be ridden.

Stan
Title: Re: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: DelombardR on August 26, 2019, 08:55:52 PM
If you have a continuing interest in bicycles of this era, you might consider joining The Wheelmen, spiffing up that nice bicycle, and ride in some parades with us.  There are many Wheelmen in the New England area.

Membership info is here:
https://www.thewheelmen.com/sections/membership/membership.php

Dick DeLombard
pardon me, but I've been promoted to be the Membership Chairman   :-)

Title: Re: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: mike cates on August 26, 2019, 11:27:44 PM
I agree with Richard about your joining The Wheelmen. You will get an education over your lifetime that is not found elsewhere!
Great group of collectors, restorers, riders, historians, craftsmen and lovers of these venerable machines.
Mike Cates, CA.
Title: Re: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: Chris Noonan on August 29, 2019, 08:20:57 AM
Thanks to all, for your greetings and advise. I have become a member and will check for nearby Wheelmen gatherings. My bike is fully operational, now that I have inflated the old sew-up tires I put on it decades ago.  There is little sprocket or chain wear which leads me to believe it was not used much. The only thing that needs repair is the saddle which is now stashed in a protective plastic bag.  I am going to pull a saddle and seat post off another of my bikes for a short trial run. Since my first entry, I found out that my memory betrayed me, and that Louis Hoffman operated his Bicycle Manufacturing Business from 1895 to 1900, when he entered the automobile market. He began selling them (autos) in 1902. The Crawford Museum in Cleveland, Ohio has one of his steam powered cars on display. I also found some adds for his bicycles touting the frame within a frame concept he was using to make his bikes lighter. A cross section shows a triangular frame inside the outer tube. I have no idea if this was a unique feature to the Hoffman, or if other manufacturers were doing the same.  The Wheelmen list of bicycle manufacturers does list the bike also.

Chris
Title: Re: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: DelombardR on September 10, 2019, 11:00:53 PM
Chris,

As membership chairman, I haven't seen your membership application and dues.  Did you join using the on-line system and PayPal or did you fill out a form and mail with a check?  Have I missed either of these?

"Joining" this message board or "joining" the Wheelmen FaceBook  page is not joining The Wheelmen as a member. 

This message board and Facebook are discussion areas to share ideas, information, etc.
Actual membership is much more with Newsletters, Magazines, parades, exhibits, personal discourse with others, formal and informal Meets, and more.
Explained well here:
https://www.thewheelmen.com/sections/membership/membership.php

Richard
Title: Re: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: Chris Noonan on September 11, 2019, 08:42:48 AM
Richard,Please see below
------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject:    Welcome to TheWheelmen
Date:    Wed, 31 Jul 2019 18:09:43 -0000
From:    TheWheelmen <themarkwscherer@gmail.com>
To:    noonans@myfairpoint.net


Your registration request at TheWheelmen has been received, Chris Noonan.

The username you registered with was Chris Noonan. If you forget your password, you can change it at http://thewheelmen.org/forum/index.php?action=reminder.

Before you can login and start using the forum, your request will be reviewed and approved. When this happens, you will receive another email from this address.

Regards,
The TheWheelmen Team.

Welcome, Chris Noonan!

Your account has been activated manually by the admin and you can now login and post. Your username is: Chris Noonan. If you forget your password,etc.
Regards,
The TheWheelmen Team.
Title: Re: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: DelombardR on September 12, 2019, 10:03:30 AM
Chris,

This message board is open to 'the public' as long as they are registered users.  This does not confer formal membership in The Wheelmen organization.  This is also true of the pages of The Wheelmen on FaceBook.  Being a member of The Wheelmen is a lot more than this message board or FaceBook. Membership is described here:
https://www.thewheelmen.com/sections/membership/membership.php

You are registered here on this message board and you are participating.  That is fine. I just wanted to make sure you recognized the difference and perhaps would like to join The Wheelmen if you have a continuing interest in old bikes.


Richard

Title: Re: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: Chris Noonan on September 12, 2019, 11:55:30 AM
Thanks, Richard, for the clarification. I had no idea that there was more to it.
Regards,
Chris
Title: Re: New Member old cycle questions
Post by: DelombardR on September 12, 2019, 11:16:26 PM
Chris,

No problem. We are working to make this matter more clear.
You are not the first to not see beyond the message board.
I also did not mean to 'chase' you away, please participate and contribute to this message board.
I just wanted you to know there is more! 

Now, back to your bicycle!


Richard