Re: A nice bicycle parts story

On 2024-04-03, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

Our regular customer has an extensive collection of vintage
and antique bicycles. He called this morning looking for
some 26 x 1.375" tires. These were the US decimal series
'lightweight' size in the 1930s through 1960s.  I
commiserated and warned him they have become quite rare and
expensive. We also chatted about this storm which has dumped
six inches of heavy wet slush, and hasn't stopped snowing
since yesterday morning. He's 150 miles south and has less
snow. After his recent surgery, his neighbor lady has been
clearing his walk.
>
He just called back to say that he was lamenting the tire
situation when his neighbor offered that her antique store
had once been a hardware store and there were 'some old
tires' in the basement. Sure enough, out of a dozen crepe
wrapped Carlysle USA tires, five are the unobtanium size 26
x 1.375".

I like this story!

Reminds me of my college pal who is a member of the League of American
Wheelmen. 

They had a story wherein a worker in a Chicago warehouse one day took to
exploring some of the unused rooms to find an old crate.

Opening the crate yielded a factory new Columbia Highweel in the
50-something inch range. It might have been a "Light Roadster".

My friend had an 1888 Columbia and people were always coming up to him and
asking him if it was like the original.

He would reply: "It *is* an original."
It would *always* take a long time for it to actually sink in that the asker
was actually lookin at the real deal...an 1888 highwheel.

Always look for the real wheel tucked in almost below the main wheel as
opposed to some of the 'replicas' you see out there.

pH in Aptos