News
1937 Ladies model
Hello,
I'm a new forum member. Based in Victoria BC. Yesterday I saw an old bike in a junk pile. Had a look and it looked old and interesting. But I was in a hurry. I went back this morning and picked it up.
The serial is an 3Axxxx and looking at pictures it definitely looks like a 1937 Ladies model.
I have been working on bikes for a long time now. But it's my first actually old CCM.
The plan is to put it back on the street but not to try a period correct rebuilt. So some parts will go to the trash. Unless someone wants them. The rims are rusted through but the hubs might be salvageable. The L shaped seatpost is also not going to be reused.
Oh an hello everyone
Here is a picture of the beast
Im in Victoria and have lots of parts if you beed anything
Oh cool. Actually if you had a chain guard (any colour, any model) I'm definitely looking for one. I can tweak and adjust if needed.
For sure. You can email me. Same user as here at gmail
In other news, I think I'm going to braze some disc tabs to the fork and update that Lady to 700c wheels. I'll post pictures if things go according to plan.
I used a scrap piece of 1/4 thick steel I had laying around as the basis of the home-made disc tab braze-on. After a few cardboard templates here is the result. Mostly for the heck of it I went with a really long arm. I saw pictures of old fork retrofited with disc tabs breaking near the attach point as they weren't designed to handle the twisting force the brakes will produce. A super long arm and 4 attach points should make it plentu strong. So far I just tacked the tab in place with an arc welder. Now it's ready to braze.
Quality at CCM went downward with time didn't it.
Today I removed the paint on the frame and I was surprised by how nice the lugs are and by the quality of the brazing. Those weren't light frames but they were very decently made ones. The quality is much better than the CCM frames from the 70's I worked on.
Does someone know why frame quality evolved in that direction at CCM?
Ive run drum brakes on 40s forks without any issue.
Yes, but 1) drum brakes usually have longuish brake arms to "spread" the load upward and 2) don't have as much power as a grippy disk brake. There are lots of people ending up with broken forks because of over-optimistic braze-ons (http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2010/10/braking-induced-fork-failure.html or vayafork3.jpg or fork_bent_by_disc_brake_e825bb029edab210498d8adc1059af9060934f41.gif and lots ot others)
However, to be honest, I agree with you. I have been welding and toying around with that 1937 CCM frame the whole week and I don't think I would have had any issues with a regular disc braze one. The tubes are really thick and the steel looks to be mild enough to absorb rather than break anyway.
I'm almost ready to start the painting process. I brazed front disc tabs, fender eyelets front and back (I don't like wheel attached fenders), and chain guard tabs. The paint is gone and I now need to do the final sanding and prep before painting. Which is the part I do not enjoy.
Ready to paint. Frame and fenders are going to be apple green. Some previously chromed parts that are way too pitted to leave as-is will be treated with some Tremclad "aluminum" paint... I hate painting :-(
I for one am hoping for the colour to be maroon . . .
Why marron? I'm pretty sure the original colour was blue. At least that's the colour found on the inside of the bottom bracked shell as well as in a few hard to reach spots.
Speaking of colour I have a more or less related question. The frame serial links to a 1937 frame. But the catalogue for 1937 lists a Hercule rear hub and what that bike has is a 37 CCM hub. Now I'm wondering if the bike is actually a 1938 model whose frame was built in 1937.
This is how it works for most Japanese frames of the 80's. If a frame was made in 1980 it likely is a 1981 model. Does someone know if that's how it works for CCM too,
Not too sure about the production year/ model year thing, but wouldn't be surprised if that's how that works. Imagine welding up a bunch of frames (and stamping serials into them) in September of 1937, then kitting it out in February 1938 with 1938 model year parts and voila! It's a 1938! As long as the frames don't change, it gives time to paint, build wheels, manufacture components, assemble and crate up the finished product for the big spring rush.
As for maroon, I just think it's a supremely classic CCM colour. That pale blue is a beauty too. Go with your heart. I just look forward to your finished project!
Mostly done… I need to buy a cable to connect the hub and the shifter. Read hub is a Shimano Nexus 3 speed coaster (laced to a way too nice Mavic Open Pro I had laying around). Front is a nondescript sealed disc hub. And yes, I know, that bike would deserve a nicer saddle. But I set a tight budget for all the to-buy stuff for the project. I want to keep it under 150$ and I’m at 140$ so that’s what it is. The only edit is that I will probably install a pair of Reelight (https://reelight.com/collections/battery-free-lights) I have laying around
Now the test ride. I like it. It is the 22” inch frame and with some saddle post showing fits me (5’10”). When I saw the frame in the trash I was intrigued by how short and high it was. Riding position is extreme-upright. With a super high bottom bracket it puts the rider head super high. Above most car roof. It feels stable and safe…
My plan is to ride it a while and then to sell it (hence the budget constraints) but I am surprise by how nice it is.
And here's the pre-post shot
I used a SA clamp for fixing the brake arm to the fork. Its easy and saves the need to mess around brazing fittings. The drum provided enough power for my 200lbs plus my five year old in a rear carrier seat.
Bike looks good btw.
Plus there are some good threads jere regarding model year, calendar year and serial letter coding. Search the site if youre interested
Your chainring and cranks are replacements from the later 40s or newer which indicates that its likely the hub was replaced as well
Interesting for the chainring and cranks. How do you tell for cranks. My impression was that the ring was changed but the cranks were not.
The frame serial 3A4633 matches a 1937 model. But the bike was rebuilt sometime in the 60s. The grips, saddle, paint were clear giveaways. I'm not sure about the hubs because the rims looked original to me. Maybe someone relaced them. But that looks like a lot of work.
The round protrusion on the crank that engages the chainring should be a rectangular. In your later model chainring it would fit the rectangular hole located between the second C and M in CCM so that the newer chainrings are backwards compatible.
The original chainring wouldnt have the round hole at all and the rectangular hole would be after the M and before the first C so the rectangular drive cranks line up with the logo appropriately
As for the hub, there were lots of these bikes made so it would have been pretty easy to steal an entire wheel from another bike.
The markings on the 37 hubs changes over the years. That may offer some clues as to its originality. Also there may be other threads where members have reported 37 stamped frames with 37 hubs.