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Colour and gearing specs
Good day. On June 18 I entered a 1934 CCM in the Kluane Chilkat International Bicycle Relay from Haines Junction in the Yukon to Haines on the coast of Alaska, where I rode the last 19 miles into Fort Seward, of the 148 miles total. One of my teammates, John Lewis, was so taken with the idea of racing vintage that he searched out his childhood bike (stored in some nephew's garage, unwanted) and is dismantling it with intention to restore and race it next year. Of course, there is no hope that he could use a coaster-brake one-speed on the mile-long hills of the Haines Highway, but that has not deterred his enthusiasm.
But he wants to be authentic, and has asked for the paint code for a 1957 boy's 28-inch wheel coaster bike, which was once maroon with white fenders and chain guard. This was a very common colour in mid-1950s. Does anyone have more details that would aid a match?
Also, his rear cog has been swapped for a higher gear (fewer teeth) and he would like to know what it should have. All my 28-inch Canadian Westwood-style wheels have 20-tooth cogs, but I do not know what years they are from. Is anyone more knowledgeable?
Sounds like an epic journey. Is the bike you rode more or less stock, or has it seen any upgrades to tackle the route? Either way it sounds pretty cool.
As far as paint goes I was kinda wondering the same thing. I have a '48 ladies bike in the same colours that I will be preparing for winter riding, and am about to paint it. It looks like Tremclad "wild raspberry" is going to be a close enough match for my purposes. It looks pretty close to me, but I'm not going for a 100% resto on this thing. For the white, I have seen some in white, and others in an off-white. It might just be the age of some, or maybe there were two different colours.
All the rear cogs I have encountered have been either 18 or 20 teeth on the 28" wheels on bikes ranging from the early 30's to early 50's. Most looked stock, but who knows what could have happend over all these years. For myself, the gearing always feels "right" so I assumed it was stock.
Erik
Incredible! Nicely done, Garry. Good to hear that some vintage CCMs are still making appearances at events like these.
Dear Eriik:
My cousin's 1949 28-inch man's bike has original off-white fenders and chain guard, sort of buttermilk. By the late 1950s, the white had gotten whiter, but still not refrigerator white. So your repaint should be creamy rather than Tide-white. Ken Martin tells me that CCM used the maroon from early 1900s until about 1961, but there was variation from year to year within a range that would still be called maroon, claret or dark red. So I search for the 1957 shade.
My 1934 racer was built without brakes and with a fixed single-speed hub. I found it as a ruin, without any paint, and with the rims rusted through. The red Dunlop Speedway tyres had turned to gummy art erasers, for they lacked carbon black in the rubber compound. The Major Taylor handlebars and stem had cracks. But ancient grease had protected the bottom bracket bearings and steering races. The Brooks B5N saddle was flattened, grey-white, with no life in it. The beehive handgrips were still usable.
I had no other racer so decided to equip this wreck for the mile-long hills of the Haines Highway. A leather shop blocked, blackened and oiled the saddle to make it quite rideable. Replica Major Taylor handlebars are available from SOMA, but the stem had to be fabricated at a machine shop (for the price of a Canadian Tire racer). The brightwork was blasted and nickel-plated at Mayfair in Toronto. A 1948 three-speed drum brake and 1952 front drum brake hub by Sturmey Archer make the bike usable on hills; attaching nuts, spacers and brake levers came from Persons Majestic in Chicago. Yellowbike commune in Kingston provided an upside-down-style shifter from the 1940s. By magic, the bike told me what colour it wanted to be: London Machinery Blue. 27x1 1/4 Rigida rims from 1980 fit the 28x1 1/4 Speedway tyres! However, I raced on new Schwalbes. Alas, the spokes are brand new DT Suisse. Backpedalling in Guelph dug up bearing cages for one of the Torrington No. 8 pedals, as well as the replica bars. To ward off bears, a common sight on that road, I fitted a large bell, which made the bike into a chick magnet.
Best regards, Garry Marnoch
Wow! It looks like I ended up learning a whole lot more than expected. It seems you're quite knowledgeable on these old bikes. I wish I could of been a bit more help. Either way it's good motivation to get back to work on it. The build on your bike sounds incredible. Thanks for sharing.
Erik