Flyer Crank Parts

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Hello Brian the flat profile crank arms are pre Triangular I believe from 20,s era 

Greg

I think that the sprockets for the Flyer changed in 1935, when CCM introduced their regular line sprockets with the large "CCM" letters in the web. I will check my catalogues and pictures later to confirm this. I know that Torchy Peden was still riding his Flyer with the early sprocket in 1938.

John Williamson

After checking, the new style Flyer sprocket for the professional racer was first shown in the 1936 CCM Catalogue. The inch-pitch Flyer sprockets are relatively scarce.

John Williamson

.  Another known dating reference is that CCM introduced chrome plating, for their in-house manufactured parts, in 1931.

Regarding the rectangular cross-section crankarms, the non-conventional pedal threads may be metric/French standard (i.e. 14mm x 1.25mm). The 5 pin, 50.4mm bolt centre diameter style cranksets used on the Flyers were also a popular European standard, so this may not be a CCM crankset.  This may explain the square taper spindle holes and the pedal threads.

Options in chainring size and crankarm length were offered as a way to customize the drivetrain to suit the particular event, rider strength and rider size. The proper selection can get quite complicated for competition use, so an extreme example, let's look at a typical inter-war male and female CCM roadster. Females were typically smaller and weaker than males, so female roadsters typically came with 44 tooth chainrings mounted to 6-1/2" crankarms. This produced lower, easier to pedal gearing than the 50 tooth chainrings and 7" crankarms fitted to men's roadsters.

1" pitch was the original bicycle chain standard but as chain technology and metallurgy developed, 1/2" pitch took over around the time of the Great War. With a reduction in pitch came a reduction in width. However, 1" x 3/16" was stronger and more desirable, particularly for track racing.  Since most of the 1920s and early 1930s racing bicycles were dual purpose road and track models, it was typical to equip them with the more robust 1" x 3/16" drivetrain. CCM's Flyer was a dual purpose model through the early 1930s and consequently used a 1" x 3/16" drivetrain. CCM's first road specific competition model was the Road Racer and it was spec'd with a 1/2" x 1/8" drivetrain. When the Flyer became road dedicated in 1936, it switched to the 1/2" x 1/8" drivetrain, while the track oriented Custom Built Professional Racer utilized a 1" x 3/16" drivetrain. With the mid-1950s introduction of the Proflyte Flyer, the road version used an even narrower 1/2" x 3/32" drivetrain to accommodate the relatively narrow spacing between the cogs on the 4 and 5 cog freewheels.

So, 1" versus 1/2" pitch on Triplex competition chainrings is primarily a reflection of the intended use.  In addition to the vintage and tooth pitch, you need to look at the tooth width. I strongly suspect that the two,  1/2" pinch, CCM logo chainrings are 1/8" road models, while the 1" pitch, CCM logo chainring is a 3/16" track model. The 1" pitch, non-logo model is probably a 3/16" road/track model. The 1/2" pitch non-logo chainring is competition Triplex compatible but would appear to be a road model used on CCM's cottered, English Standard crankset.

The 1" pitch chainrings were both meant for the Flyer "Professional Racer", the only difference being that the chainring with the letters "CCM" in the web was made after about mid 1935. This was available on track Flyers (including the Prolite) up until the late 1950's. I have seen them in 23,24,25, and 26 teeth. The Road Racer was not really a serious racing bike and was heavy with relatively low quality parts (hence the low price). The Road Flyer introduced in 1936 did have a frame made with Accles and Pollock tubing and was much lighter. Some serious racers were using the Road Flyer in long distance events in the mid to late 1930's. These were ususlly fitted with Dunlop "Special Lightweight" rims and Dunlop 27 X 1 1/4" tires. CCM did resurrect the track Flyer around 1950 and offered it alongside the "Flyer 51" road model. These were now made using Reynolds 531 tubing. Both of these models were replaced with more modern Flyer Prolite models in 1954 and were offered by CCM on special order until around 1958 or 1959.

John Williamson

CCM also changed the design of the Flyer crank arms in late 1935. The earlier crank arms were bulkier and had an almost square cross section. The more slender and lighter design was used on both road and track Flyers until the late 1950"s, although there is some evidence to suggest that some Prolite Road Flyers from 1954 to 1959 had Stronglight cottered cranks with double Simplex  3/16" chainrings.

John Williamson

Thank you for the information. I was mistaken with my comment on the long, flat crank arms having a different thread. They are the same diameter and thread as all the other crank arms, but the threads were a bit reluctant after decades of shelf storage. With a greater effort and some lubricant I was able to hand-tighten a pair of pedals into those arms.

I've been trying to decide which chainring to use on my Doc Morton frame project, shown in another forum thread on this site. I'm leaning towards the half-inch pitch one without the CCM letters, since this type is the one on the Doc Morton bike in Mike Barry's collection. A pair of these triangular crank arms are not a perfect fit, however, since they are chrome plated and there is a little ridge or lip between the chainring centre and where the arm comes through the center hole. If anyone has a spare pair of nickel-plated arms for that chainring, I would be interested in buying them or trading.