I hate to repaint a vintage bike or change it but have decided to restore this one. The paint is bizarre: blue over yellow over red on the frame, and blue over yellow over glossy black on rear fender. I don't know what is original or what is primer. I found the red by scraping off some yellow under the crank bracket (photo). The rear fender has the white section which was certainly a later addition. I plan to paint everything black and reproduce the laced skirt guard on the rear fender.
The wheels were steel but I believe the original were wood as the front hub was not correct. Thanks to Dave B at the CVBS I now have the nice wood rim with hub in the photos for the front. I will respoke a wood rim onto the New Hercules brake hub.
Can the exact year of this bike be traced by the "model 855" on the badge? It should be between 1918 and when they started using letters in the serial number - 1921? I don't believe they had Gibson pedals in those years so I don't think they are original. IF I can remove them I will look for something period correct and more feminine. Is the saddle correct for this age or was it also added later?
Don't hate to paint it, find out the original colour and repaint, re chrome, you will have a beautiful bike. There is far too much fuss and worry about redoing an old bike. Get a good painter and do it up right.I hate to see old bikes rust away, just because someone says you have to stick to the old paint....
As well never rechrome an aluminum head badg they will warp. You know if you had a lot of OP, i would try and restore it, but that one has 20 pounds of house paint on it....Blast, prime, fill,paint, use a pro, you will be glad you did...
Thanks Lawrence. In my first post I forgot to mention the serial number: 103645 (ie. no letter) so that, with the Weston badge, narrows it down to 1918-19-20. I checked the 1918 Catalogue available online (link on this site) and the Gendron 855 Ladies is listed in it, so I will call it a 1918 model.
According to the saddle page, the standard saddle was the Comfort Ladies 24 (painted) or 34 (nickel plated). It has 3 vertical springs, one in each corner. Brooks has a very similar saddle listed on their website, although the measurements are a bit longer and a bit narrower, perhaps a men's saddle.
I will try to attach photos. If anyone has a saddle like this they are willing to sell, please contact me.
I could also use a pair of Hercules Ladies pedals (well, I can dream, can't I?).
P.S. With the metal rims in place of wood, later pedals, later saddle, rubber grips in place of leather, and blue paint, my theory is that sometime prior to WW2, the bike was being passed down to a younger family member, daughter or granddaughter, and all those updates were made to give it makeover and make it seem like a new-ish bike.
I think that I have a ladies comfort saddle for this bike. I will have to check tomorrow. Please let me know if you are interested. You can contact me at jdwillia@shaw.ca
Update: I've come to the conclusion that I'm never going to find an original chainguard for this bike. I found one on Ebay from a prewar Rollfast that I think I can modify so that it appears similar to one in the 1918 catalogue. My plan is to cut out the center section and end section around the hub sprocket, and weld or bolt on some mounting brackets. See photos:
The fenders are pitted because they were inside my garage when thieves burned it down in January 2021. Firemen stepped on them and threw them into a pile of soot in the backyard where they rusted in the snow & rain. I straightened them and had them blasted before paint.
Gendron photos:
Got these to upload by cropping them:
I hate to repaint a vintage bike or change it but have decided to restore this one. The paint is bizarre: blue over yellow over red on the frame, and blue over yellow over glossy black on rear fender. I don't know what is original or what is primer. I found the red by scraping off some yellow under the crank bracket (photo). The rear fender has the white section which was certainly a later addition. I plan to paint everything black and reproduce the laced skirt guard on the rear fender.
The wheels were steel but I believe the original were wood as the front hub was not correct. Thanks to Dave B at the CVBS I now have the nice wood rim with hub in the photos for the front. I will respoke a wood rim onto the New Hercules brake hub.
Can the exact year of this bike be traced by the "model 855" on the badge? It should be between 1918 and when they started using letters in the serial number - 1921? I don't believe they had Gibson pedals in those years so I don't think they are original. IF I can remove them I will look for something period correct and more feminine. Is the saddle correct for this age or was it also added later?
comments welcome! -Brian R.
Don't hate to paint it, find out the original colour and repaint, re chrome, you will have a beautiful bike. There is far too much fuss and worry about redoing an old bike. Get a good painter and do it up right.I hate to see old bikes rust away, just because someone says you have to stick to the old paint....
As well never rechrome an aluminum head badg they will warp. You know if you had a lot of OP, i would try and restore it, but that one has 20 pounds of house paint on it....Blast, prime, fill,paint, use a pro, you will be glad you did...
Thanks Lawrence. In my first post I forgot to mention the serial number: 103645 (ie. no letter) so that, with the Weston badge, narrows it down to 1918-19-20. I checked the 1918 Catalogue available online (link on this site) and the Gendron 855 Ladies is listed in it, so I will call it a 1918 model.
According to the saddle page, the standard saddle was the Comfort Ladies 24 (painted) or 34 (nickel plated). It has 3 vertical springs, one in each corner. Brooks has a very similar saddle listed on their website, although the measurements are a bit longer and a bit narrower, perhaps a men's saddle.
I will try to attach photos. If anyone has a saddle like this they are willing to sell, please contact me.
I could also use a pair of Hercules Ladies pedals (well, I can dream, can't I?).
-Brian R.
P.S. With the metal rims in place of wood, later pedals, later saddle, rubber grips in place of leather, and blue paint, my theory is that sometime prior to WW2, the bike was being passed down to a younger family member, daughter or granddaughter, and all those updates were made to give it makeover and make it seem like a new-ish bike.
-Brian R.
Hello Brian,
I think that I have a ladies comfort saddle for this bike. I will have to check tomorrow. Please let me know if you are interested. You can contact me at jdwillia@shaw.ca
John Williamson
Update: I've come to the conclusion that I'm never going to find an original chainguard for this bike. I found one on Ebay from a prewar Rollfast that I think I can modify so that it appears similar to one in the 1918 catalogue. My plan is to cut out the center section and end section around the hub sprocket, and weld or bolt on some mounting brackets. See photos:
Update: Here is what this bike looks like now. It's nice to finally finish a project! More details to come.
More photos...
Nice job on the pins..
What was the prep work before painting on the front fender?
The fenders are pitted because they were inside my garage when thieves burned it down in January 2021. Firemen stepped on them and threw them into a pile of soot in the backyard where they rusted in the snow & rain. I straightened them and had them blasted before paint.