Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Q&A: American King of Scorchers bicycle

Q: Please note the following bike: American King of Scorchers-Mclntosh &
Huntington Company, Cleveland OH, 1896. I acquired one a few weeks ago and
would like any information you might have on it. The only part that is
compromised is the stem; there is a significant crack in it and will
certainly break apart if tightened. If you have or know the whereabouts of
a nickel plated, period-correct stem, please let me know.

Thank you in advance,
Mark

A: Hi Mark,
For that vintage of bike you should definitely contact/join The Wheelmen
www.thewheelmen.org I'm a proud member. This club is devoted to restoring,
preserving and riding bikes made from 1860 to about 1925. As a member you
will receive the club newsletter and be able to run classified ads looking
for parts and you'll find out about events and meet people with bikes like
yours that can help you with restoration, tracking down parts, etc. To start
looking for your stem you could visit the link above and check out the
message boards. You might also check out the antique photographs and see if
you can find your bike or check the bicycle brands list where you will find
your bike listed:
http://www.thewheelmen.org/sections/bicyclebrands/showresults.asp?whichpage=
2&pagesize=50&alphachar=A There's even a chance the Wheelmen library has a
catalog for your bike and that you can get a reprint for a few dollars. Give
it a try and if you'd like to send me a digital photo of your bike I'd be
happy to take a look and see if I can offer any more information,

Yours in cycling,
Jim

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