c.1916? Hyslop

After keeping my eyes and ears open for a long time I finally found a nice original condition Hyslop Mens. It came with original paint, saddle, pedals, hubs, rims, tool pouch and pump clips. I added the brass pump and Electra Amsterdam 700 x 40C white tires. I would have put black tires on it, but the previous owner kept one of the worn-out original tires that was on the bike when he bought it at an estate sale 25 years ago, and that tire was white. The hub brake is a New Departure Model A.

The wood rims have their original stripes, although the varnish on the front rim especially has aged badly obscuring the colours on the stripes. They were made by Lobdell and are steel lined, which has kept them straight after all these years. It rides beautifully. There is a patent date of July 19, 1910 on the rims for the steel lining.

I've had some difficulty determining the year it was made. The white tire and 1" pitch chain points to an earlier time, while the full fenders with double braces points to a later time. The 1915 Hyslop catalogue (available on this site) shows this bike but with a short front fender stopping at the fork crown. The 1915 catalogue specifies a New Departure Brake while the 1922 catalogue shows an Eadie brake. For all these reasons, my best guess is sometime in the late teens. If anyone has other Hyslop catalogues or insight that could help narrow it down, please let me know.

Oh, and I have a question about the carrier rack that came with the bike. The support brackets are short, so they are mounted on the seat stays not the hub axle. Does anyone have any suitable, period correct mounting brackets they'd be willing to sell? Failing that, some photos of correct brackets would be great.

 

4 Comments

Beautifullbike!

Nice to see Brian  congratulations thanks for the pictures.

What type of rear hub?

Thank you both. I'm glad you asked about the rear hub Greg, it reminded me that I wanted to ask site members about this. The hub brake is a New Departure Model A, but it's unusual in that it doesn't have the arm with the little teeth on it like a regular Model A. Instead, the arm has three holes in it and fits directly onto the three little pins instead of having that extra piece with the little teeth. The stamping on the brake arm is unusual too (see photo). I looked through all 19 or so pages of photos and text on the CABE forum thread about dating New Departure hubs, and could not find one like this. Even a Model A hub made in 1908 has the little teeth, so it doesn't seem to be a question of age. It makes me wonder if this was a version that ND made solely for the export market, either to cut costs or to avoid violating a Canadian patent.

 

hyslopndhub1.jpg hyslopndhub2.jpg

So, has anyone seen another hub like this, on which bike, and do you know why it's different than the usual Model A?