I finally tracked down a suitable, vintage, and original, frame mounted tire pump, a new "stomp brake" pad, and even picked up a book that I've had my eye out for! It's been a good week in the Trupenfahrrad world.
Here in the US, it's tough to find authentic Trupenfahrrad parts. You can find them in Europe, but the shipping to the US often makes the deal, "not so great". So I was thrilled to locate a pump here in the good old USA! To make the deal even better, they had a new old stock, "stomp brake" pad! I contacted the seller, struck a deal and ordered them up. Now they're on the bench waiting for restoration and installation.
These old frame pumps were standard for nearly every Truppenfarrad, or Diensfahrrad, or as the German's call the civilian version an "Old Timer" Fahrrad.
These pumps were basically the same as the newer frame pumps that came along, and were widely adopted by most cyclists, in the 1960's, on up to the present day. But instead of modern, lightweight materials, they were old-school steel with a wood handle.
The valve stem fitting was set up for Presta or Woods valves.
This particular pump is complete, but in "restoreable condition". The leather cup inside is oil soaked, torn and rotted. So, until I find, or make, a new leather cup, it won't pump air.
The valve stem fitting needs a new rubber seal.
But, the very best thing about this particular pump, is the fact that it was once on an actual service bike of some sort! The seller said he picked it up in Germany and it was with a batch of similarly marked hand tools, and other old bike pumps. It appears that these came from some sort of government agency at one time.
The pump dates to the 1930's or 1940's, and has a wonderful patina. There are still some traces of the original black paint on the cylinder tube.
The wooden handle is marked with a burned-in brand of RWF, on two sides. I am working on tracking down what this stood for, but for now it adds a great overall look to the pump, and impression on the bike. If any of my readers have information about the "RWF" brand, or have an idea about it, please, let me know in the comments or by email. Thanks!
The ends of the pump have been dimpled, for mounting with a pin clamp on the frame. I have a few leads on some old steel pump mounts, but nothing firm yet.
The brake pad will replace the worn out pad that is currently installed on the bike (probably the original pad!). It should be a fairly straight forward change-out, but when you are dealing with 70+ year old parts, it often gets a bit complicated................
To top off my score on the bike parts, I also found a new copy of the book Radfahrschwadronen. This book covers the WW2 German issued Truppenfahrrad's and is filled with great photos out of the original military manuals, field photos, and other great details. There is just one hitch though, it's in German! Time to brush up on my German skills again!
I also want to add that I recently picked up an original front fender ornament from the same parts seller. The ornament is an original 1930's to 1940's, Victoria Bicycle Company ornament (German). The bike had the original base from an old ornament that was still bolted in place, but the original main part had long since snapped off and disappeared. Now I have a classic, and complete look, for the bike. One step closer to getting the bike back in its original Polizei configuration. (The bike is an original 1948 Dienstfahrrad, for those of you who don't know).
An now that we've reaquainted ourselves with the old "Fahrrad", let's take a closer look at that old pump and pad!
RWF = owners initials? Seems somewhat selfmade...
ReplyDeleteRWF may be a self made set of initials, however, the seller who obtained this pump in Germany, said that there were a number of similar pumps, all with the same brand. There were also a lot of hand tools with the same brands on the handle (all in very rough shape). I am thinking it may be from a city department, or possibly from an industrial facility or factory. It was standard for factories to have their own "civil defense" gear and units on standby during the pre-war and WW2 years. The bikes may have been for use on the facility and in the factory grounds to move workers around......... I will probably never know, but the look is outstanding!
ReplyDeleteNice find! The fender ornament is really cool.
ReplyDeleteOh, BTW, In Holland they still tell jokes about the Germans stealing their bicycles! If a Nederlander sees a Duitser on a bike he says, "Hey! That's my Bicycle!"
ReplyDelete