From what I was told this was a custom made bike, made by a builder in Seattle. Curious if anyone knows an estimate on the age. I’ve given it a solid clean, new handle wrap, adjusted the brakes and shifter, and ordered new tubes and tires. My 2 big questions are: the rear wheel in the lowest gear rubs on the frame as seen in pic 2. I’ve tried adjusting the screws that change the depth of the axle but only a small amount. Is there anything I can do the remedy this, or is it indicative of a bent frame? Pic 3 there is a small crack right where the seat tube goes in. I’m assuming it’s not a huge deal but I wanted to confirm. The brakes look to have a lot of life but they feel kind of brittle, do they dry rot like rubber does? I apologize if my terminology is wrong, I come from car mechanics and have very little bike experience. I appreciate any insight you all can offer.
by louiekr
3 Comments
Bill Davidson and crew made excellent bikes out of Elliott Bay Bicycles for years.
They even got into Ti bikes in the late 1990’s or so.
Well made stuff for sure.
The crack on the front part of the seat cluster looks like there was an issue with a seizure post at some time, you should make sure the post is the correct size.
The brakes don’t match the cranks, someone changed up stuff. Although the Campag brakes are pretty, they don’t work as well as Shimano dual pivot. Form over function kinda thing.
Cool bike worth putting a few bucks into IMO.
My late uncle who got me in to cycling/ eventually open a shop and he rode a Davison at one point said “any yuppy can ride a Harley but a real man rides a Davidson”