A presumed 1930s Italian Atlas roadster. I have posted this bike on a couple websites (Tonton velo, The CABE) in an attempt to find any information about it in order to be able to properly restore it. I have been unable to find another example. The bike was sourced from Italy, nor has anyone been able to provide any direct information. I know that there have been a multitude of Atlas marques through the decades. I have only found one Italian brand, but only by finding a loose head badge.
The bike has Italian bottom bracket threads. Parts able to be identified: Atlas hubs and crank arms, Magistroni bottom bracket. "A" headlight bracket (possibly indicating Atlas).
The previous owner (not the original owner) assumed that it was an Atlas, but again I can find no evidence of that identification except assuming the Atlas parts are original and are also indicative of its marque.
I have not made any changes other than maintenance and saddle replacement (photo is prior to saddle exchange.
Thank you for any insight you can provide.
Last edited by Jesper on 23 Mar 2023, 7:20pm, edited 2 times in total.
jimlews wrote: ↑23 Mar 2023, 10:20pm
Bottom bracket appears to say MAGISTRONI
If that is right, the bike has good quality Italian components by a firm founded in 1921
Any serial number or casting marks on the dropouts or bottom bracket ?
What is the word on the front hub ? Is the rear hub the same brand ? ( ATLAS, perhaps ?)*
If not, what ?
The lamp bracket in the form of an A so bike brand name may begin with A.
*I think Atlas is a sub brand of Hero Cycles of India.
Both hubs and crank arms (patina same as frame, so presume to be original) are branded as Atlas.
Bottom bracket is Magistroni and BB shell is Italian thread.
I have only found a head badge (previous post) which appears to be much newer than the frame. I assume the badge is 50s-60s, and may have nothing to do with the actual bike marque (possibly different companies with the same name)..
Others have said the brake system details represent a pre-WW2 design. Other than that I have no evidence to confirm production other than that being from the 1920s-1940s..
I believe this predates the Indian Atlas (est. circa 1951) brand by a decade or more (I doubt they would have used Italian BB threading regardless). I have no idea as to the connection between the Indian Atlas and Hero marques; although I think Indian Hero bicycles/motorbikes were established after the Indian Atlas bicycle brand.
I would very much like to see another example with its original livery to help with identification and restoration. I assume that I will need to custom fabricate decals, or hand paint branding marks. I doubt I will find a head tube badge or suitable decal.
My first thought on reading "Atlas" was that it's not an Italian brand, but as you say, the Indian brand and any British brand it might have inherited the name from would be unlikely to use Italian threading. So the relationship between Atlas, Hero, Hercules etc is probably irrelevant for these purposes.
Bmblbzzz wrote: ↑24 Mar 2023, 8:43am
My first thought on reading "Atlas" was that it's not an Italian brand, but as you say, the Indian brand and any British brand it might have inherited the name from would be unlikely to use Italian threading. So the relationship between Atlas, Hero, Hercules etc is probably irrelevant for these purposes.
I have found Atlas marques from USA, France, and Netherlands also. It would seem to have been a commonly used name back in the day. The Indian brand closed down a couple years ago; not sure if it ended being bought out or if it is completely defunct.
Jesper wrote: ↑24 Mar 2023, 5:54pm
I have found Atlas marques from USA, France, and Netherlands also. It would seem to have been a commonly used name back in the day. The Indian brand closed down a couple years ago; not sure if it ended being bought out or if it is completely defunct.
It's been commonly used for everything from cameras to cars to longbows to coffee machines to computers to ICBMs to underwear* to...
Not surprising, the original being a bloke who carried the sky on his shoulders.
* Altas Comfy Bamboo Ethically Sourced. Inner Leg Anti-Chafe Panels. Zero Ride-Up. Google it yourself.
Jesper wrote: ↑24 Mar 2023, 5:54pm
I have found Atlas marques from USA, France, and Netherlands also. It would seem to have been a commonly used name back in the day. The Indian brand closed down a couple years ago; not sure if it ended being bought out or if it is completely defunct.
It's been commonly used for everything from cameras to cars to longbows to coffee machines to computers to ICBMs to underwear* to...
Not surprising, the original being a bloke who carried the sky on his shoulders.
* Altas Comfy Bamboo Ethically Sourced. Inner Leg Anti-Chafe Panels. Zero Ride-Up. Google it yourself.
I know that I have found 8 different older "Atlas" bike marques alone; still only one Italian marque at this time though, but the way Italian (et al.) bike companies where bought there could have been multiple owners of the marque over the past century.
I received a reply (of sorts) from VCC. I was informed that they cannot provide any information to a non-member.
Membership would cost me $55 USD (membership fee is £12 more for USA) for one year, and due to my location I really would not be able to take full advantage of member benefits. I would rather invest that money into the restoration over identification.
VCC "cannot give out marque enthusiast details to non-members"; but apparently are also unwilling to provide my contact information and link data addressing this bike to their members whom would then be able to choose to respond or not. I also received no answer to my query on if there were any USA chapters which would make membership a more viable option.
Also, per their own data they receive well over $100000 per year in membership fees (over 2500 members worldwide), and the organization is entirely run by volunteers so I presume much of their revenue is spent on publication mailings and bicycle purchases. I really do not want any mailings unless requested since I would assume members can access that information online (if not than it is quite wasteful of member fees for unwanted mailings, nevermind paper).
I will try to post this bike on an Italian forum (BDC-Mag was not able to provide any insight) in a continued effort to gain knowledge.
I will continue to update this thread with any information I receive, as well as restoration efforts as they progress.
I thank you for advice already received, and in advance of any advice/information which may be forthcoming.
Hello Bmbibzzz,
I am Vice-president of the Veteran-Cycle Club (V-CC). As Jesper says, we are a club run entirely by volunteers with no paid officers. The membership subscription pays for many things, but our major outlay is for two high-quality professionally produced periodicals: News & Views containing news of forthcoming events, reports of past events, letters, short topical articles e.g., on restoration advice, calls for help on identification, snippets of cycling history, members' sales and wants, etc. and The Boneshaker, a more scholarly or serious journal with articles on the history of cycles, cycling, manufacturers etc. We publish 6 issues of News & Views and 4 issues of the Boneshaker annually. As you might imagine, we keep the finances of the Club under constant critical review and would certainly have moved from posting out paper copies of our journals to online provision if it made economic sense but it doesn't at present. The economics are not as simple as you might imagine so let me just mention one salient factor: not all of our members are online. So if we are not to cast these people adrift, we would have to produce and circulate our publications in two formats, with two separate means of circulation, greatly complicating our work and increasing publication costs.
We are a very active Club with a full programme of national, international and local rides, displays, social events, etc. We have an annual summer camp and annual lunch. Our organisational costs are not insignificant. We provide members with insurance (personal and public liability), an extensive library of cycling materials, advice on marques, restoration, etc., we have a publishing arm producing important books like The Hub of the Universe (on Sturmey-Archer history and products). I could go on.
You posted on the Cycling UK forum. It is worth noting that CUK's Cycle magazine is distributed entirely in paper format no doubt because the economics work out the same for them as they do for us. Note too that our subscription is considerably cheaper than CUK's but benefits are comparable ... or better in terms of publications.
It is not that we are not able or willing to help. Far from it. But the people providing the help are volunteer members. We are grateful that they provide help to other members but do not feel they should be expected to provide help to anyone and everyone.
Sorry for going on a bit but I wanted to set the record straight.
