Adler Herold

Some bike folk remember all the little details. For example, they can wax on about why a particular Schwinn is a 1938 and not a ’39. Me? I’m lucky to get within a couple years either way. I hear the differences but over time they just slip away.

I guess it doesn’t help that strange, new bikes are always showing up. Take this Adler which I’m sure to mis-remember here soon. Brief research turned up evidence that Adler was quite the manufacturer in Germany, making everything from motorcycles to Zeppelin engines. …And bikes, of course.

I don’t remember seeing an Adler before, and I think I would have remembered based on the unique accessories they have. Take the locking mechanism on the rear hub brake arm, for instance. Or the knurled knob on the headlug; a lockout for the headset, perhaps?

The Bosch lighting system still works and the original Continental tires hold air. With its heavy tubing and looong chainstays it’s never going to win any races, but it rides more efficiently than most prewar American bikes, since the Germans only hung accessories that added to the practicality and versatility of the bike (no tanks here).