Stand Up Guy

Victorian Era Style Bicycle Stand

In my search for old bikes, there are always cool things that I come across.  Whether it is something in the corner of the barn where someone is showing me an old bike they found under a haystack, or simple yard decorations that people have that I notice when looking at a bike they parked by the road.
The same is true when I am reading through the myriad of  bicycle Blogs that grace my reading list.  It always seems that there is something obscure in the background or off to the side of the bike or focus of the image that just catches my eye.  This is one of those things.


In the Vintage Bicycle blog they post about mostly French or European vintage bikes.  There is always a series of pictures in their posts of a beautiful old bike and some great restoration work.  What caught my eye in my last visit was not the bike in the picture, but what was holding it up.  My first thought was that it must be something they just started using, but when I looked into older posts, it was there.  The point is, it was something that held a striking, authentic, and vintage look.  So much so, that it almost blends in with the bicycle it holds up.

1890's Cast Iron Stand

When you look at the pictures below, you will see a new cast iron bicycle stand.  Very similar, if not the same as the one that appears below the wheels of Vintage Bicycles subjects.  I searched for these for some time, and even eBay gave me nothing.  Although with eBay, timing is everything, today nothing, tomorrow there is 50 of them.  Eventually I stumbled across Cast In Style out of the UK.  The makers of the Bike stands pictured below.  They look like a reproduction of the 1890's stand pictured above and at left.

There is another company that makes a similar casting, only slightly less expensive.  The only draw back is their site offers near microscopic pictures and it is hard to determine anything about the quality.  These pics below are linked from their site.

There are some uses for the individual consumer such as a front porch stand, or for an apartment.  For about $100 you can order one of these for when you need to park your bike in the cobblestone courtyard on your estate.  No sarcasm, it just seems a fairly narrow market for general use, but for collectors it may have more appeal.  The stand would work well for displays in shop windows that include a vintage bike, bicycle shops in general, swap meets, or for bicycle shows and conventions.  The Vintage Bicycle blog shows that it makes a great tool for photographing old bikes.  If your like me, or know of someone that is a stand up guy, this would make a great Christmas gift (hint hint).

Thanks for the Visit!

Ant

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