Stanley, the BlackHAWK mystery bike

Stanley, the BlackHAWK mystery bike

Look what $10 can buy you off Kijiji!

Before Cleaning or really doing much more than ogling!

unmarked coaster brake
headbadge decal: BlackHAWK, Made In Canada, MW
(not to be confused with the UK’s Blackhawk Bikes, formed in 2006)
(top before lemon juice, bottom after!)
front forks, similar but not identical to CCM Galaxie
gorgeous flower chainwheel with five-point symmetry, 
after removing rust from cottered cranks and chainwheel

tires: SUPER-LASTIC 26 x 1 1/2
wheel rims:

Both pretty rusty, but at least they’re the same right?
(V160 – Made In Canada – 26 x 1 1/2 F12)
mysterious D mark on underside of bottom bracket
(the left and right rear forks were also marked L and R, respectively)
serial number stamped onto seatpost (does not match CCM’s format)
crappy rusted-out vinyl-covered seat
gorgeous glass reflector with metal casing – possibly older, and certainly rustier, than the bike

handlebars, before and after cleaning with lemon juice and aluminum foil, 
and RustCure and extrafine steel wool (which was handy for getting into crevices this time)
We discovered while removing the rust that the paint on frame is very easily rubbed right off… like, there’s just one thin coat of it… so this bike is a great candidate for repainting the frame and possibly also the wheels.
And here it is after a few hours of talk, boys playing and chit chat – with some cleaning in there. I cannot wait to attack the rims with lemon juice this weekend!!

We both took it for a spin around my garage but I’ll be honest, 26″ wheels? Maybe in some strange “just kidding” world? I rode it right after picking it up and thought to myself, “Wow, this is tiny!” So when doing a quick measure at home I assumed it had 24″ wheels. The handle bars add to the smallness factor, they’re obviously tilted WAY downwards (enough to hit our knees when pedalling!). Hopefully learning to fix them and a new saddle will fix all these problems?

Other things:

Pretty sure that the bottom bracket will need repacking…it feels..I’d say grainy? Not incredibly noticeable but there enough so I know it’s not 100% good and clean. Hopefully nothing as disturbing as Bert’s Problems  but hey, if it is, we’ll be sure to get photographic evidence of the beeswax and other disturbances!!

The amount of rust everywhere is disturbing, but aside from the bit at the top of the front forks I think most of it is surface enough to not cause mass panic. Of course this could prove to be a big error on our parts but….all part of the learning process!

Edit by Deborah:


About the name: the Chicago Blackhawks just won the Stanley Cup, and we are hockey-crazy Canadians. (Screw you Pronger!)


Also, there is no information anywhere online about the BlackHAWK marque. We’re guessing that this is a cheapo department-store brand, and that’s why it hasn’t been documented. Based on the fork similarity to the Galaxie we think Stanley might be from the 60s or 70s, but honestly we have no clue. If anyone knows anything at all, please share it in the comments.

4 thoughts on “Stanley, the BlackHAWK mystery bike”

  1. so the question I have to ask is: what do you do with all these awesome bikes?
    My collection of mostly working vintage (blue) bikes now numbers 3, and if I acquire any more my husband will flip his lid.
    Are you planning on keeping them all, how do you decide whom to ride and when? will you restore and then sell to buy another to restore? what are your plans?

  2. Hehehehe until this I hadn’t realized HOW many bikes are in my garage RIGHT NOW.

    So!

    Daisy will be my every day with or without the kids, she’s pretty, she’s decently fast, and works great for pulling the trailer with the kids.

    Galaxie will be the “me time” bike. She’ll be for coffee/drinks with the girls….for looking pretty on, etc. Being a single speed I figure gives her priority for prettiness and prettiness alone.

    Freeloading Bike (officially mine) I’m thinking will be my “abuse & use” bike, I’m possibly considering studded tires for winter, and big ugly hauling capacities so I can try and do grocery runs (quick ones come winter) on my own.

    Stanley….is still to be decided. With handle bars fixed up and possibly the seat raised a bit he’d be perfect for hubs to come riding with us. Especially if I got a seat HE found comfortable vs the ones I had now. Alternatively if he didn’t require much work to make pretty he’d be worth pricing to sell (kijiji sells QUICK here)

    OOOR…..I’ll just keep him for when I have “company” visit?

    I’m really indecisive…and I have a bike problem 😛

  3. Claire, like yours, my DH will flip if I buy any more bikes! So it’s an interesting question.

    Mary Poppins (28 inch wheels, single speed) is my pretty bike & grocery getter. Once fixed, Bert (26 inch, 3 speed) will be the kid-hauler with the Bike Buddy attached to make it an articulated tandem when needed, or without the Bike Buddy will be ridden by hubby. The DeeLite fits Audrey now, as she has just had a growth spurt and outgrown her current little-girl bike. Gino was purchased thinking he was smaller than his 20 inches, and is a currently trendy style, so he might get fixed up then sold to feed the habit – or fixed up and ridden occasionally and saved for my little boy. Fio’s parts are relatively hard to come by, so she will likely be a shared long-term restoration project and a sentimental favorite we’ll hang onto for our girls.

    The other bikes we have profiled here so far belong to our cobloggers (Betsy is Eri’s, Winnie is Nicki’s) and friends (BeBe is Laura’s), or are ones that got away (like Sexy Rexy and the Luscious Lady Raleigh, whose lucky owners we don’t know).

  4. Depending on what look your going for some people on ratrodbikes.com have had some incredible luck with using Krylon X-Metals spray paint for making what I would call anodised metal looking rims.

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