Ed William’s 1930’s Wastyn
1930’s Emil Wastyn
This bright old bike was originally owned and raced by Ed “Killian” Williams. An active cyclist in the ’30’s, Ed was a successful racer who earned his nickname from a blistering sprinting style that mimicked the great track racer Gustav Killian.
Look closely. Interesting features will poke out on this otherwise simple chrome bike. Check out the head tube lugs that wrap around the steerer tubes like chrome fingers, holding the tube in place. There’s the drooping handlebar stem up front and the drilled-out crank arms down low. Those BSA cranks were drilled out after the fact… No factory warranty on those…
Not a BSA, a Wastyn
Droop stem and sprinter bars
Don’t try this with aluminum cranks.
This bike is a Wastyn. Emil Wastyn, that is. The father to the original Schwinn Paramount line of racing bikes. Emil built the very first Schwinn Paramount in 1937, and Oscar Wastyn sr., Emil’s son, took over Paramount construction in the 1940′s. Emil’s grandson, Oscar jr. and great-grandson Scott are the current owners of Wastyn Cycles in Chicago.
Not original, but did you know Pirelli made bike tires?
Axle adjusters, hub with oil port
A note to amateur bike collectors out there: Notice the BSA head badge and frame sticker? A lot of people would assume that this bicycle was in fact built by Birmingham Small Arms. Not the case here. Ed Williams or Emil Wastyn or somebody in the last eighty years just put BSA stickers on the bike. Just like with Huffy decals on a brand new Serotta, you sometimes have to look past the labels to figure out where a bicycle originated.