Charlie Logan’s 1932 Brennan
Charlie Logan’s 1932 Brennan
John “Pop” Brennan made some of the most coveted racing bikes in the world in the 1920s and 1930s. All of the top professionals rode a Brennan, and those who didn’t have the bikes sought out Pop for his custom-shaped handlebars.
There’s Frank Bartell’s battered old bike and Frank Turano’s green Brennan. There’s Mickey Franciose’s sprinting machine and Al Sellinger’s ride in the 1936 Olympics. We have one of Bill Honeman’s bikes whose likeness was immortalized along with Bill in trophy tops and medals by the ABL for decades. There’s (half of) a Brennan that at one point set a land speed record, but none of those bikes are quite as cool in my estimation as Charlie Logan’s fully restored 1932 beauty.
The rich enamel paint highlights Brennan’s precise (and fairly modern looking) lugs. The BSA components and beech wood rims were as fast as anything at the time.
The Brennan head tube was unmistakable
Ghisallo wooden rims
BSA made the components
Brennan seat lug detail
This bike was raced hard throughout the decades, and was quite a basketcase before it was restored. Dented and bent tubing are now straight. Faded and chipped paint is fresh again. Look at this bike now and you will see how it looked back when it rolled out of Pop’s workshop almost a hundred years ago…