1896 Aluminium bike

[GuyBoden]

Aluminium bicycle made in France and retailed by the Lu-Min-Um Manufacturing Company, St Mary’s Gate, Manchester, 1896.

On display at the Manchester Science Museum.

Personally, I think that this is a good looking bike for 1896, but it needs a longer top tube. Note, it's front brake only, so road legal today, if they let you take it for a ride.

 

[MichaelW2]

I can see cast lugs. What holds the tubes in place? Scewed and glued?

 

[GuyBoden]

I can see cast lugs. What holds the tubes in place? Scewed and glued?

Apparently, the Lu-Mi-Num bicycle frame was cast hollow in one piece.

 

[MichaelW2]

If it is a one piece, is it hollow or solid?
If hollow, what was the internal mould?
If cast on one piece, why the step change in thickness at "lugs".
The Kirk magnesium frame shows some of the issues with one piece cast frames
I need to know....

 

[MichaelW2]

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/aluminium-bikes-are-the-future-in-1942-211529

https://www.roadbikereview.com/threads/first-ever-aluminum-bicycle-lu-mi-num.157259/

Introduced about 1893 by the St. Louis Refrigerator and Wooden Gutter Co., St Louis (later the St. Louis Aluminum Casting Company), the Lu-Mi-Num bicycle frame was cast hollow in one piece. Later in the 1890s, Cycles Aluminium of France bought the rights to the Lu-Mi-Num.

 

[GuyBoden]

If it is a one piece, is it hollow or solid?
If hollow, what was the internal mould?
If cast on one piece, why the step change in thickness at "lugs".
I need to know....

More pics of a slightly later bike are available on here:
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/new-lu-mi-num.118131/page-4

The original manufacturer of the Lu-Mi-Num was St. Louis Refrigerator and Wooden Gutter Co, who sold the Euro patent to a french company.

 

[davidphilips]

Looks like an an engineering master piece considering that it was made in 1896 and its lasted more than a life time and still looks great, wonder how much it sold for when new bet its worth a lot more now?

 

[GuyBoden]

A rider on a Lu-Min-Num who cycled around the perimeter of USA in 1900.

 

[Ian H]

Definitely a bike to be admired in a museum, rather than ridden.

 

[MichaelW2]

The restored version in the photos shows smoothe tube intersections as you would expect from casting not lug-styled bulge shown in the museum piece..
Head tube looks very modern.

 

[GuyBoden]

The restored version in the photos shows smoothe tube intersections as you would expect from casting not lug-styled bulge shown in the museum piece..
Head tube looks very modern.

As curator's, does the Manchester Science Museum have permission to "Upgrade" their exhibits, so they are more aesthetically pleasing to viewers.

 

[Hover Fly]

As curator's, does the Manchester Science Museum have permission to "Upgrade" their exhibits, so they are more aesthetically pleasing to viewers.

They would be just about unique among museums if they were.
As a general rule, something can only be changed for safety, or to prevent deterioration. If something is changed, records (drawings or photograph) are carefully kept, along with the original parts.