Seaman Carl B.
Columbus, Ohio
Updated 5.24.2009
“Carl, called ‘Teck'” by all his friends, was born in Elkhorn, W.Va., and arrived in Columbus, Ohio, as a pre-schooler when his father was transferred there. He attended the New York Technical Institute (hence the nickname “Teck”) and upon graduation he became a draftsman and designer for the New haven Carriage Company in Reading, PA. Becoming homesick he returned to Columbus and became a sales representative for Lozier automobiles and later for Rolls-Royce. In his spare time he built models of steam engines, boats, and airplanes.”
“The early 1940s found Teck building nationally acclaimed lightweight multi-speed bicycles at that time. The bicycles, approximately 30 in number, were mostly built with to order for friends.” note: the head badge on the bike has the year 1935.
“He wanted to build the best bicycle in the world using the best products so he wrote to all of the bicycle manufacturers in America asking countless questions, pouring over catalogs, comparing weights, material types and in general left no stone unturned.”
“Teck also wrote to all the European factories asking them for all the information he could get. He chose to deal with several firms in England who in turn bought some of their materials from plants located in other countries. Much to his regret the only part the U.S. manufactured that was superior to any of the foreign products were sprocket chains. He uses American paint to, and his finished product weighs 18 to 22 pounds.” In the documentation I found a chart of lugs by “California Cycle Company”. These don’t appear to be the ones used by Seaman but I thought I’d mention it. CCC was located in Mineola, Long Island, NY.
“Mr. Seaman also had a patent for the ‘spring’ steering wheel, and the automobile horn ring. He also designed the first radiator ornaments in use in the U.S. and sold them originally to Cadillac. Mr. Seaman also had a quite extensive car collection.”
Angel Garcia
Special thanks to Frank Allocca, Chester, NJ
Updated 11.16.2008
Do you have good pictures of original paint Seaman bicycle?
If so, please contact the guy.apple00@gmail.com
