1920 Lovell Diamond Truss Frame Roadster

 

1920 Lovell Diamond Truss Frame Roadster

24″ Frame

28″ Wheels

Frame No 320812

For Restoration

 

Iver Johnson originally manufactured Lovell Diamond bicycles, and they bought the Lovell Diamond company in 1900. Iver Johnson’s Truss Bridge was the world’s market leader for a truss frame. So did they introduce another braced-frame bicycle to capitalise on the success of the Truss Bridge? Or to provide a cheaper alternative?

Cycle manufacturers were fiercely protective of their trademark designs. No other company sold a truss bridge bicycle until Iver Johnson’s patent expired in 1917, at which time Columbia, Schwinn Harley Davidson and other makers’ ‘Arch Bar’ bicycles suddenly appeared. (Note that, even then, no other company used the term ‘Truss Bridge’). This suggests that Iver Johnson had a powerful litigation team ready to act against any competitor.

The style used by Iver Johnson for the Lovell Diamond Truss Frame was already in use in England. Lovell Diamond was not a major company, and promotion and sales of this model was minimal compared to Iver Johnson’s flagship Truss Bridge. There are now only a few surviving examples. My personal opinion is that Iver Johnson introduced this style into the Usa and registered it to prevent other companies introducing a similar ‘Truss Frame’ to compete with their Truss Bridge.

This is an unrestored original example that needs a replacement front wheel and saddle. There is also a small kink in the handlebar. It would be good to see it back on the road.

 

 

 

 

 

1912 LOVELL DIAMOND CATALOGUE