Ladies roadster project for Dryden

1950s Miele Womens roadster bicycle, originally uploaded by adam.slight.

My friend Dryden asked me to build her a bike.
She hates her current bike.
1. its extremely heavy
2. its extremely ugly.

so i needed to find something lighter, and something more aesthetically pleasing. i was thinking that this bike needed to be pretty unique. something you dont see everyday.

i perused the bikes section of Craigslist, as i always do, and came across the perfect bicycle.

I picked it up from a German woman in Marietta, GA for $50.
She claimed it was a Miele bicycle from the early 1950s.
Her mother brought it over from Germany in the 50's.
I believe she may be right about the time period, but i am thinking its not a Miele.
Miele's frames were lugged. this one is not.
the red paint is very thick. I think its old oil house paint. Gonna be fun to remove.

I have to figure out what colors to paint it. the classic roadster was black, but i dont think black will work for Dryden.

the wheels are 28's - 28" x 1 1/2" to be exact.
found some kendas at bikepartsusa for like $9 a piece.
the saddle is really cool, but its torn and cracked.
i recovered an old troxel with a nice honey leather. this will give the bike a classy look.
i took off the generator and lights. i will be putting a new headlight and tail light on it. i am going to try to convert some from light bulb to LED.
the rack is going. not really needed. extra weight. going to add either a front basket or double rear baskets.
the rear hub is made by Torpedo. its pretty cool looking.
the front chainring is really cool too.
i will probably just update this post with my progress.
i have more detail shots of this bike. check them out on my flickr.