I’m pleased to present our final (albeit belated) installment of the inaugural Cottered Crank Week. This OTSG First is a Soma Generation sent in by Art F in MD.

Hi Cameron ,
Art F here . Looks like you don’t have any pictures of a Soma 10 speed yet . I think this one was probably made in the 70s based on the cottered crank . I found it with a free sign a few blocks from my house when it didn’t sell at a yuard sale . silly people – don’t they realize that a bike with rusty wheels, frozen cables , dry rotted tires , peeling seat and rusty handlebars is a jewel in the rough. So I brought it home , gave it some wheels from the wheel pile , put on new tires and spray painted the crankset pie plate . My wife kept asking if the frame was rusted . “No, It’s a 2 tone paint job (gray and orange) origonal from the factory that just looks like rust” . I think it is about as good as a Schwinn Varsity from that era and probably weighs a few pounds less since it had a lugged frame. I sold it on craigslist DC for $125 but the guy who was planning to use it for 3 months found out it didn’t make sense riding 4 blocks to the train station so asked if he could sell it back after 1 month . I charged him $15 for the months use , replaced the seat and it’s going back on sale again.

Thanks again Art