I've been looking through my bike books and this bike in the 1937 Rollfast catalog kept catching my eye. But I can't find any pics of them anywhere! Does any one have this model, I'm curious to see what it really looks like.
Does anyone have this bike?
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Not mine but here's a better picture I found online
They're not the same bikes. The bike in the first image, the advertisement, has a straight bar below a curved bar. Also, the second image, the photograph.........What's up with the luggage rack? Something's not right (original) there either.
truss rods r differnt also ....both cool lookin bikes !!!
yeah its a schwinn 9 hole rack that dont sit right on that what a hack lol ( as i zip tie my fender on lol) :roll:
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okay I just typed 1937 rollfast and that was what came up.
55ColumbiaBuilt said:
It looks to me like that bike has the shorter 16" frame. Rack is for an 18" frame. A rack for a 16" frame has a much tighter bend where it mounts on the front. I'm still looking for one for my 16" frame DX.
Here's a pic of a similar bike. Not sure if it's a Rollfast or not. I like the late 30's girl though. :wink: Gary
Nice, is that original paint?Bigcam59 said:I just picked up this Rollfast that looks pretty similar. To tell the truth I am not sure of the year, though.
The Chainguard was added later.
Does anyone know how to find the year?
You probably scanned the picture from the pages of the Evolution 1. Those Island Cycle Supply pages have been incorrectly labeled as 1937 and have led a lot of collectors to believe these frames were available that early. The pages illustrated are most likely from 1939 and the frame you are asking about probably dates to 1938 or 1939 at the earliest and was made by H.P. Snyder and badged and sold as a Rollfast along with probably several other brandings.
It is also a very rare frame, for some reason straight-bar versions of this frame and the earlier Snyder Fastback Sport are uncommon and I have only seen a couple of these bikes. It would take a scale and one of these alongside the standard frame to determine if the “Heavy Duty” status was all about parts or if these frame were built from heavier gauge tubing.
I have dug up this link:
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=39908&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=rollfast&start=45
of a standard version of the frame with the curved lower top tube
If you dig into that post you will find a picture of the original subject bike when Ratrod member Walker owned it. This bike uses the same frame as the deluxe models pictured on the same page which are in turn the same as the Heavy Duty frame baring the straight-bar and the any possible tube gauge differences.
It is also a very rare frame, for some reason straight-bar versions of this frame and the earlier Snyder Fastback Sport are uncommon and I have only seen a couple of these bikes. It would take a scale and one of these alongside the standard frame to determine if the “Heavy Duty” status was all about parts or if these frame were built from heavier gauge tubing.
I have dug up this link:
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=39908&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=rollfast&start=45
of a standard version of the frame with the curved lower top tube
If you dig into that post you will find a picture of the original subject bike when Ratrod member Walker owned it. This bike uses the same frame as the deluxe models pictured on the same page which are in turn the same as the Heavy Duty frame baring the straight-bar and the any possible tube gauge differences.
Yeah, that's what the pic is from.
And ever since I saw that pic, a few years, I've wanted that frame but couldn't find it anywhere. I wanted to see if they even existed before I got my hopes up on getting one.
And ever since I saw that pic, a few years, I've wanted that frame but couldn't find it anywhere. I wanted to see if they even existed before I got my hopes up on getting one.
No it was the previous owner's attempt at restoration...good from far but far from good. :wink:KickBackCycles said:Nice, is that original paint?Bigcam59 said:I just picked up this Rollfast that looks pretty similar. To tell the truth I am not sure of the year, though.
The Chainguard was added later.
Does anyone know how to find the year?
I actually have a couple of them, both Hawthorne badged. http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=29348
http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=29347
http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=29347
This is a 1935 Rollfast V200 custom deluxe...frame is very different from the original post...here is a picture of mineB607 said:55ColumbiaBuilt said:
It looks to me like that bike has the shorter 16" frame. Rack is for an 18" frame. A rack for a 16" frame has a much tighter bend where it mounts on the front. I'm still looking for one for my 16" frame DX.
Here's a pic of a similar bike. Not sure if it's a Rollfast or not. I like the late 30's girl though. :wink: Gary
Looks like a heavy duty paper boy or delivery bike...has thicker spokes, wider chain and different frame. Bikes of the same year or close used a curved second top bar like this:KickBackCycles said:I've been looking through my bike books and this bike in the 1937 Rollfast catalog kept catching my eye. But I can't find any pics of them anywhere! Does any one have this model, I'm curious to see what it really looks like.
