i heart my columbia.

[roadmaster]

the second cruiser i ever got, was this baby blue columbia clipper with a unicrown fork and these monster spoked suntour coaster rims with huge motercycle gauge spokes and a fatty front hub. this was my first "rat rod" bike, as i did do a few mods and a 3speed conversion on it.

im guessing it is late 70's to early 80's, bu tive got a few questions about columbias.
first, chances of this bike being american made? do they still make columbias and if not, when did they stop? can anyone guess the year of mine any closer than i can? columbia/westfields are descent bikes, right? any info would be great as im in the midst of making a nice boulivard cruiser out of it and stripped alot of parts, including the aluminum rims off my 09' cranbrook, which i already know was a good move.

thanks guys!

 

[deorman]

Your Columbia is USA manufacture, mid-'60's, or later if that's the original fork. Columbia still exists, there's a dealer near here, I'm not sure where or who makes them now. They looked decent enough just walking past them. I have a frame slightly older than yours, it's still straight and solid after a half century of use.

http://www.vintagecolumbiabikes.com/sit ... serial.htm

 

[roadmaster]

thanks for the fast reply. i wish it were mid 60's ish, but it had a suntour coaster brake and it had cheasy lookin stickers that came on it along with a sticker headbadge. i checked the chart and my number wasnt there.

so far i put on aluminum wheels and whitewall tires that came off my 09' cranbrook and the little mini fenders that came off my 08' lajolla. it came with no fenders as i had gotten it in original condition and fat 2.125 blackwall cruiser block tread tires. it made a really good klunker for a few years, but now its time to put her right. :mrgreen:

 

[deorman]

Interesting, I'm pretty sure that frame style STARTED in the '60's, right after they dropped the tank bikes and the open bottom kickstand bracket. I still think it's probably a Westfield/USA product. Definitely NOT "People's Republic". :mrgreen:

 

[roadmaster]

Interesting, I'm pretty sure that frame style STARTED in the '60's, right after they dropped the tank bikes and the open bottom kickstand bracket. I still think it's probably a Westfield/USA product. Definitely NOT "People's Republic". :mrgreen:

good lookin out. i saw another one similar to mine in freash finds perhaps, a few weeks ago. i think its a way better recipient of those aluminum wheels than the 09' cranbrook (which is so horribly welded as far as angle acuracy; ie a way crooked rear brake brake between the seat stays.)

thanks for the details and if anyone has one similar to mine, id love to see it. gonna repaint her here soon, but im still in the air about what color. yellow may be cool, or perhaps the original baby blue. hmmm.....

 

[NLCTVWguy]

I don't have definitive answers on Columbia manufacture, or what was built when or when they stopped being USA made.

I do have what I refer to as "the Columbia pile" under my stairs. I have a large number of bikes from what seems to be late 50s through 90's. There are a few renditions of the headbadge and one with the sticker.

As far as I know, Suntour parts in general were on bikes through 1993. Newer Sun brand things are not the same, though I don't know who makes what anymore, since so much of modern manufacture really traces back to "China Bicycle Company".

The crank style I see on your bike looks newer, 1990's up. It's not the Ashtabula forged style 1-piece crank seen on most of these bikes, whether they were Columbia, Schwinn, or otherwise, USA made bikes almost all used them.

The rear arch of the frame is definitely Columbia's signature design. However, the crimped cantilever tubes up front signify it's a later bike. I had a Columbia diamond-frame MTB, bought new in 1984-85 that had tubes crimped like that. I think it sported that type of fork too but I don't remember exactly. I broke 2 frames, as a 125-lb kid, not riding real hard, I do remember that.

As far as I know, Columbia kept making USA frames up into the early 1990s. As did most of the other manufacturers. I know for a fact Murrays and Huffys were still American made in 1992 because I was assembling them for a department store.

But for road bikes, around then you do see the lug frame designs coming in at that time, and those were mostly Japanese or some Taiwanese bikes.

Columbia was a big company and more of this info has got to be out there somewhere...

--Rob

 

[roadmaster]

I don't have definitive answers on Columbia manufacture, or what was built when or when they stopped being USA made.

I do have what I refer to as "the Columbia pile" under my stairs. I have a large number of bikes from what seems to be late 50s through 90's. There are a few renditions of the headbadge and one with the sticker.

As far as I know, Suntour parts in general were on bikes through 1993. Newer Sun brand things are not the same, though I don't know who makes what anymore, since so much of modern manufacture really traces back to "China Bicycle Company".

The crank style I see on your bike looks newer, 1990's up. It's not the Ashtabula forged style 1-piece crank seen on most of these bikes, whether they were Columbia, Schwinn, or otherwise, USA made bikes almost all used them.

The rear arch of the frame is definitely Columbia's signature design. However, the crimped cantilever tubes up front signify it's a later bike. I had a Columbia diamond-frame MTB, bought new in 1984-85 that had tubes crimped like that. I think it sported that type of fork too but I don't remember exactly. I broke 2 frames, as a 125-lb kid, not riding real hard, I do remember that.

WOW! thanks for all the info, and i am interested in this "columbia pile" you speak of, just like 3,000 miles away. the crank are 1pc ashtabula style, just maybe newer arms with the oem ring. the crimpt tubes i knew you'd be a clue as was the writting in a script style on the chainguard and sticker headbadge. i believe i got it in 92' (my 2nd cruiser ever, and still have it) and it looked like it was definatly a few years old, with those stock 2.75" wide xtra heavy duty with motercycle lookin spokes and a big, black front hub, easily the size of a 3speed hub, wheels on it. since the original post, i've added a new set of full, fat chrome fenders to outline the aluminum wheels on white walls. startin to really like this bike...

As far as I know, Columbia kept making USA frames up into the early 1990s. As did most of the other manufacturers. I know for a fact Murrays and Huffys were still American made in 1992 because I was assembling them for a department store.

But for road bikes, around then you do see the lug frame designs coming in at that time, and those were mostly Japanese or some Taiwanese bikes.

Columbia was a big company and more of this info has got to be out there somewhere...

--Rob