Niagara - Any info?

[VR6GTiGuy]

I picked up this Niagara off of Craig's List mainly because of the condition and unusual blue color. The seller said he was told it was a 1918 when he got it, but I am not sure about that. Other than pedals and of course tires, it appears to be mostly original. Front hub says "New Departure SM Made in USA" Rear hub is a Marrow and has dating on it that I can not quite make out. There does not seem to be much info on this brand with a Google search. Any more information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[A.S.BOLTNUT]

Great lookiing Bike ,, some guys have all the luck, now go buy a lotto ticket !

~RafaeL~

 

[VR6GTiGuy]

Great lookiing Bike ,, some guys have all the luck, now go buy a lotto ticket !

~RafaeL~

Well, if I were really lucky, it would it have been a 1920s Hawthorne Flyer Motorbike or a Colson high/lo.

 

[tanksalot]

Looks like a Columbia made bike .. Nice color on that one.

 

[VR6GTiGuy]

Good job,how long did you work on them before they sold it? I make offers but get usually get shut out. Very cook bike.

Had to be patient on this one, but it was worth the wait.

Looks like a Columbia made bike .. Nice color on that one.

Yes, I could not pass on the color. You do not see a lot of bikes in brighter colors from this period and blue seems very uncommon. Interesting comment on being Columbia made. There area where the lower top tube meets the seat tube has sort of a gusset if that helps. I'll post a better picture.

 

[VR6GTiGuy]

Here is a better picture of the lower top tube and seat tube junction

Full resolution picture of the rear hub. Looks like the last date is 190X.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Great bike, nice find!

Luke.

 

[Jpromo]

Definitely Westfield (Columbia) built. This bike was indeed very tempting; it just came up at the wrong time for me or else I'd have been all over it myself! I'm surprised it stuck around as long as it did since the asking price was fair for the condition and completeness.

The bike is later than suggested. I'm thinking 1931 from the serial and the parts that are on it jive with that. If you can make out what the Morrow reads, that would help. '31 was the first year they put date stamping on them so it may read something like A2 with A being the year. It's possible the hub was built later 1930 and sat around on the shelves a few months, in which case it would not have the date stamp. Here's a catalog image from '31 and you can see the blue color offered.

At any rate, it's a gorgeous, unique bike. Enjoy!

 

[VR6GTiGuy]

Thanks Jpromo. The Columbia catalog picture looks right on. I was thinking 1920s at the earliest. Here is what the hub says from top to bottom as near as I can read:

36-I3
MADE IN ELMIRA
NY U.S.A.
ECLIPSE MACHINE
PAT IN U.S.A.
JULY 19 OCT 25 190(4?)
AUG 24 190(9?)

 

[Jpromo]

36-13 is the hub information--36 hole, 13 gauge. So, without the date code, that hub could have been stamped in the last quarter of 1930. They typically sit around a bit before making their way onto a bike so that jives. Late teens to early 30s didn't see many stylistic changes so it's quite easy to mistake a bike for earlier or later than it is. You can't go wrong with this bike; great buy!

 

[Rustinkerer]

Definitely Westfield. They started over with A series serials in 1935, so a J was probably a year or two earlier. They didn't use every letter, skipped around a bit. -Adam