Old girls Roadmater

[ChadB]

I got this 24 in.Road Master today, $35, says "Master of the Road" and "Columbia Cycle" on the headbadge..I think I'll fix it up for my daughter. Any idea how old it might be?

The generator light actually works.

 

[deorman]

Probably early '40's or early '50's (i. e. 60-70 yrs old). Post a number, if you can find it, for the research hounds.

 

[ChadB]

I'll post the #, I was just thinking the badge, has to be old. It looks nothing like the '49 I have.

 

[deorman]

Yeah, the down tubes look kind of like a '30's bike, but not the 1/2" chain. :?

 

[rms37]

The bike is a Huffman product not a Cleveland Welding one. The serial number should work to pin down the date. See the Huffman serial number posts on the CABE. I believe the bike is post-war, 1946 to 47 before Huffman changed the dropouts.

The badge is a prewar distributor badge for the Columbus Cycle and Sporting Goods Company and says Columbus not Cleveland, and although it says Roadmaster it is not connected to Cleveland Welding. I believe it was used on some Snyder built bicycles. It looks like someone added the badge as it has been screwed on through the badge as opposed to mounted with the provided holes. Still, a good buy for the price and a nice start for a period ride for your daughter

 

[ChadB]

The bike is a Huffman product not a Cleveland Welding one. The serial number should work to pin down the date. See the Huffman serial number posts on the CABE. I believe the bike is post-war, 1946 to 47 before Huffman changed the dropouts.

The badge is a prewar distributor badge for the Columbus Cycle and Sporting Goods Company and says Columbus not Cleveland, and although it says Roadmaster it is not connected to Cleveland Welding. I believe it was used on some Snyder built bicycles. It looks like someone added the badge as it has been screwed on through the badge as opposed to mounted with the provided holes. Still, a good buy for the price and a nice start for a period ride for your daughter

I noticed the extra holes in the badge too, but if somebody put it there, they must have done it a LONG time ago. I also am wonderng about the 1/2 " chain...The rear hub is a Bendix, with the Bendix script painted orange, so I'm thinking it's highly likely that at some point the orignal skip tooth crank or chain broke and a newer drivetrain was installed, but then again the rear hub is just caked with grease and dirt, and the wheels are idenitical, and appear to be original, rusty spokes and all. It also has 2 Schwinn tires, both appear to be in excellent shape, rear is a Schwinn Typhoon Cord, 24 x 2.125, and front is a Schwinn Spitfire, 24 x 1.175. Those are going to come off. I think the bike is just a hodge-podge of parts, but it all fits together and it's rideable.

Oh, there is no number stamped under the crank; I took it down to bare metal, through 3 coats of paint, and nothing, not even remnants of a stamping. No big deal, the bike will be pink anyway, my daughter doesn't care who built it or how old it is.

 

[ChadB]

There IS a number down there afterall.

That doesn't look like any of the Huffman numbers I saw on the Cabe.

 

[Unchained]

Very cute little bike. :lol: It has a really cool shape and your daughter is lucky. :wink:

 

[ChadB]

Very cute little bike. :lol: It has a really cool shape and your daughter is lucky. :wink:

Well, she will be, after it's done, which, since she's only 5, isn't a high priority. Right now, she says she wants it to be pink, so I'm thinking pink metallic frame, fenders and fork, pink wheel hoops, 24 x 2.125 white walls, white recovered saddle, and white grips. It'll be a cute little bike.