WESTFIELD Bike BADGED COLUMBIA bicycle Elgin Guard ?

[tanksalot]

Hello, I just bought this bike The seat came with the bike.. I have some questions for anybody that can please help .Is this a Columbia or a Elgin? Westfield bikes Ive seen in the past are Columbias but this looks a little like a Elgin to me . Im fairly certain it is a Columbia with a Elgin guard .If the guard is not correct what is the correct guard for this bike ?The Chain guard I suspect is a Elgin guard .. Ive seen these on Twin bar Elgins & on Elgins with the curved seat tube from the 1930s .. This is a Westfield Badged bike .. Is this guard correct for this bike ?? Also the seat came with this bike , but was not on the bike when I got it..Is the seat correct for this bike ? It looks correct to me. The bars are from a Columbia Fire Arrow I believe but Im not even sure about that? Im missing Truss Rods . Id like to know what the rear rack should look like for this .Im asuming this had cross brace bars Im just not sure what style of cross brace bars this bike had? I bought this one & a Harvard Rollfast Zep frame bike in red both are in about the same condition .. I dont have photos of the Zep frame yet Ill post them when I get a chance ...Thank you for any help ..

 

[509clunk]

Re: WESTFIELD BADGED COLUMBIA bicycle ELGIN ? What is this bike.

Very nice find!

 

[ratina]

Re: WESTFIELD BADGED COLUMBIA bicycle ELGIN ? What is this bike.

The bike looks Westfield to me. I've never seen a chainguard like that before, very cool

 

[tanksalot]

Re: WESTFIELD BADGED COLUMBIA bicycle ELGIN ? What is this bike.

The bike looks Westfield to me. I've never seen a chainguard like that before, very cool

Thanks , Its Westfield badged .But it look like a cross between a Columbia & Elgin . The fenders have the columbia decal emblem.. The Tank looks like a Elgin to me & the Guard looks like 1930s Elgin .. Are these bars original or are they Fire Arrow Bars . I have owned over 100 Columbias & I have 5 Columbias at the moment & none look like this one ?

 

[ratina]

The bars are definitely newer. Thats all I know

 

[Jpromo]

During this era, Elgin was supplied by Westfield who also supplied for Columbia. That's why you see the matching frame and tank between the two brand names. The paint details are definitely Columbia style though with the arrow tails on the frame and fork.

So it stands to reason that a Westfield badged bike would look like both an Elgin and Columbia as they supplied the frames and parts, likely just making a combination of those to badge as their own. Looks to be somewhere in the '37-'41 range.

 

[tanksalot]

Thank you both for the help. I suspected the bars where from the Fire Arrow . But they do look a little wider than I rember on fire arrows I had. I appriciate the information .. Thank you.. Any info I can get is helpful.. Is the chain guard original to this bike ?? :?

 

[Gary Mc]

The bike is made by Westfield Mfg and sold under their house name, Westfield. They also made Elgin's & Columbia's as well as other store brands re-badged. This is most likely a 1938-41 Westfield. They also made a long frame extended tank version. Yours is the standard frame. Chainguard may be correct to this bicycle & would make it a rare find, not sure on this but look at the Elgin pic I'm going to post below. Westfield made this exact bike for Sears Elgin brand as well with this chain guard. This chain guard is probably worth $250-$350 alone. It is rare so I would leave it on the bike. It was also used on the coveted Elgin Twin-Bar 40 & 60 series bikes. The chances of finding another Westfield branded with this configuration would be extremely rare. Here is the Elgin version I pulled off the internet with ALL the correct parts.

Here's a Westfield badged bike that looks exactly like your paint scheme with the "normal" chain guard seen on these as well as Columbia's:

Serial # should be on bottom of crank tube. You can use it & go to Mr. Columbia's site to determine exact year: http://vintagecolumbiabikes.com/id79.html

If this were mine I would clean it up (polish, wax, & polish up chrome), find the correct parts, & ride the heck out of it. Please do not turn this into a custom, the paint & parts are just too good and rare. You will have a bike that turns heads. You might also want to post it on the CABE & get expert advise over there. I post on both sites. Your bike to do with as you please but that's my 2-cents. Hope this helps. Gary Mc

 

[tanksalot]

Thank you very much for the helpful information..
I guess its a pretty safe bet the bars are from a Columbia Fire arrow bike from the 1950s ?

The bike is made by Westfield Mfg and sold under their house name, Westfield. They also made Elgin's & Columbia's as well as other store brands re-badged. This is most likely a 1938-41 Westfield. They also made a long frame extended tank version. Yours is the standard frame. Chainguard may be correct to this bicycle & would make it a rare find, not sure on this but look at the Elgin pic I'm going to post below. Westfield made this exact bike for Sears Elgin brand as well with this chain guard. This chain guard is probably worth $250-$350 alone. It is rare so I would leave it on the bike. It was also used on the coveted Elgin Twin-Bar 40 & 60 series bikes. The chances of finding another Westfield branded with this configuration would be extremely rare. Here is the Elgin version I pulled off the internet with ALL the correct parts.

Here's a Westfield badged bike that looks exactly like your paint scheme with the "normal" chain guard seen on these as well as Columbia's:

Serial # should be on bottom of crank tube. You can use it & go to Mr. Columbia's site to determine exact year: http://vintagecolumbiabikes.com/id79.html

If this were mine I would clean it up (polish, wax, & polish up chrome), find the correct parts, & ride the heck out of it. Please do not turn this into a custom, the paint & parts are just too good and rare. You will have a bike that turns heads. You might also want to post it on the CABE & get expert advise over there. I post on both sites. Your bike to do with as you please but that's my 2-cents. Hope this helps. Gary Mc

 

[Gary Mc]

Not sure on handlebars but I believe they were used on several different bikes in the late 50's. They definitely are not original to this bike.

 

[tanksalot]

From what I can figure out .. The bars I believe are not Fire arrow bars? ( Like I originally thought) But Im not sure what they go to ??

Not sure on handlebars but I believe they were used on several different bikes in the late 50's. They definitely are not original to this bike.

 

[elginkid]

Curved brace handlebars were used by columbia just before the second world war...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2093/2070412580_68df5bae3f.jpg

Same bars they reproduced for the 1941 reproductions as well. Because of the reproductions, the racks, and "correct" guards are usually pretty easy to come by. Still not as cool as the high end elgin guard though.

 

[tanksalot]

Hello, My bars are different than the reproduction bars & they are not the same as Fire arrow bars .. But I still have no idea what they are for ?

Curved brace handlebars were used by columbia just before the second world war...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2093/2070412580_68df5bae3f.jpg

Same bars they reproduced for the 1941 reproductions as well. Because of the reproductions, the racks, and "correct" guards are usually pretty easy to come by. Still not as cool as the high end elgin guard though.