1948 Columbia Superb (rider) rebuild wheels or buy aftermarket wheel set?

I know I'm gonna have a million more questions but here goes another one. I'm rebuilding a 1948 Columbia Superb that I bought with no fenders, no chainguard, a tank from an earlier bike and no truss rods or other details. I plan to repaint or powder coat the frame and repaint the trim like it was originally. My plan is to use this for a regular weekend rider down to the boardwalk near my house and back.

The current wheels and spokes are trashed with rust, however the hubs look pretty good and spin nicely. I'll take them apart and overhaul them anyway if I decide to use the existing wheels. Would you buy inexpensive aftermarket wheels to ride on and hold the originals for a rainy day... or just rebuild/relace new spokes and powdercoat the rims of the old ones?

If it is a rider I would go with the aftermarket wheels and keep the original hubs for a later rebuild. If the original rear wheel is a skip tooth sprocket you wont find one in aftermarket so you would have to change the front sprocket and run a modern chain.

If you want it shiny then the easy thing is to buy a new set of wheels.
You could also go with the >go, <show option and make all the original mechanicals function as new, but leave the crunchy goodness intact:





or:

I would use the trashed wheels if they are true until I found a respectable period pair, which isn't difficult for this era and not the clash of modern wheels.
I might have some of the Columbia parts you are missing from this bike and reasonably priced.
Chris

Chris, would you be going to the Bike Swap Meet next week in Westminster MD by any chance? I'd love to find a correct chain guard, strut rods, and fenders.... in that order

Here are few shots of the project bike. The full side shot is the day I brought it home. I have since removed the engine and will be selling that. I have also stripped the bike down to a bare frame and am preparing to send it out for powder coating unless I get the kahunas to repaint it myself.

Unfortunately I have no photos of the wheels yet. If I get off my arse, I'll go down to the garage and shoot a couple and post them.

Ya see I think that bike is in really great shape with nice even wear - are those the wheels we are talking about?

Why would you strip all that good original paint? That's a real shame, with good decals, all that's gone forever now. A common mistake with new collectors, all that history gone forever.

donhaller said:

Here are few shots of the project bike. The full side shot is the day I brought it home. I have since removed the engine and will be selling that. I have also stripped the bike down to a bare frame and am preparing to send it out for powder coating unless I get the kahunas to repaint it myself.

Unfortunately I have no photos of the wheels yet. If I get off my arse, I'll go down to the garage and shoot a couple and post them.

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Keep the og paint, it looks way too good to strip.

Too late, he already stripped the paint.

pedal_junky said:

Keep the og paint, it looks way too good to strip.

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