# $10 yardsale find



## junkyard (Nov 14, 2011)

I found this this weekend at a yardsale on my way home from AC. 
It was on the side of the road in a bundle of bikes chained to a tree marked Summer bikes $50 each, the price was slashed out and marked down to $20.
I bought this and two other older three speed Raleigh bikes for $30 total. 

The headbadge is missing but it's almost identical to an old Goodyear Hiway Patrol bike I used to own. 
Its got a matched pair of Carlisle Lightning tires, and rides great. Its been repainted but the repaint looks real old. 
The headbadge is missing, there are marks where it looks like someone took a chisel and cut off the screws or rivets. 
I got one screw out, the other will take a bit more work.
The front wheel has been re-laced to a more modern hub, the hub reads 'Cyclepro' on it.
A few scratches show that this used to be green.


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## slick (Nov 14, 2011)

AWESOME SCORE! Man I live in the wrong state! I would pay triple that just for the tires! I'm pretty sure it's a Columbia bike. I had one very similar awhile back with the same frame and chainring and it was badged as a seminole.


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## robertc (Nov 14, 2011)

SWEEEEET, nice find.


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## junkyard (Nov 14, 2011)

I was thinking its most likely either Columbia or a Columbia built Goodyear. As a kid I had one with a Hiway Patrol headbadge that looked almost identical to this one. The holes for the headbadge would match either badge.

The good is that it rides great as it is, the bad is that the handle bars and stem are pretty pitted up and have been painted silver over the rust. The front wheel will need to be re-laced with the proper spokes to a matching ND front hub. The spokes are so short they barely have 3 or 4 threads in the spoke nipples right now, my guess is someone threw in a new hub and used the same spoke length with the smaller hub.

The odd part is that I can't find any numbers on this one at all, not so much as a mark on the frame. 
The sprocket is definitely Columbia, the frame sure looks the part but no numbers at all on the bottom bracket or anywhere else. 
Not that it matters much for a bike that's really just a daily rider but it would be cool to know when it was built.


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## Adamtinkerer (Nov 15, 2011)

junkyard said:


> I was thinking its most likely either Columbia or a Columbia built Goodyear. As a kid I had one with a Hiway Patrol headbadge that looked almost identical to this one. The holes for the headbadge would match either badge.
> 
> The good is that it rides great as it is, the bad is that the handle bars and stem are pretty pitted up and have been painted silver over the rust. The front wheel will need to be re-laced with the proper spokes to a matching ND front hub. The spokes are so short they barely have 3 or 4 threads in the spoke nipples right now, my guess is someone threw in a new hub and used the same spoke length with the smaller hub.
> 
> ...




You're correct, it's definitely a Westfield(Columbia) built bike. Sometimes you can tell the badge from the different 'frame darts'. Westfield badged bikes usually had 8 segments, in pairs of two. Yours have more of a Y shape. I have one where they look like post hole diggers! I believe yours is late 40s-early 50s, and the serial should be on the sprocket side rear drop out. But I have seen several Good Year badged bikes with no serial at all!


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## MrColumbia (Nov 15, 2011)

Adamtinkerer said:


> You're correct, it's definitely a Westfield(Columbia) built bike. Sometimes you can tell the badge from the different 'frame darts'. Westfield badged bikes usually had 8 segments, in pairs of two. Yours have more of a Y shape. I have one where they look like post hole diggers! I believe yours is late 40s-early 50s, and the serial should be on the sprocket side rear drop out. But I have seen several Good Year badged bikes with no serial at all!




That paint design was used though out the 1950's on all type badged Westfield bikes. Is is 26"?


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## krankrate (Nov 15, 2011)

Great find, sometimes it pay's to be in the right place at the right time!


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## nathanAGNEW (Nov 15, 2011)

junkyard said:


> The sprocket is definitely Columbia, the frame sure looks the part but no numbers at all on the bottom bracket or anywhere else.
> Not that it matters much for a bike that's really just a daily rider but it would be cool to know when it was built.




Looks like a late 40's early 50's, Columbia Built.
I have a '49 with the same frame and decals, but the chain guard is different.

My novice thought is a 48-50 Columbia Built


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## junkyard (Nov 15, 2011)

Its got 26" wheels.

The chainguard had me thinking maybe its an aftermarket but I've seen others online with the same guard. The shape of the Hiway Patrol badge matches the outline in the paint on the head tube. The screw spacing though is the same on that and the early larger Columbia oval badge. 
I've got an older Westfield badge here but its brass and much larger.
There are no serial numbers on either the bb or rear dropouts. I combed over this thing pretty close and there's no sign of any stampings. 
I've got another identical frame here that also has no numbers.
The bike looks to have been green or sort of a blue/green color, someone painted it black and took the time to mask and respray all the white parts again. 
The paint on it though looks old, its well worn and scratched long since the repaint. 

The handle bars look older? This is the second bike I've found now with almost identical handlebars and stem, both painted silver with hardened brown grips. 
The grips are painted on. A fresh set of grips and shiny bars would make this thing look a lot better, but nothing at the bike shop was even close in shape. 

These are super wide with the grips pointing straight back parallel with the frame. The bike is pretty comfortable to ride, although it seems to be geared a bit high. The gearing is 48/18t. It feels like it could use a few more teeth in the rear. Its a real bear to ride up any sort of hill. In comparison, a later model Schwinn Typhoon I have pedals nice and easy with 46/18 gearing. 

I opened up the rear hub and went over all the bearings and everything was like new. Someone was just there.
The chain is made in Japan and looks more recent, the front hub appears to be off a road bike from the 80's. 
I'll redo the front wheel with proper spokes, or at least matching nipples and a New Departure hub.


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## ejoel (Nov 16, 2011)

looks like a early 1950s columbia newsboy


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## junkyard (Nov 16, 2011)

As someone who used to deliver newspapers, I can see it being a good bike for that. 
Years ago I ran an old Packard balloon tire bike, and later a bike which I believe was either a Western Flyer or Firestone by Cleveland Welding. 
Those bikes were old when I was running them back then, rough, old, and well worn out. The Packard was a hand me down from the guy who had the newspaper route before me, and he got it from the kid before him, and so on, and so on. I passed it on to the next kid after my 7 years of use. Somehow I think the guy after me got the better end of the deal since when I got it I all but rebuilt it. I think I was the first one to repack any of the bearings or replace tires on it. It was in tip top riding shape when I let it go. I got it in 1977, let it go in 1984 with the paper route.  I still have one old Western Flyer bike I had bought as a back up ride back then, it hung in my dad's shed for the last 30 years until I dug it out a few months ago. Its a basic bike with everything original, but it too was repainted since when it was covered in rust when I got it. 

I think my years running a newspaper route has a lot to do with my interest in these old bikes, especially the lesser models without all the fancy trim. 
I'd rather have a plain old bike that I can get on and ride with no concern about what it's worth than a show piece. I think there's a lot to be said for keeping any old piece of machinery running with all original parts for as long as you can, whether it's a bike, tractor, or truck.


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