# TruSport skip tooth help



## suhrsc (Jul 11, 2008)

this is my first post so, hello!
 my name is Zach Suhr from Harrisburg PA
I'm 26 years old and have been into bicycles for quite some time
starting when i was 16 i learned to build BMX bicycle parts and eventually frames...somehow that evolved into Hot Rod cars to where i am currently focused
  my website is www.suhrsc.com if you want to check them out

well anyways I bought 2 skip tooth bicycles a while back at an auto swap meet and i havent done much with them. since im so heavily involved in the history deal with the hot rods its been nagging at me to fix up these old bikes. the one ive had inside for quite some time is a "Roamer" and then the other one I've had in the shed is called a "TruSport" from Phila. PA

I cant get the Roamer out now due to putting machinery infront of it so i went and dug the other one from the shed.
I'm just wondering if anyone can shed any light on the era of these bikes or info on the companies. possibly even pictures of original colors etc.

also are there any old tires available aside from the ones on e-bay? or other grips? spare parts etc.

thanks alot for any help
  Zach


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## ejlwheels (Jul 11, 2008)

I would say the bike in your photos was made by Colson.  The fork looks like  1936 style but the frame looks more like 37 or 38.  I think I've heard it referred to as a "Scout" style.  I don't think the rack and chain guard came on "Colson" branded bikes, but there are from the same period.


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## suhrsc (Jul 11, 2008)

thanks!
   it looks like the fork is bent back a bit?

also...whats left of some paint in a few areas appears as though it was red underneath

is this whats known as a sweetheart sprocket?

also, the rear coaster brake arm says "new departure" 

Zach


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## RMS37 (Jul 11, 2008)

Hi Zach,

Your TruSport was built by Colson. The short wheelbase straight-bar frame dates the bike to late 1938 or 1939.

The Colson straight-bar frame style was built in 1936, 1937 and into 1938.  

The 1936 and 1937 versions have an unusually long wheelbase which is obvious looking at the distance from the seat tube to the rear wheel.  For 1938 Colson revamped their frame designs and shortened the wheelbase back to more orthodox dimensions.  

While the straight-bar frame is no longer pictured in the 1938 Colson catalog, several straight-bars with the short wheelbase have turned up.  The serial numbers Ron Summer has recorded suggest that these frames were produced in 1938. 

The Colson straight bars are good looking bikes and the later short wheelbase versions are less common than the versions with a parallel curved lower top tube.

The Hanging tank from the 1936-37 version of the frame will fit your bike but I don’t believe it was ever used on the short wheelbase version.

I believe that the 1938 straight-bars were probably sold at the bottom of the line through second tier distributors. Other Colson’s with TruSport badges have often had components that were probably left over from the previous year. This would explain the 1937 and earlier sweetheart chain ring the stepped rims, and the straight truss rods on your bike. 

I agree with eljwheels, the rack and chain guard are accessories and are probably not original to the bike. As a base model it probably never had any sheet metal beyond the fenders. The saddle may or may not be original but I think the base has been home repaired at some time. New Departure was one of several OEM supliers for coaster brakes at the time. 

The standard colors for base Colsons at that time were Red, Maroon, Blue, Green, and Black, all with white pinstriping as opposed to darts.  

Overall you have a nice bike with the benefit that you can make it more original by deleting items rather than spending money to add them!  

The fork is bent but it probable can be fixed if the steerer tube above the fork crown race has not been too badly distorted. 

I have noticed that when tubular forks take a hit, the distortion is often spread over the fork blades and into the steerer tube. Your fork has forged blades that don’t bend so the damage is usually confined to the steerer tube. The good news is that it is harder to straighten bent fork blades accurately than it is to bore out a bad steerer and braze in a new one.

Be carefull if you choose to buy a replacement fork. Replacement Colson forks are not too hard to find but a lot of the free floaters are no longer in their frames because they are bent. 

If you post the serial number I can check it against Ron's list and let you know if that sheds any further light.

Phil


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## suhrsc (Jul 11, 2008)

thank you!!


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## ejlwheels (Jul 11, 2008)

I used to have the same(?) frame but sold it.




The serial # was 

4767D
1 6 0

I still have the fork, if interested.  (It was on the frame when I got it, and it looked like it had always been there, but I don't know whether or not it "should" have been there.)

I also have a 1936-37 version Hanging tank in my '37 frame.  It did not quite fit the '38 frame and was a little too tight.  I took this not so great photo of the 2 frames side by side before I sold the '38 frame:






The sprocket is a sweetheart style, but the Colson version is slightly different from the Schwinn version in that the spaces in the 5-pointed star are teardrops in the Colson version but plain triangles in the Schwinn version.


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## suhrsc (Jul 12, 2008)

thanks for the comparison
  i may be interested in the fork you have
if i can afford it! :o 

my e-mail is Zach@suhrsc.com if you would like to deal off the board

is there a loop type kick stand that should be on this bike?
  the wedge sticking down off the dropout seemed like it might be a "stop" for one?

thanks!
  Zach


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## JOEL (Jul 12, 2008)

Hey Phil,
Isn't that the same carrier pictured in this 1936 catalog page? Little hard to see it... Also, the description lists a McCauly rack for the standard model. 
http://omp.ohiolink.edu/OMP/Preview...rmat=yourscrap&searchtype=kw&scrapid=6043&p=3
If you have a copy of the Colson book handy, it is also pictured on pg D and E. None of these pictures shows it in enough detail to tell for sure but I was thinking that was it.

Great info about the frames! I would be interested in your analysis of this one:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2001-11/5529/37impSM.jpg

The serial number is:
L7
4652 and there's another digit after the two that is out of line and maybe smaller, either a U or O.


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## ejlwheels (Jul 12, 2008)

you want a drop stand that looks like this one:


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## ejlwheels (Jul 12, 2008)

JOEL said:


> Hey Phil,
> Isn't that the same carrier pictured in this 1936 catalog page?
> 
> The serial number is:
> ...







I think the rack on the standard model in the '36 catalog is not the same as the one on Zach's bike, but is a tubular one I have sometimes seen on Meads (though it is not the same as the wide Mead rack) and sometimes Rollfasts. 
The rack on the standard model in the '37 catalog (same as bottom middle on page "E" in the Colson book) looks like it is probably the same as or close to the one on Zach's bike.  But I guess the previous point was that it is not a "Colson" rack.

The single number before or after the letter is usually the year (i.e. 1937).
1934 and 1935 are straight-forward: 4J4404 or 5J6566
but they start to get disorganized after that.


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## JOEL (Jul 13, 2008)

I was also thinking 37 based on Ron's information. But isn't this a short wheelbase frame?

Another question, any idea who sold Packard badged bikes?


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## Classicriders (Jul 13, 2008)

I have one of those drop stands available.  One tac weld needs to be retacked, but the stand is overall very nice.  Pics for anyone serious, PM me.


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## Langsmer (Jul 13, 2008)

JOEL said:


> Another question, any idea who sold Packard badged bikes?




Colson sold a Packard badged bike.


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## JOEL (Jul 13, 2008)

I mean where were Packard badged bikes sold?


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## suhrsc (Jul 14, 2008)

Classicriders said:


> I have one of those drop stands available.  One tac weld needs to be retacked, but the stand is overall very nice.  Pics for anyone serious, PM me.




can you e-mail me some pictures?

zach@suhrsc.com

thanks!


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## Classicriders (Jul 14, 2008)

Here is the Colson drop stand I have available.  Hit it with some paint and your all set.  $45 shipping included.


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## RMS37 (Jul 15, 2008)

That drop stand may be a 36-37 CWC. They used a braced stand in those years that bolts to the bicycle. 

I?m not sure that Colson didn?t, in some cases, use stands with bolt holes but the Colson stands I have seen have integral posts that fit through the drop stand holes in the dropouts. The posts are cross-drilled for a cotter pin to secure the stand to the bike. (my favorite stand, no shoulder bolt issues, I'm thinking about going back in time and retrofitting them to CWC.)

Colson isn?t my ?prime make? so I?m still digging about with respect to some of the other questions that have come up.

...and still trying to get the LeMay Councours info written and posted

Phil


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## Classicriders (Jul 15, 2008)

Depends on the frame.


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## bikesnbuses (Jul 2, 2015)

Bumping this thread JUST to say thank you to RMS37 and Classicriders for truly being a wealth of knowledge...Was doing some research on my rear stand if it was correct or not for my CWC ,,and they answered my question...  7 years ago.. Thank you guys!


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