# Women's AMF-CWC Roadmaster - What year is it?



## Jimbo1959 (May 13, 2009)

Phil, 

I had piggybacked this on another thread that you had answered but I don't think you saw it.

I just picked up a "1953" AMF Roadmaster that has the following serial number:

B74213 53C and inside the C is a small "w"

Is this a true 1953? It has adjustment screws and a self-binding seat post stem (which I tried to remove by grabbing on the seat and twisting and couldn't figure out why it would not raise more than 1" off of the top of the seat post- talk about a workout!). The nameplate is "AMF - Roadmaster"

Yet currently on eBay, this is also a "1953" model as well - check the last photo which shows the Serial Number.
http://http://cgi.ebay.com/1953-Roadmaster-Luxury-Liner_W0QQitemZ280344367637QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4145d39215&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A4%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A200

There seems to be a big difference between the two bikes here. Hard to believe they are both "1953" models.


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## RMS37 (May 15, 2009)

Hi Jimbo, 

It?s been a busy week so I?ve been trying to get a response to your questions out for a couple of days. This is a bit more than a quick answer but your questions fall into an area I am still trying to get a better hold on. 

I have a 1953 Roadmaster catalog for reference but sequentially the next catalog I have is from 1959. Between these two publications I have collected ads and other product information but don?t yet have full catalogs to draw from.

1953 represents the last year that the standard CWC/AMF line of bikes remained essentially unchanged from the models Cleveland Welding introduced in 1949-1950 and AMF continued to produce after purchasing CWC and the Roadmaster brand in 1951. 

Beginning in 1954, AMF began introducing major design changes in the Roadmaster line and during 1955-1956; AMF moved the entire operation from Cleveland to a brand new plant in Little Rock Arkansas. Coupled with the general industry change from Balloon tires to middleweight models, the period 1954-1957 represents perhaps the largest redirect in Roadmaster history.

While I don?t actively collect Roadmaster bicycles from this period (I only have one postwar Roadmaster) I am very interested in the history of the company during these mid-century years. 

Meanwhile, back at your questions; your observation regarding the differences between your bike and the bike listed on eBay is more about the breadth of the Roadmaster line rather than a model/year issue. In 1953 the line consisted of several models offered at different levels. The base frames are the same throughout the line but the sheet metal was altered to create the lineup. At the top, the Luxury Liner carried the fanciest sheet metal and equipment and used a special head badge. Beneath the Luxury Liner came the Pleasure Liner followed by the Jet Pilot and lastly the Special. The bike you have is a mid line model which explains most of the difference between it and the LL on eBay.  

Regarding serial numbers; my opinion at this point is that the suffix, 53Cw, does not indicate that the frame was produced during 1953. The strongest proof of this is the existence of a CWC built Shelby with the serial number A97624 53Cw. It is reasonably well documented that AMF purchased the Shelby bicycle company from Gambles at the very end of 1953 or very early in 1954 and the production of Shelby bicycles was moved to Cleveland in about February of 1954. This makes it very unlikely that CWC began producing the special Shelby frames before early 1954. 

The bike for sale on eBay has a lower serial number than the Shelby frame mentioned above and matches the general specifications for a 1953 Girl?s Luxury Liner model (excepting the substituted 60?s headlight). I expect that it is probably a late 1953 production model. 

Alpha-numerically your bike has a higher serial number which might place its production sometime in 1954. In addition your bike is not an exact match to the specifications shown in the 1953 Roadmaster catalog. While both 1? and ?? pitch drive trains were used in 1953, the chain ring on your bike is not depicted in that catalog and I believe the AMF decal on the seat tube and the badge on your bike were not introduced until 1954.

During 1954 AMF introduced their first forward facing dropouts in conjunction with straight chain stays. It appears that the earlier style curved chain stays remained in production for a while and this could be why the 53Cw suffix was still used past calendar year 1953. My one post-war Roadmaster is a circa 1954 Flying Falcon model and it has a 54Cw suffix.

Thanks for posting the pictures of your bike and calling attention to the girl?s LL on eBay.  Every entry adds more information to the data base.  As I acquire more Roadmaster literature and more real world serial numbers a better picture and chronology for these bikes will hopefully emerge.


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## Jimbo1959 (May 15, 2009)

Phil,

Thanks for the wealth of excellent information. 

Not sure if this was clear in my photographs, but my particular model has Adjustment Screws on the rear triangle for the rear wheel, so does that place it back into 1953 or is it an educated guess considering all the models/lines they were producing at the time?

Since that post on Craigslist, I've come across another one for you:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/bik/1169718331.html


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## RMS37 (May 16, 2009)

I still hold with my best guess that your bike was probably produced in 1954. The dropout style it has was current from sometime in 1949 through 1953. While the forward drops were introduced in 1954 I believe the older 49-53 style dropouts continued to be used perhaps as late a 1955 on some models.  The decals, the chain ring, and the serial number on your bike all point to a post calendar 1953 build date. 

During 1954 CWC began to phase in the self binding seat post as the new style frames did not have a binder clamp. This may explain why your bike has one.


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