# Rare 1937 columbia twin bar bicycle



## old bicycles

This must be RARE!!!!  $8000.00 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-1937-C...ltDomain_0&hash=item3a832e68c1#ht_5758wt_1153

Anyone ever seen one before? How many are out there???? Who has one? Photos?


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## jpromo

Man, I love that bike. It's a barn find from a RRB member. He had a thread on it over there and I was drooling from the moment I saw it. Rare bike indeed.


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## Freqman1

Its a cool bike but I'm not seeing $8k! V/r Shawn


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## dfa242

Sorry for the repost - didn't think the 1st one went through.


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## dfa242

jpromo said:


> It's a barn find from a RRB member. He had a thread on it over there and I was drooling from the moment I saw it.




He's a member here as well.


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## widpanic02

*!*

I'm sorry but this is a $3000 bike in my book at most. That's st be the I don't want to sell it price , but if you give me 8k I will.


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## scrubbinrims

On one hand, I can respect that a seller's bike is theirs and can ask whatever he/she wants, but on the other hand, when I see something cool I see at a crazy unattainable number, its hard to shrug off and just bothers me.
Chris


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## THE STIG




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## dfa242

THE STIG said:


>




Okay, now that's funny.


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## tanksalot

Ok its time to chime in on this . When I bought the bike I had over 20 people asking me to sell the bike. Yet Not a single person would give me a honest value on the bike.. Suddenly every one is a Columbia expert on what the bike is worth, I find that very interesting . There is no sales history to go by on the net that's because no one has had one for sale ... I see Elgin twin bar deluxe models repainted going for $3,500 + & they are awesome bikes , These are around every so often in the collecting community & I can pretty much one  find any time.. If  I would like to have one & usually Within driving distance from my house. If Im willing to pay for it. 
Honestly, I really don't need to sell this bike & I like having it.  I will respectfully just keep the bike if I cant sell it .. I have yet to see another one for sale except the welded frame with some parts on it here recently & that went for some $$ parted out..  So I will most likely never see another one of these as complete as this bike....


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## tanksalot

If you have one Ill give you $3000 for it .For  $3000 Id just sell two or three  of my other bikes. just sayin 


widpanic02 said:


> I'm sorry but this is a $3000 bike in my book at most. That's st be the I don't want to sell it price , but if you give me 8k I will.


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## tanksalot

scrubbinrims said:


> On one hand, I can respect that a seller's bike is theirs and can ask whatever he/she wants, but on the other hand, when I see something cool I see at a crazy unattainable number, its hard to shrug off and just bothers me.
> Chris




Thank you for your respectful & honest reply. .


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## bikewhorder

I'd pay $3000 for it so it must be worth more than that.  Everything I own is for sale but most of it I would only sell for way more than fair market value.  I hate it when people inquire about buying my bikes and then seem insulted when I come back with a price that's way more than they wanted to pay or than they know I paid for it.  I bought it because I wanted it and what I paid is irrelevant once I own it. I see no harm in fishing, its fun to see whats out there.


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## widpanic02

*!*

These are out there I have a friend in Greenville who picked one if these up a few years back and sold it for 2800 at memory lane 2 years ago. I'm sorry to tell you this but rare doesn't always mean its valuable. The hard to find parts in this bike are the horn lite and dash but I wouldn't call rare. While this bike is cool its not even in the same category of a lit tank champion , 37 bluebird, twin 60, evinrude. If it was mine I wouldn't sell it either because it is a cool bike but I think 8k is more than double what its actually worth. Personally I don't think the frame is that appealing . But that's just my opinion. Good luck !


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## willswares1220

*Nice Bike!*

By the way, WHAT ARE THOSE TWO DUDES SMOKING???


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## babyjesus

willswares1220 said:


> By the way, WHAT ARE THOSE TWO DUDES SMOKING???




A really pure form of bottom bracket grease that gives the rider a "floating ride"


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## fatbike

That is a real nice Columbia. I've the same model with alum fender mud guards as well. As far as Columbia goes for me its is my favorite. But unfortunately i'm not in the financial market to now one at this point unless by some miracle its a trade transaction. 

Nice bicycle you have...


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## catfish

tanksalot said:


> Ok its time to chime in on this . When I bought the bike I had over 20 people asking me to sell the bike. Yet Not a single person would give me a honest value on the bike.. Suddenly every one is a Columbia expert on what the bike is worth, I find that very interesting . There is no sales history to go by on the net that's because no one has had one for sale ... I see Elgin twin bar deluxe models repainted going for $3,500 +, These are around every so often in the collecting community & I can pretty much find any time I would like to have one. With in driving distance from my house. If Im willing to pay for it.
> Honestly, I really don't need to sell this bike & I like having it.  I will respectfully just keep the bike if I cant sell it .. I have yet to see another one for sale except the welded frame with some parts on it here recently & that went for some $$ parted out..  So I will most likely never see another one of these as complete as this bike....




I was very insterested in this bike when you bought it. I even helped you out with some info on it.  And I asked if you wanted to sell it, you told me no. And when I asked for more photos of it, your PMs stopped.... So I figured it was a lost cause. If you wanted people to make offers, it would have been good say that.... And photos would have been good.....


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## tanksalot

catfish said:


> I was very insterested in this bike when you bought it. I even helped you out with some info on it.  And I asked if you wanted to sell it, you told me no. And when I asked for more photos of it, your PMs stopped.... So I figured it was a lost cause. If you wanted people to make offers, it would have been good say that.... And photos would have been good.....





I told a lot people the bike was not for sale when I got the bike because it really was not for sale at the time .
I also went out of my way Not to promise anyone the bike in the event I decided to sell the bike.

In the event the bike does not sell & people on here would like to send me offers Im willing to listen to them .
My intention was to keep the bike but I decided to downsize my collection slightly ..
If I can't get a price that I can live with then I will respectfully just hang onto the bike .. 
I had a lot of interest in the bike & I could not get a handle on the bikes real value so I listed it on the bay.. 
Im not out to ruffle feathers if the bike sells great if the does not sell thats fine with me also its a great rider..


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## widpanic02

*?*

I'm curious guys what do you all value this bike at? I'm at around 3k . But am curious what the rest of you think . The guy selling seems to be a good sport , so i don't think he will mind.


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## babyjesus

widpanic02 said:


> I'm curious guys what do you all value this bike at? I'm at around 3k . But am curious what the rest of you think . The guy selling seems to be a good sport , so i don't think he will mind.




I agree with your 3k. It's pretty rare albeit made up of many fairly regular parts - it's a really nice bike though I love it.


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## tanksalot

widpanic02 said:


> I'm curious guys what do you all value this bike at? I'm at around 3k . But am curious what the rest of you think . The guy selling seems to be a good sport , so i don't think he will mind.




Respectfully The bike worth what ever somebody will pay me for the bike .. This thread is Not supposed a price poll but if somebody has a bike like this for sale for 3K Please contact me ..I might be interested in another one ..
Just a FYI my highest offer so far is substantially more than $3K .. ..


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## catfish

tanksalot said:


> Respectfully The bike worth what ever somebody will pay me for the bike .. This thread is Not supposed a price poll but if somebody has a bike like this for sale for 3K Please contact me ..I might be interested in another one ..
> Just a FYI my highest offer so far is substantially more than $3K .. ..




" substantially more than $3K ".... I wonder what this one would bring?

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=35475&d=1324872508


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## catfish

catfish said:


> " substantially more than $3K ".... I wonder what this one would bring?
> 
> http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=35475&d=1324872508











!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## old hotrod

Ed, now you're just showing off...man I want that bike...or tanks bike...love me some Columbia...ok that sound much more normal in my head...


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## fatbike

Ah!!! Catfish thats with the alum mudguards... NICE!!! I have a thing for alum mudguards as an option on prewar bicycles.

Member OLD BICYCLE your Columbia is very cool even with steel mud guards. If I had the $ I would put an offer on the bike south of 8k for sure. But a healthy offer.


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## catfish

old hotrod said:


> Ed, now you're just showing off...man I want that bike...or tanks bike...love me some Columbia...ok that sound much more normal in my head...




Showing off? Maybe just a little......


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## bikewhorder

Don't you have a few of these Ed?


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## catfish

bikewhorder said:


> Don't you have a few of these Ed?




BW,     I didn't want to show off too much......

   Catfish


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## bikewhorder

fatbike said:


> Ah!!! Catfish thats with the alum mudguards... NICE!!! I have a thing for alum mudguards as an option on prewar bicycles.
> 
> Member OLD BICYCLE your Columbia is very cool even with steel mud guards. If I had the $ I would put an offer on the bike south of 8k for sure. But a healthy offer.




I too share your aluminium mud guard fetish, I've been meaning to start a "show me your aluminum mud guards" thread.


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## scrubbinrims

bikewhorder said:


> I too share your aluminium mud guard fetish, I've been meaning to start a "show me your aluminum mud guards" thread.




Hold that thought a week or so, my oriole is not yet finito.
Chris


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## catfish

scrubbinrims said:


> Hold that thought a week or so, my oriole is not yet finito.
> Chris




I thought that Orioles came with stainles fenders?


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## bikewhorder

catfish said:


> I thought that Orioles came with stainles fenders?




Nope, not all of them, most of the ones I've seen are aluminum.  Here's mine http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/album.php?albumid=1300


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## catfish

It's Back! This time you can make an offer. So who will step up this time? What's a fair offer?


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## catfish

So three days to go, and still only one offer...... Is anyone going to make a run at it?????


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## catfish

Only 24 hours tyo go!!!!  And still only one offer..... I can't belive no one is stepping up for this.


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## Freqman1

I just think its over the money and this is another one of those that, although pretty rare, just doesn't seem to garner much interest. Almost seems like a curse on the Columbia badged bikes. It seems like the only Westfields that do really well are badged as Elgins! Kind of unfortunate because there are some really cool Columbias out there (like this one). V/r Shawn


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## widpanic02

*Yeah*

I agree , I think the westfield badged bikes bring more interest than the Columbia's . The paint schemes on the westfield badged bikes with the hour glass thing is very cool. I actually prefer westfield badged bikes over the elgins except when it comes to the really delux elgins. The market for people collecting Columbia badged bikes is majoritythe guys collecting the 50's Columbia 5 stars and such. It's a cool bike but I think for it to get bought its going to have to be in the 3k range.


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## Gary Mc

Well, no one stepped up to the plate again at $5999 this time.  I personally love this bike but it is out of my league price wise.  The 1936-1938 Columbia Twin Bars are one of my favorites of the balloon tire era.  I have to agree with Shawn, it seems there's a curse when it comes to spending big money on Columbia badged bikes & I don't get it........


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## babyjesus

Gary Mc said:


> Well, no one stepped up to the plate again at $5999 this time.  I personally love this bike but it is out of my league price wise.  The 1936-1938 Columbia Twin Bars are one of my favorites of the balloon tire era.  I have to agree with Shawn, it seems there's a curse when it comes to spending big money on Columbia badged bikes & I don't get it........




I got a similar era Columbia in very good condition paint with the same keylock tank, painted dash, many parts I'd say except the frame and rack.

I got it for 750 bucks -  http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/album.p...chmentid=82667

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/album.p...chmentid=82669

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/album.p...chmentid=82670

I was thinking that bike on ebay might be worth 3k but that's really pushing it, I'd say 2k assuming I got mine extremely cheap but I'm not even certain of that.  The one thing I am in agreement with is that it looks awesome and unique and it's a real change on the mainstream theme of bikes that we see day to day.


It certainly has an aura about it in the pictures and I think that alone is what is raising the value.  If you count it in parts its not worth so much really is it?


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## old hotrod

I don't know about a curse...as much as how often do you see a true Columbia badged bike? Westfield in all its incarnations, sure, epay is thick with them but Columbia's are rare regardless of model. And the problem with rare is that they get hoarded off into deep dark collections and eventually people forget about them. People new to the hobby have no idea and may have never seen a real one so there is little to no interest. I have a 35 Rollfast that is similar to a Blackhawk...1 year only split top tube frame with the big tank but it is so unusual that most people don't even know it exists...I lump this Columbia in that group, (but much higher of course), I would love to own it, the tank condition bothered me. I think for that kind of money, the metal and paint should be real solid but that is just me...


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## old bicycles

It's back for a third time. But no price drop this time..... Only one offer last time. I don't know much about these, but it looks like a cool bike to me.


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## scrubbinrims

old hotrod said:


> I don't know about a curse...as much as how often do you see a true Columbia badged bike? Westfield in all its incarnations, sure, epay is thick with them but Columbia's are rare regardless of model. And the problem with rare is that they get hoarded off into deep dark collections and eventually people forget about them. People new to the hobby have no idea and may have never seen a real one so there is little to no interest. I have a 35 Rollfast that is similar to a Blackhawk...1 year only split top tube frame with the big tank but it is so unusual that most people don't even know it exists...I lump this Columbia in that group, (but much higher of course), I would love to own it, the tank condition bothered me. I think for that kind of money, the metal and paint should be real solid but that is just me...




x2

Columbia was Westfield's top house brand and I also think there may be a stigma as the Columbia name continued long after its prewar 30's pinnacle and was associated with many cheap, mass produced bicycles.

It is always about price and to answer your question about it only having one bid, it is not that it isn't cool or desirable, just priced high deterring a respectable offer.
I'd like to offer, but just too far off my assessment to get things going.

Chris


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## Rustafari

scrubbinrims said:


> I'd like to offer, but just too far off my assessment to get things going.




I'd say if you are interested, make him an offer. You can offer him anything you want.  The worst that could happen is he might say no. But you never know.


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## catfish

Rustafari said:


> I'd say if you are interested, make him an offer. You can offer him anything you want.  The worst that could happen is he might say no. But you never know.




give it a shot.


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## kingfish254

Looks like it's not so rare anymore. 
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?67751-1937-Columbia-absolutly-pristine-Original-MINT-150


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## spoker

scrubbinrims said:


> x2
> 
> Columbia was Westfield's top house brand and I also think there may be a stigma as the Columbia name continued long after its prewar 30's pinnacle and was associated with many cheap, mass produced bicycles.
> 
> It is always about price and to answer your question about it only having one bid, it is not that it isn't cool or desirable, just priced high deterring a respectable offer.
> I'd like to offer, but just too far off my assessment to get things going.
> 
> Chris




a braeath of fresh air with a positive adult response


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## catfish

fatbike said:


> That is a real nice Columbia. I've the same model with alum fender mud guards as well. As far as Columbia goes for me its is my favorite. But unfortunately i'm not in the financial market to now one at this point unless by some miracle its a trade transaction.




How about some photos?


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## catfish

kingfish254 said:


> Looks like it's not so rare anymore.
> http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?67751-1937-Columbia-absolutly-pristine-Original-MINT-150




It's not realy the same thing. Not even close.


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