# Columbia chainless bevel gear questions



## ericbaker (Jan 23, 2012)

...just aquired a beautiful model 60 ladies Columbia chainless. 1899 it seems.

Its got beautiful original paint and all original parts for the bike as well as the gear mechanism.

Downsides are rather tarnished nickel, the rear fender is broken and the front wheel is quite like a potato chip.

Questions are about the chainless mechanicals and how far i should take the restoration.

Is there an exploded diagram that shows how everything goes together? I'd like to regrease it all. 
Are there special tools? springloaded do-hickeys that'll pop out on me after removing a nut? 
Should I even bother...? I should say that ive been a pro bicycle mechanic for 10 years or so... not afraid to dig in, just want to be prepared.
Interested in overhauling the rear hub and shaft drive.

Also... I know pictures... but how foar should i take the restoration, The paint waxed to a nice shine but I don't want to renickel anything, but should i try to polish it as best as possible or leave the patina/oxidation? Should i brush the more rusted areas? Relace the wheels to flatten the front rim?

Also I have a really nice wooden rear fender off an Orient of teh same period, shoud i try and replace the broken one on the columbia or try to patch/ repair the original (snapped in 2)

I'll have some pics but any opinions or help in the meantime would be great!
thanks


___update with crappy pics. all i got for now, therll be a legit photo shoot after shes back together.___


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## MrColumbia (Jan 23, 2012)

So many questions! There is a booklet Columbia put out on the Care and adjustment of the bevel gear drive. It is an 18 page and I do sell copies on cd if you would like. My opinion on a restoration is fixing the wheels is ok to make it a bit more displayable but don't alter the bike cosmetically other than that. Unless you are ready to do a full restoration doing some parts and not others never seems to look good.


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## Larmo63 (Jan 23, 2012)

*Post up some pictures!!*

Having something to look at helps us all in furthering our discussion.


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## ericbaker (Jan 23, 2012)

I'll have to send you an email Mr C, and get a CD, thanks!

And since you popped in, Another curiosity with this bike is the headbadge. My 1899 Men's model 57 has the seemingly standard Columbia Hartford headbadge, this 1899 model 60 has the same badge with an extension above the standard shape that says "American Bicycle Co." What might account for this difference? Later in the production year? is it a rarer variant?

Thanks again


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## ericbaker (Jan 23, 2012)

I know, sorry, pics before the end of the day, im at work now and had some downtime, so i thought id get the ball rolling.


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## Andrew Gorman (Jan 23, 2012)

The ABC was Col. Pope's attempt to corner the market with a bicycle trust:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bicycle_Company
A bad idea from the bad old days of unfettered capitalism.


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## ericbaker (Jan 23, 2012)

i am aware to some extent as to what the ABC was all about but i wondered about the headbadge and why it had the association when my other 1899 did not


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## ericbaker (Jan 23, 2012)

pics updated... and what to do about that saddle?


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## 66TigerCat (Jan 24, 2012)

I sent you a PM.


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## Wing Your Heel (Jan 24, 2012)

'i am aware to some extent as to what the ABC was all about but i wondered about the headbadge and why it had the association when my other 1899 did not'

An interesting badge.

My guess it was unsold stock from 1899. We attach an importance to the production year of a bike nowadays that does not always reflect the actual situation at the time. 'Model year' is always approximate because the catalogues were prepared the year before they went onto the market. Which of those years does the bike become? The year it was made or the year it was sold? Columbia had agents all over the country holding their stock. Not all sold bikes fast.

Companies would have to estimate future sales before manufacturing each model; Columbia would most likely have overproduced. I'm sure some remained unbadged. 1899/1900 not good sales years: market was flooded; many companies went bust. Which of course was why Pope got away with starting ABC and killing competition (and later ending up with all the companies in the merger).


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## MrColumbia (Jan 24, 2012)

Wing Your Heel said:


> 'i am aware to some extent as to what the ABC was all about but i wondered about the headbadge and why it had the association when my other 1899 did not'
> 
> An interesting badge.
> 
> ...




I could not have said it any different.


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