# what type of truss bike did i find for free?i dont know



## truss (Nov 8, 2010)

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i got this for free and i dont know what it is... i was on ratrodbikes and they suggested i asked the experts here.. so what say you?


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## kz1000 (Nov 9, 2010)

a NICE one


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## truss (Nov 9, 2010)

haha, thanks


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## Gordon (Nov 9, 2010)

My guess is an Iver Johnson.


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## IJamEcono (Nov 9, 2010)

I may be wrong, but I"ve never seen an Iver Johnson with a truss that far away from the top tube. That's the first thing I thought too.


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## bud poe (Nov 9, 2010)

Looks like a Schwinn or Mead to me...very cool!


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## Andrew Gorman (Nov 9, 2010)

An Iver Johnson would have a two-piece crank.  Maybe this is a Columbia arch bar?


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## twowheelfan (Nov 9, 2010)

columbia i think. two horizontal holes for a badge. here's a link for more visual confirmation.
http://www.vintagecolumbiabikes.com/id83.html


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## truss (Nov 9, 2010)

thanks everyone for your thoughts.. and definately thanks for the picture reference.. i dont think thats it though.. the frame looks dead on but it has vertical holes in the front and different fenders.. but this is the closest thing i have seen to it.. thanks so much.


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## SailorMac (Nov 9, 2010)

Century Cycle Co?


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## twowheelfan (Nov 9, 2010)

columbia was made by westfield/pope maybe badge engineering? the sprocket looks right for westfield.


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## Rus Tea (Nov 9, 2010)

Is the brazing on the truss bar the same quality or work as the rest of the bike?  I kinda agree it's not an Iver Johnson, the Truss begins  on the down tube instead of the Head tube which is why there is such a distance between it and the toptube.  Could the truss have been added later to save a damaged frame?


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## truss (Nov 9, 2010)

it appears to be an original frame.. no modifacations that i can tell.someone on ratrodbikes suggested that the handlebars, seat, pedals and wheels may have been changed at some point.. i agree with this as i thought that was the case before anyone had said anything.but the frame seems to be unmolested.


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## davekingedits (Nov 10, 2010)

The crosspiece between the arched truss and the top bar looks shorter on the Columbia.


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## phib (Nov 10, 2010)

Century Cycle Co. sounds right to me too.

here...

http://oldroads.com/arch/pic1_531.html


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## truss (Nov 11, 2010)

boy, that sure does look like it.i think the mystery may be solved.. i am going to google century bicycles and read about them to see if i can confirm soley that this is a century.. thankyou so much for your help..everyone. if i find out definatively i will post what i find so everyone knows in case another like mine pops up here and needs to be identified.


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## fat tire trader (Nov 11, 2010)

Does the crank have a peg which goes into the sprocket? Many old Columbias don't have a peg, but use a sprocket with a rectangular hole instead, take a look at the Columbia sprockets here
http://home.comcast.net/~chriseye/sprockets.html

Westfield/Columbia made bikes for other companies with different badges, just because the holes are not horizontal does not mean that its not a Westfield.

The rear dropout set screw threads vary depending upon manufacturer, are they 1/4 20?

Schwinn used a different threads on their crank arms than the other companies.
Sometimes the crank will have a marking on it, between the bearing threads which may tell you who made the crank.
Bottom brackets and headsets were often different on different bikes, so pictures of these parts might help.
In 1917 Columbia used a two piece crank on their arch bar bikes, I'm not sure about other years.
Nice Bike!
chris ioakimedes
www.fattiretrading.com

www.fattiretrading.com


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## truss (Nov 18, 2010)

hey thanks for the reference photos of the sprockets.. it has a hole connecting it. the funny thing is.. i went to the link page you provided and the exact sprocket is the first one in the unidentified section at the bottom.. the one difference is mine has holes on all six of the blades and the one on the page has it on only one.. other than that it is the same sprocket


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