# new member with some questions



## donp (Aug 22, 2007)

hi, i was given a bike last night. i was told it is a 1941 colson. the head badge says ROADKING on it. i spent most of the night doing internet searches for colson, and roadking, but did not come up with much info other than colson became colson-evens (or was it evans-colson?) sometime in the later years of the companies history. i saw a few pics of some colson bikes, but none that looked exactly like the one i have. the bike i have is a girls model, and i did see some frames that looked similar, rear racks that looked exactly the same from side views, and a couple with the same rear mounted fold up type kick stand that lifts the rear tire off the ground.
one odd part in particular is the neck. mine has the bolt threaded into the neck closer to the rider, rather than out front. i was told this was a distinguishing trademark of colson, but none of the bikes i saw in the pics had this neck.
i'm wondering if any one could give me some info, or tell me where i can find some info on colson, or roadking. this bike needs some serious restoration as it has been spray painted red. every single part was spray painted red lol. i would like to add this bike to my collection which includes a 51 jc higgins, 48 schwinn black phantom, 48 schwinn ladies hollywood deluxe, 61 schwinn ladies hollywood, 2 1980 schwinn beach cruisers, a 1980 schwinn cruiser 5, 1971 schwinn collegiate 5 speed, a 1968 schwinn breeze? 3 speed, and bike no.5 1974 centurion tri athelon racer.
thanks for any help.
don


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## militarymonark (Aug 22, 2007)

best thing to do is post up some pictures. Then when you want to take the paint off use some sythentic reducer, it takes the spray paint off and leaves the original paint unharmed. Lowes, homedepot sell it. It might not be exactly called sythetic reducer but close.


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## J.E (Aug 23, 2007)

yep sythetic Enamel reducer works great for taking spray bomb paint off.


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## donp (Aug 23, 2007)

thanks guys. not really worried about how to remove the paint as my family owns a body shop. i'm looking more for info on this brand of bike. it's original colors were blue and white. i found about 6 pics of different models, and found out that colson only painted their girls bikes blue/white, and the mens bikes red/white.


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## donp (Aug 23, 2007)

here are some pics of the bike i got.


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## ballooman (Aug 23, 2007)

*research info*

 check out bunchobikes.com there is a book out by gordon and hurd called an introductory guide to collecting the classics real good book also drop wes pinchot an e-mail hes one of the best in the field


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## ejlwheels (Aug 24, 2007)

Definitely a Colson.  1938 - 40.
What is the serial # on the bottom of the frame?


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## donp (Aug 25, 2007)

i haven't had time to clean off the paint to make it readable yet. been really busy in my shop lately and getting ready for my sons b-day party this weekend. hopefully by midweek i'll have time to get into this bike. the marrow (sp?) rear hub dates it to 1941. but to me that is meaningless because it might not be the original rear wheel.
the paint by the way is an automotive type, not spray paint. all the chrome is covered in automotive primer. i may have the entire bike media blasted, then rechromed and repainted in our body shop. i'd love to find out it's exact original paint scheme.


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## donp (Aug 25, 2007)

oh and.........
any ideas on the headbadge? it says roadking on it. did colson make a roadking model?

and thanks for the link to the bunchobikes site. i really like his old schwinns. i thought it was interesting that he restored two 1980 models identical to two that i have. i figured mine were not worth much, until i started watching e-bay auctions to see what they sell for.


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## militarymonark (Aug 26, 2007)

well like I said before you can take the spray paint off with the sythentic reducer and it'll have the original paint on there. And if the paint is in good enough shape you can prob keep it and shine it up because its only original once. I have the same bike minus the rear rack which is very hard to come by. But mine has a packard badge. I just purchased a tank for it which needs to be color matched. If you search the forum there is somewhere on here a catalog with colson bicycles on it and it had my exact color scheme and im sure you can find one to use. 




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## donp (Aug 26, 2007)

there are so many scratches and gouges, and rust, that i'm sure the original paint is gone, or in such bad shape it can't be saved. as i said too, it was painted with automotive paint, not spray paint. so a reducer more than likely will not work to remove it. i know it will never be original, but it will be nice anyway.
quick question. the seat post at the top is bent 90 degrees. is this supposed to be like that or was it bent by someone else? kinda looks like a laid back post on a bmx bike.
thanks for all the help and e-mails guys. i really appreciate it.


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## donp (Aug 26, 2007)

i did some clean up. the serial numbers under the bottom bracket are as follows;
11344
E 1
the bike had been stripped down to bare metal, primed, and then painted. so the original paint is gone.


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## mr.j.c.higgins (Aug 26, 2007)

It's a Colson Snap Tank bike.  The seat post is not bent, it is supposed to be like that.  It's a lucky "7" seatpost.


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## donp (Aug 27, 2007)

thats cool. thanks. so is this bike worth restoring? and yes the tanks do snap on.


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## militarymonark (Aug 27, 2007)

i think it is, i've always liked colson bikes


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## ejlwheels (Aug 28, 2007)

*synthetic enamel reducer*

I went to Home Depot and I couldn't find synthetic enamel reducer.
Nor had they ever of it in the paint dept.  The closest thing I could find was graffiti remover.

Are there any brands or what else might it be called?


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## J.E (Aug 28, 2007)

Sherwinn williams sells it.A automitive paint supply place will have it also.


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## militarymonark (Aug 29, 2007)

Thats what I use


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## WES PINCHOT (Sep 7, 2007)

*Girls Colson*

Neat Bike

And It's All There

Good Luck With House Paint.

Keep Water Handy To Delute Paint Remover So You Don't Damage Original Paint.

Wes


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## donp (Sep 8, 2007)

thanks wes. unfortunetly, the original paint was gone. it looks like the entire bike, including chrome, had been sandblasted. so, even though it's not the original paint, i took it down to our family's body shop, and had a triple black with red inlay paint job put on it. i just need to order new spokes and nipples, paint the hoops, and have the handle bars- sprocket- cranks- neck- and few other small parts rechromed. i know it won't be original, but it's still cool. i'll add it to my collection, and maybe my wife will ride it when we enter my bikes in the local parades.


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## bikebug (Nov 10, 2007)

My mom had one of these in the late 30s. She told me she bought it at Western Auto. I have pictures of her with the bike. Hers had a light on fr fender. It was a Colson, but the head badge can't be seen in any of her old photos. I also have a lady's Colson with "Roadking" head badge.


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