The Columbia “MUSCLE BIKES”

by · September 7, 2020

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There are several names they were called. Some called them “HIGH RISE” bikes after the tall, high rise handlebars they sported. Some called them “BANNANA BIKES” after the long banana shaped seat. “SISSY BAR BIKES” were another name after the tall seat brace that often extended way above the seat height. Just plain “CHOPPER” was a term used a lot.

In more recent years the term “MUSCLE BIKE” was coined since these bikes were the hot rods of their day just as the high performance muscle cars of the same era were.

Just what were these bikes? A common factor was they were all low slung machines, most with 20” wheels. All had the elongated banana seat with sissy bars of varying heights. They had high rise handlebars styled after the “APE HANGER” bars found on chopper style motorcycles of their day. They had a variety of features to resemble the fast cars of the day like stick shifts and wide rear tires that were often smooth treaded or “slicks”. The front tires were skinnier and sometimes a smaller diameter. A cross between a chopper motorcycle and a muscle car is what they really were.

The low stance made them perfect for drag races or locking up the rear brake to put them into a skid. They were the best “wheelie” machines on two wheels. Just a little practice and you could ride down the street on just the rear wheel. In the days before BMX bikes these were the only bikes made for doing stunt riding. You could even ride with a passenger with the extra long seat.

Many of the bicycle companies made this style bike. There was the ROSS APOLLO, RALEIGH CHOPPER, IVERSON DRAGSTER, SEARS SCREAMER and of course the SCHWINN STINGRAYS and KRATE BIKES. These are to name just a few.

Here though the focus is on the Columbia muscle bikes. The most common name was the “PLAYBIKE” and that name is implied for most of the 20” wheeled banana bikes they made. The first bike of this style they made in 1965 was not called PLAYBIKE at all but PLAYBOY. This led to a lawsuit by the men’s magazine of the same name and the name was changed to PLAYBIKE in 1966. As the years progressed more and more aggressive styling brought out crazier designs. This brought about lines like THE DILLY, the MACH series and the LONGBOY’s.

 

Basic terms and features;
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PLAYBOY and PLAYBIKE………..20” wheeled, banana seat bikes with high-rise handlebars

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“88” ……………………………………..Had the “Columbia 88” motorcycle style front fork.

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MACH ………………………………Had a front wheel of a smaller diameter than the rear. The front wheel also had a drum brake.

 

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LONGBOY………………….…..…Had a cantilever frame with a 40” wheel base and was 60” overall length

 

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THE DILLY…………………………..A PLAYBIKE frame with 20” rear and 16” front wheels.  Sturmy Archer 3-Speed Sport Shift.

 

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Year by year identification;

 

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1965

1965

 

MODEL NAME NO. SPEEDS DE-          RAILEUR COASER BRAKE CALIPER BRAKE DRUM BRAKE WHEEL SIZES W/W    TIRES BOY’S GIRLS SHIFTER TYPE OTHER FEATURES
1965
PLAYBOY “88” 0128 3 X 20 X X TWIST
PLAYBOY “88” 0127 3 X 20 X TWIST SMOTHIE REAR TIRE
PLAYBOY “88” 0129 3 X 20 X X TWIST SMOTHIE REAR TIRE
PLAYBOY “88” 0126 1 X 20 X
STANDARD BOY’S 0123 1 X 20 X
STANDARD GIRL’S 0124 1 X 20 X

1965 lineup

1966

 

MODEL NAME NO. SPEEDS DE-          RAILEUR COASER BRAKE CALIPER BRAKE DRUM BRAKE WHEEL SIZES W/W    TIRES BOY’S GIRLS SHIFTER TYPE OTHER FEATURES
1966
PLAYBIKE “88” 0125 2 X 20 X TWIST
PLAYBIKE “88” 0115 1 X 20 X
PLAYBIKE “88” 0128 3 X 20 X X TWIST
PLAYBIKE “88” 0129 3 X 20 X X TWIST SMOTHIE REAR TIRE
PLAYBIKE “88” 0126 1 X 20 X
PLAYBIKE “88” 0127 1 X 20 X
PLAYBIKE STANDARD 0123 1 X 20 X NO FENDERS
PLAYBIKE STANDARD 0120 1 X 20 X
PLAYBIKE STANDARD 0124 1 X 20 X NO FENDERS

 

1966 Playbike 88

1966 lineup

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1967

 

MODEL NAME NO. SPEEDS DE-          RAILEUR COASER BRAKE CALIPER BRAKE DRUM BRAKE WHEEL SIZES W/W    TIRES BOY’S GIRLS SHIFTER TYPE OTHER FEATURES
1967
PLAYBIKE “88” DELUXE 0128 3 X 20 X TWIST
PLAYBIKE “88” DELUXE 0129 3 X 20 X TWIST SMOOTH TIRES
PLAYBIKE “88” DELUXE 0138 3 X 20 X STICK
PLAYBIKE “88” DELUXE 0139 3 X 20 X STICK SMOOTH TIRES
PLAYBIKE “88” DELUXE 0126 1 X 20 X
PLAYBIKE “88” DELUXE 0127 1 X 20 X SMOOTH TIRES
PLAYBIKE “88” DELUXE 0125 2 X 20 X X
PLAYBIKE “88” DELUXE 0115 1 X 20 X X
PLAYBIKE SPORT STICK 0130 3 X 20 X STICK
PLAYBIKE STANDARD 0120 1 X 20 X
PLAYBIKE STANDARD 0123 1 X 20 X NO FENDERS
PLAYBIKE STANDARD 0124 1 X 20 x
PLAYBIKE JUVENILE 9041 1 X 20 X 13″ FRAME

1967

1968

 

MODEL NAME NO. SPEEDS DE-          RAILEUR COASER BRAKE CALIPER BRAKE DRUM BRAKE WHEEL SIZES W/W    TIRES BOY’S GIRLS SHIFTER TYPE OTHER FEATURES
1968
LONGBOY 0168 5 X X 20 X CONSOLE
LONGBOY 0160 3 X X 20 X CONSOLE
SUPER “88” 0158 5 X X 20 X X STICK
DELUXE “88” 0138 3 X X 20 X X STICK
SPORTS 0150 5 X X 20 X STICK
STANDARD SPECIAL 0130 3 X X 20 X STICK
DELUXE “88” 0126 1 X 20 X
STANDARD SPECIAL 0120 1 X 20 X
PLAYBIKE STANDARD 0123 1 X 20 X NO FENDERS
PLAYBIKE SPECIAL 0113 1 X 20 X SINGLE BAR FRAME
PLAYBIKE SPECIAL 0114 1 X 20 X
GIRLS DELUXE 0132 3 X 20 X X STICK
GIRLS DELUXE 0122 1 X 20 X X
GIRLS STANDARD 0134 3 X 20 X STICK
GIRLS STANDARD 0124 1 X 20 X
THE DILLY 0178 3 REAR FRONT 20/16 X X S/A SPORT SHIFT
THE DILLY 0170 3 REAR FRONT 20/16 X S/A SPORT SHIFT

1968 Psych Bike

1969 The Swinging Line

1969

 

MODEL NAME NO. SPEEDS DE-          RAILEUR COASER BRAKE CALIPER BRAKE DRUM BRAKE WHEEL SIZES W/W    TIRES BOY’S GIRLS SHIFTER TYPE OTHER FEATURES
1969
MACH 20/16  MACH 5 0205 5 REAR FRONT 20/16 X X CONSOLE
MACH 20/16   MACH 3 0203 3 REAR FRONT 20/16 X X CONSOLE
MACH 20/16   MACH 1 0201 1 REAR FRONT 20/16 X X
MACH 24/20  MACH 5 0245 5 REAR FRONT 24/20 X X CONSOLE
MACH 24/20   MACH 3 0243 3 REAR FRONT 24/20 X X CONSOLE
MACH 24/20   MACH 1 0241 1 REAR FRONT 24/20 X X
THE DILLY 0178 3 REAR FRONT 20/16 X X S/A SPORT SHIFT
LONGBOY 0168 5 X X 20 X STICK
LONGBOY 0160 3 X 20 X CONSOLE
SUPER 3 “88” 0138 3 X 20 X X STICK
DELUXE 3 0130 3 X 20 X X STICK
DELUXE 5 0150 5 X 20 X X STICK
SUPER “88” 0126 1 X 20 X X
DELUXE 0120 1 X 20 X X
SPECIAL 0114 1 X 20 X
SPECIAL 0113 1 X 20 X SINGLE BAR FRAME
GIRLS SUPER 3 0132 3 X 20 X X TWIST BASKET
GIRLS SUPER COASTER 0122 1 X 20 X X BASKET
GIRLS DELUXE 3 0134 3 X 20 X X TWIST
GIRLS DELUXE COASTER 0124 1 X 20 X X

1969 MACH

1969 MACH 24/20

 

 

1969 lineup

1969 lineup

1969 Colorwheel

1970

1970

 

MODEL NAME NO. SPEEDS DE-          RAILEUR COASER BRAKE CALIPER BRAKE DRUM BRAKE WHEEL SIZES W/W    TIRES BOY’S GIRLS SHIFTER TYPE OTHER FEATURES
1970
MACH 20/16  MACH 5 0205 5 REAR FRONT 20/16 X X CONSOLE
MACH 20/16   MACH 3 0203 3 REAR FRONT 20/16 X X CONSOLE
MACH 20/16   MACH 1 0201 1 REAR FRONT 20/16 X X
MACH 24/20  MACH 5 0245 5 REAR FRONT 24/20 X X CONSOLE
MACH 24/20   MACH 3 0243 3 REAR FRONT 24/20 X X CONSOLE
MACH 24/20   MACH 1 0241 1 REAR FRONT 24/20 X X
24/24 BOMBER 0140 3 X 24/24 X CONSOLE
GIRLS 24″ 0144 1 24 X
LONGBOY 0168 5 X X 20 X CONSOLE
LONGBOY 0160 3 X 20 X CONSOLE
LONGBOY 0161 1 X 20 X
SUPER 3 “88” 0138 3 X 20 X X STICK
SUPER “88” 0126 1 X 20 X X
DELUXE 0150 5 X X 20 X STICK
DELUXE SPECIAL 0113 1 X 20 X SINGLE BAR FRAME
DELUXE SPECIAL 0114 1 X 20 X
3-SPEED DELUXE SPECIAL 0115 3 X 20 X CONSOLE
3-SPEED DELUXE SPECIAL 0116 3 X 20 X CONSOLE
SPECIAL 0111 1 X 20 X NO FENDERS
SPECIAL 0112 1 X 20 X NO FENDERS
DELUXE 3-SPEED STICK SHIFT 0130 3 X 20 X X STICK
DELUXE COASTER BRAKE 0120 1 X 20 X X
DELUXE3 TCW 3-SPEED STICK SHIFT 0131 3 REAR FRONT 20 X STICK
GIRLS SUPER COASTER BRAKE 0122 1 X 20 X X
GIRLS DELUXE 3-SPEED 0134 3 X 20 X
GIRLD DELUXE 3-SPEED COASTER 0133 3 X 20 X
GIRLS DELUXE COASTER BRAKE 0124 1 X 20 X
GIRLS SUPER 3-SPEED 0132 3 X 20 X X TWIST BASKET

1970 lineup

1970 lineup

 

1970 lineup

1971

1971

 

MODEL NAME NO. SPEEDS DE-          RAILEUR COASER BRAKE CALIPER BRAKE DRUM BRAKE WHEEL SIZES W/W    TIRES BOY’S GIRLS SHIFTER TYPE OTHER FEATURES
1971
DELUXE 5-SPEED 0150 5 X X 20 DUO-BAND X STICK
DELUXE 3-SPEED 0130 3 X 20 X CONSOLE
DELUXE COASTER BRAKE 0120 1 X 20 X
DELUXE TCW 3-SPEED 0131 3 REAR FRONT 20 X CONSOLE
BOY’S 3-SPEED 24″ 0140 3 X 24 DUO-BAND X CONSOLE
BOY’S 24″ COASTER 0141 3 X 24 DUO-BAND X CONSOLE
GIRL’S 3-SPEED 24″ 0145 3 X 24 DUO-BAND X 3 SPEED TRIGGER BASKET
SUPER “88” 3-SPEED 0138 3 X 20 DUO-BAND X CONSOLE
SUPER “88” SINGLE 0126 1 X 20 DUO-BAND X CONSOLE
SPECIAL, BOY’S 0111 1 X 20 X WHITE RIMS,NO FENDERS
SPECIAL, GIRL’S 0112 1 X 20 X WHITE RIMS,NO FENDERS
3-SPEED DELUXE SPECIAL, BOY’S 0115 3 X 20 X STICK
3-SPEED DELUXE SPECIAL, GIRL’S 0116 3 X 20 X TRIGGER
DELUXE SPECIAL, BOY’S 0113 1 X 20 X
DELUXE SPECIAL, GIRL’S 0114 1 X 20 X
BOY’S JUNIOR 16″ PLAYBIKE 9156 1 X 16 DUO-BAND X TRAINING WHEELS
GIRL’S SUPER 3-SPEED 0132 3 X 20 DUO-BAND X TRIGGER BASKET
GIRL’S SUPER COASTER BRAKE 0122 1 X 20 DUO-BAND X
GIRL’S DELUXE 3-SPEED 0134 3 X 20 DUO-BAND X TRIGGER
GIRL’S DELUXE TCW 3-SPEED COASTER 0133 3 REAR FRONT 20 DUO-BAND X TRIGGER
GIRL’S DELUXE COASTER BRAKE 0124 1 X 20 X

 

 

 

1971 lineup

1971 lineup

 

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