Hi All,
Please excuse my asking this on a Dayton thread. As some of you may know I'm working on a Columbia Military Model at the moment. The subject of tires is a bit of a problem for me, and that excellent Dayton ad. has raised the question again, showing what appears to be white tires.
I'm aware that the wheels/tyres on 'surplus' Columbias as advertised for sale to the public are not necessarily the same as those fitted to the 'in service' bike.
As an example, here is the advert for the immediate post war Columbia built up with surplus parts (Credit Mr Columbia's site
http://www.vintagecolumbiabikes.com...AtWar/1920MilitaryModel.jpg&target=tlx_picler
It appears to show the Vitalic tire tread, and states in the ad; that Vitalic De Luxe or Fisk Cord are the tire options on Steel Cement rims.
The rear rim (below) on my 1917 bike appears to be original (it still has the Morrow hub etc), but appears to be a 'Clincher' type rather than 'Steel Cement'. This leads me to think that not all of the options seen in post war advertising are correct for wartime bikes.
So, (bearing in mind I am still a beginner at this!),
Is the above Clincher rim for a tire with separate tube, or a single tube tire?
Were Vitalic treads available in both of these options?
Did wartime bikes have black or white tires (the ones in the Davis ad; look white)?
I'm getting to the point of buying the tires, so I'd like to be correct if possible.
Thanks for the help.
Best Regards,
Adrian