Columbia Compax

[highship]

Here is what I think is a early 40’s Columbia Compax that I had nestled away, forgot all about it... I have been weeding through all the different post on here to see what I could learn about the bike but I’m having trouble pinning it down. Does anyone have any thoughts on it, year, model, etc.
I believe it was originally blue in color, all the components are blacked out, and the pedal blocks are wood.Serial number appears to be… L3 over G16699A

 

[MrColumbia]

Nice fairly complete military model with the original correct military grips. It even has the origianl correct wood pedal block pedals. A great find!

The serial number seems to indicate 1943 but the "L" bb code seems to indicate early 1944. There are a couple of other folks here that no doubt will have more insight on the year and month of manufacture.

 

[blackcat]

Hello;
Nice find!
@MrColumbia, you are partly right
The number G16699A is from 1944.
The L comfirms the year 1944, but the 8 indicates the month of August, that seems late to mee...
Maybe @Mercian could tell us a bit more about it...
Regards;
Serge

 

[highship]

You guys rock! Thanks for the info

 

[Mercian]

Hi @highship

Late to the party... (-:

However, yes G16699A is from early 1944. The L3 indicates the frame was made in March 1943, and Westfield were building up bikes almost immediately at that point, so a March-April build date.

The two welded reinforcing rods up the saddle tube only occur on wartime Compax, which leads to it being described as the 'Military' model. Although there are no known military contracts for them, at least some were bought in by Government services for use as general transport, or recreational bikes in rest camps.

Below is the nearest survivor I have recorded, G17595A, in original black. The blue you have found, and dark red are the other usual colours.

You can see this one too has the manic position of the chain guard. I used to think it was just badly fitted, but it seems to be a partcular feature at this time.

More details (and photo credit) of this bike can be found here:

Original U.S. WWII 1943 Westfield Compax Model F 92-L Marine Corps Paratrooper Folding Bicycle

Original Item: Only One Available. On December 23rd, 1937 a U.S. Patent was filed for a collapsible bicycle. The patent had six unique features to make it fold into a small space for easy storage and transport. The Patent was awarded on August 13th, 1940.In 1938 the Compax Mfg Co. Inc...

www.ima-usa.com

Please could you let me know if it has balloon or narrow tyres, and if the rear hub is a New Direction model D?

Thanks,

Best Regards,

Adrian

 

[blackcat]

Hello;
Oh yes, L3 is better!
I left on L8...
Regards;
Serge

 

[highship]

Thanks for the additional information, much appreciated!

@Mercian - yes, the rear hub is a blacked out New Departure Model D. The front hub is also blacked out but I can't find any markings.
The wheels appear to be for a narrower tire. The front tire is not original but it's a 26x1 1/4".
I just realized my photos don't show the front wheel but I do have it.
I also just noticed that it looks like the wheels (or at least the front) appear to be that olive drab green.

Thanks again!

 

[Mercian]

Hi @highship

Thanks also for your feedback. It helps answer questions for others too.

The narrow tyres make the model an F92L. The L standing for Lightweight. The H version is Heavyweight, with balloon tyres.

Out of interest, here is a screen shot showing the Westfield survivors close to yours I've noted. You can see there was a batch of Compaxs which appear to have been a mix of L and H types.

MC14643A is the last known survivor G519 military contract bike. The use of MC rather than MG has been suggested to be a USMC contract, but there's no documentation for that yet.

W as a prefix was used midwar to indicate a Westfield produced civilian bicycle. Looking above, it is interesting to note that the Compax frames are prefixed G, but the Sports Tourist frames are still W.

Compax frames were marked W until at least July 1943, but were stamped G from around October 1943 until the start of 1945, when all codes reverted to a year letter, J.

So, something was a bit different about the Compax. Perhaps they were being produced on a different line, so used a different stamp, but that does not seem to have been standard Westfield practice. Or perhaps they were using W for civilian bikes, and G for Government bikes? We still don't know.

Best Regards,

Adrian

 

[HARPO]

Here's mine...and thanks to @Mercian was dated a few days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. 100% original.

I have a full Post on the bike back in September.

 

[Iverider]

I just picked up a Compax "Military" model that someone blinged out with a Sturmey Archer 3 speed coaster brake rear and Dynamo front hub. I think the frame is the only thing original and it's missing the badge. I wish it at least came with the fork and adjustabe handlebar. It will probably be for sale at the Lebanon Swap though I'll probably throw an era appropriate stem and bar on it.