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Columbia Military Model- Opinions?

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Fort Susquehanna

On Training Wheels
I made photos of the Columbia Military Model I just bought.

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The machine has all the features of a Miami-Built,
at least in the frame / fork components.

Miami drop, top-bar motorbikes .. initiated in 1917 ..
have many, many variations between 1917 and 1922
(and possibly 1923).


Westfield did purchase Miami Cycle & Manuf. Co.
in 1923 (+/-).

Literature for all military models .. from all companies
that built a Military Model shows a machine with a top-
bar .. AND an under-bar -- parallel with one another.

Much more research is indicated before a reasonable
conclusion can be reached.

..... patric cafaro


DSC07812 columbia military model.JPG

 
Thanks for the input. To clarify, because I'm not a bicycle expert, please explain the following:

Fender bridge- is this what joins the fender to the frame? What do you need to see?

The frame photos- what detail do you need to see?

The badge looks like it has been on there a long time. It wouldn't be the first time somebody put a badge on an item to make it look better. But is there a chance that Miami made bikes for Columbia contract, which then badged them as their own? This definitely happened in WWII with subcontractors (other than bicycles) and I am wondering if it happened in WWI as well.
 
Thanks for the input. To clarify, because I'm not a bicycle expert, please explain the following:

Fender bridge- is this what joins the fender to the frame? It's that hollow tube that actually touches the top-most part of the fender. Your machine has two of these bridges for the rear fender. NONE for front fender.

What do you need to see? Clear and Close-Up Fotos ... Side View ...

The frame photos- what detail do you need to see? Clear and Close-Up Fotos ... Side View ...

The badge looks like it has been on there a long time. It wouldn't be the first time somebody put a badge on an item to make it look better. But is there a chance that Miami made bikes for Columbia contract, which then badged them as their own? No ... Westfield (maker of Columbia) totally dwarfed Miami Cycle & Manuf. Co.
This definitely happened in WWII with subcontractors (other than bicycles) and I am wondering if it happened in WWI as well.


1918_Columbia_Military_033.jpg

^^^
Reference material originally posted by
CABE member ... Wing Your Heel.





1918 military bicycles  chitown.jpg

^^^
Reference material originally posted by
CABE member ... chitown.
 
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I've never seen any WW1 US military bike that's not a twin top tube frame. Has anyone seen a WW1 photo from France that shows one?
In one of the post-WW1 Columbia brochures, there's an artist's drawing of a Columbia truss-bridge in France. (The Iver Johnson patent ended in 1917). As Columbia had a big promotion of their 'Military Model' for at least three years after the war finished, could they have badged up a few motobike frames (and even truss-bridge frames?) as Military Models to help sell them?
Just a bit of fun trying to guess the past
Colin
 
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