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Columbia with Pipes

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TheFizzer

Cruisin' on my Bluebird
I'm guessing this is a Columbia from the 60's? Anyone ever seen pipes like this?

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The reason I put 1960 out there as a suggested year is this style tank first shows up in the 1960 catalog. This is despite this style chain guard last seen in the catalogs of 1957. While it is possible old chain guards could still be around a couple of years after they are officially obsoleted, it's less likely that a tank is used that is not designed yet.

It is also possible for the tank to have been added later but I find that very unlikely. The common practice for most boys of the era was to strip down a bike, not add tanks to it.

I would not be surprised if the serial number showed a 1959 manufacture date but it is just a guess at this point.

This mis-mash of parts is very common with Columbia's.

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Those pipes on that Columbia are obviously factory installed at the Westfield plant. Here is a photo of an extremely rare bike I have with exhaust pipes that were factory installed by Schwinn way back when. It also has the much coveted "cross brace clockometer". This bike was owned by Olympic runner, the great Jesse Owens and was used by him for warm-ups during the 1936 Olympic games in Germany. It was rumored that Jesse gave Ava Braum a ride on the the rear carrier around the track , Ava waving to a smiling Adolph Hitler. After the war Jesse sold the bike to Howard Hughes. Sometime later it was rumored to be purchased by Frank Schwinn for his private collection but that can not be confirmed.
I would be somewhat remiss not to mention that the designer of this bike was the world re-known inventor B. S. Aplenty.
Aplenty it should be noted was part of the international team of inventors and scientists that built the German airship zeppelin Hindenburg. Mr. Aplenty was credited for convincing the German government the advantages of using hydrogen to inflate the airship. B.S. , as his close friends fondly called him disappeared after the crash of the Hindenburg in 1936.
and was never seen again..........
I write this just in case anyone wants to know this info and because Bricycle made me write it. It was all his idea, not mine.
 
The reason I put 1960 out there as a suggested year is this style tank first shows up in the 1960 catalog. This is despite this style chain guard last seen in the catalogs of 1957. While it is possible old chain guards could still be around a couple of years after they are officially obsoleted, it's less likely that a tank is used that is not designed yet.

It is also possible for the tank to have been added later but I find that very unlikely. The common practice for most boys of the era was to strip down a bike, not add tanks to it.

I would not be surprised if the serial number showed a 1959 manufacture date but it is just a guess at this point.

This mis-mash of parts is very common with Columbia's.

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Here's a pic of my 1960 Torpedo
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I think those were a (McCauley?) accessory piece. I did not see them in quick flip through a 1962 Service Cycle Supply catalog. If memory serves me correctly they also had a clacker noisemaker involved. They look sharp, but could also be home-made out of vacuum cleaner wands.
 
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