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Help ID'ing a frame (again) =-)

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PLERR

Finally riding a big boys bike
I'm pretty sure this bike is collection of parts. It actually rides fine, but I bought it solely for the frame with the rear facing drop outs. I'm assuming post-war 1945-58.

I know the rack, rear fender, and guard are Huffy. I assume the front fender is as well. I know Rollfast made a similar chain ring, but it had 6 holes, not three. I don't think it has the correct fork, but that's just a guess. The headset doesn't seem to seat evenly. Rear hub is a 3-speed. With no shifter it's forever in third gear. The rims feel CWC to me.

I tried to narrow the field a bit but I'm just coming up empty. S/N is J07749. Hopefully the S/N and the stylized font will get us to the answer. I'm thinking the squared off rear dropouts may be a tell as well.

Here are the pics. Thank you in advance.

E=-)

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How about that creative headlight mount!

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That's the bike on Erie CL, did you get the blue muscle bike too. The pr. for $200 was a good deal. I thought of getting them, where in Meadville were they. I posted the ad here on the Cabe yesterday. The ad is still up, I just read the ad again it says both bikes are 20n.
 
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That's the bike on Erie CL, did you get the blue muscle bike too. The pr. for $200 was a good deal. I thought of getting them, where in Meadville were they. I posted the ad here on the Cabe yesterday. The ad is still up, I just read the ad again it says both bikes are 20n.

I didn’t catch your post or the Erie CL listing, but it sounds like the same bikes. This bike was right down the road from me in New Castle, PA.

The guy who sold it to me bought this and a 20” Sears muscle bike. He only wanted the Sears bike so he let this one go. It’s a 26”. It’s riding 2.125” tires comfortably, so I’m pretty sure it’s a balloon frame.

I’ve been digging all day, asked a few folks at the Hartville, OH swap this morning, still have no idea what make it is.

I just picked up a Shelby near Cleveland and I’m now relaxing trackside in Berea, OH waiting for trains. 🙂 🚂
 
If you get a chance pull up the Erie CL ad their still listed, saying they are 20in. If you need parts I'm bringing a load to the Canfield OH. swap meet next weekend and maybe 10 bikes. Also a soapbox derby car and a 32 Bantom glass body.
 
So I'm warming to the idea that this is a CWC frame. I can see it in the sweep of the chainstays. I also didn't realize that CWC used that stylized font for their S/Ns. And I now know it's Iverson that made the similar chain ring, not Rollfast. Still learning...

Going by the most recent version of the CWC chart this frame would be either an Apr-Aug '41 or a Dec '46-Mar '47. It has a mount for a kickstand and no drop stand ears, so would that be the conclusive evidence that it's a '46/'47? Did CWC make kickstand bikes prewar?

But the real question (for me) right now is the shape of the rear dropouts. I've been pouring over images online, looking at my own bikes, and looking at the bikes at last swap meet. I have yet to find one like it. Could anyone point me to an image of a bike with these dropouts? Did CWC use different dropouts on bikes produced for other resellers?

Thanks,
E=-)

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I got it - 1947 Roadmaster Luxury Liner.

Finding pics of the Luxury Liner rear dropouts was the key.

In order of "discovery":
  • Identifying the characteristic rear up-sweep of the chain stays as CWC.
  • Also identifying the stylized font and even S/N stamping as CWC (not all CWC share this characteristic, but it is a CWC thing as far as I can tell). You can really see it in 2s and 7s.
  • That takes us to the CWC S/N chart and arriving at the years 1941 or 1946/47.
  • This frame has the built in kick stand mount, so that rules out pre-war and 1941, so it must be 1946/47.
  • The corresponding months are Dec 1946 to Mar 1947, so that would make it a 1947 bike.
  • All good with the manufacturer and date, but we still need a make and model. The straight top bar is the main tell, but those dropouts were something different too. With the original black color seen under the red, straight top bar, and squared rear dropouts I'm feeling confident that nails it as a Luxury Liner. Without those key features there would be no way to narrow it down to a specific model (AFAIK).
  • I measured the distance between the head badge rivets and, no surprise there, it's correct for a Roadmaster badge. Just an extra bit of confirmation.
I'm also thinking that the stem and bar are correct for this bike, and possibly the wheels. The rear wheel must have had its original hub swapped out for the 3-speed at some point. The valve stem is in a spoke cross and difficult to access. I don't think the factory ever did that.

For now it will remain The Red Rider, but at some point in the future I may take the frame back to black.

E=-)
 
What may be missing with the conclusion above, is the exclusion of other alternatives; (third bullet).
For example, was a serial number suffix identified (e.g., CW; ACW; 52CW; etc.), under the primer and paint; we could not have noticed in the partial-picture.
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1950-cwc-men’s-hawthorne-tank-bike.125604/
Also, that the horizontal (versus canted) rear-facing fork drop outs are generally considered design features that were introduced later (late 1948 or early 1949).
Looks like a 1959 CWC/AMF middleweight, not sure about all the parts.
Not sure if the possibility of a later middle-weight bicycle was dismissed too-quickly.

What is also not apparent is the seat post clamp hidden by the rear luggage carrier rack; there was a patent for the new design about 1951-55.
 
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