Rollfast bike year and evaluation

[marius.suiram]

The seller said it is a 41. The s.n. is 14 EH and another number.
What's your opinion?
How much does it worth?

 

[Archie Sturmer]

Snyder-built Rollfast. The 14EH date-place code may indicate 1941 build for 1942 year, and built in the midwestern Excelsior Michigan City plant.
Because some people did something in the Pacific, 1942 bicycle production, assembly, and sales may have been impacted.
D.P Harris advertisements show the curved down tube to be the new design for year 1942.
Big customer, M. Ward in Chicago, may have had the latest Snyder design one year earlier than Harris.
A pawn shop may be asking $500; and its date is off by 10-20 years; but we know what tanks alone go for.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=303129743538
[edit links]
Being at war, bicycle production and sales was restricted; so parts might not look just like the ads printed some months earlier, or could have been swapped sometime in the past ~80 years. The 42 ad describes the kickstand. The 1/2 pitch plain chain ring looks more like 1950's.

 

[Scout Evans]

1941 sounds right, I have a 42 Hawthorne, Snyder built with a 24EH serial. I found this 42 catalog showing the same tank design as yours:

 

[marius.suiram]

Thanks for the info.
Unfortunately i cannot open that ebay address.
Ref. that catalog page: it looks that the bike i posted has a different chain ring, non skiptooth and has a regular kick stand. Should these be original to the bike?

 

[Scout Evans]

That's hard to say. They may have used an old illustration in the catalog, and there may have been different models not shown in that catalog. On yours, I would guess the bike is original with a replacement or repainted front fender. That is a Rollfast chain wheel on yours. Here's a 1941 made by Snyder bike, same chain wheel, from a thread here:

Rollfast Thread:
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/rollfast-bikes.4533/

 

[marius.suiram]

That's hard to say. They may have used an old illustration in the catalog, and there may have been different models not shown in that catalog. On yours, I would guess the bike is original with a replacement or repainted front fender. That is a Rollfast chain wheel on yours. Here's a 1941 made by Snyder bike, same chain wheel, from a thread here:
View attachment 988189
Rollfast Thread:
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/rollfast-bikes.4533/

Thanks
How much is going a tank?
I have an error in that ebay page.

 

[GD5877]

Is the Rollfast S/N on the bottom bracket for early 40s bikes, or elsewhere?

Thanks,

 

[Archie Sturmer]

Is the Rollfast S/N on the bottom bracket for early 40s bikes, or elsewhere?

For pre-war, I believe so; for post-war, the bottom bracket retained a date-place code, and the seat tube mast was stamped with an alphabetically prefixed serial number, (re-beginning with “A” in 1945).

 

[jpromo]

Rollfast serials for this era are the year reversed. 14=1941. I have a '41 with all the same parts including the 1/2" chainring. Too bad the front fender was replaced. I always love the reverse paint scheme.

 

[GD5877]

For pre-war, I believe so; for post-war, the bottom bracket retained a date-place code, and the seat tube mast was stamped with an alphabetically prefixed serial number, (re-beginning with “A” in 1945).

Thank you, i'm expecting one to be delivered on Monday and I'm excited to find out exactly what year it is!