Zenith bicycle value

[Lawrence Ruskin]

$ 150 is not out of line depending on the paint.

If it has a skiptooth, it's old, If it has a loop frame, which means the upper bar is a loop not strait, then it's a nice old bike.

 

[RMS37]

If this bike is in the midwest chances are better that it is an American built Marshall Wells/Zenith bike than that it is a Canadian built one. The American versions were commonly built by H.P. Snyder and were similar to the Harris/Rollfast line. That would go a long way toward explaining the features of the bike noted so far. Unfortunately it is virtually impossible to value the bike without a photograph.

 

[liquidvibe]

If I recall correctly the upper and lower bar aren't straight BUT I'm pretty sure both bars curved the exact same which seems to be different from the loop frames that I'm seeing when I google the term "loop bike frame"... A pic would solve so much for me right now! Thanks again for your help.

 

[Lawrence Ruskin]

yep needs a picture, If you google Marshal wells Zenith it looks like the Canadian version was made by CCM and in the US they used CWC frames.

 

[RMS37]

yep needs a picture, If you google Marshal wells Zenith it looks like the Canadian version was made by CCM and in the US they used CWC frames.

U.S. Bikes were typically H.P. Snyder, not CWC sourced.

 

[liquidvibe]

It totally looked like this Hawthorne except it had a skiptooth, no rear rack and didn't have the crhome bars that go from the headset to the front axle. The condition overall and of the paint was pretty similar to this one as well.

So is this considered a loop frame then?? This frame looks just like the one I've been talking about.

 

[Lawrence Ruskin]

Nice bike, I would buy that. As for me saying Marshal Wells asked CWC to do their frames, I was just repeating what I read a moment before: doesn't mean the guy was right.

This is a CCM loop frame, the bottom tube is strait.

 

[liquidvibe]

This is a CCM loop frame, the bottom tube is strait.View attachment 60448

Ahh yeah the frame pic you posted is what I was seeing when I googled looped frame thus I didn't think the frame I was talking about was in fact a loop. So what is the name for the Hawthorne frame in my previous post called? What does CCM mean again?? Thanks!

 

[RMS37]

doesn't mean the guy was right.

Yeah, it means the guy is wrong.

 

[RMS37]

The maroon bike in the picture is actually a Cleveland Welding built bike from the early postwar years. A U.S. built H.P. Snyder built girls bike from just before or after WW2 will indeed look quite similar to that bike though.

You say the paint is about equal to this picture but note it is about a 6 out of 10 and from the photo I might grade the maroon bike a bit higher than that. The bike you are looking at is probably worth the $150 being asked for it, if not it obviously cannot be worth all that much less. As noted the things that might considerably add to the value, at least in parts, like drop stands, special sheet metal, headlights and accessories are very hard or impossible to judged from a just a verbal description.