1958 Columbia Speedliner

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Of all the old rusty bikes I got in my latest score, this one speaks to me. I’m not usually a middleweight fan, but this bike has details from multiple eras. These came out in ‘54, so they came out at the tail end of the height of balloon tire era and very early in the middleweight era. The frame shape, besides the “missing” bar kinda looks like most balloon tire era bikes if the time, but the fenders seem to be inspired by the European bikes of the era that really got popular on into the 60’s and 70’s. The ridge running down both of them is very pronounced and they cut of the ends and front of both of them are very cool. The shape of handlebars and different than most and then you have the red block pedals and the same Columbia chainring used since the late 40’s.

The Bendix hand shifted 2 speed and the (still working) Stewart Warner Cadet speedo add a cool factor to it that is unlike any of my other bikes. The Speedo is showing 1209 miles on it and the bike has some Champion spark plugs waterslide model car decals on it that probably means the kid who had them one was dreaming of hot rods while putting those miles on it.

iDK (or care) if these are valuable or sought after, but something about this little bike makes my socks roll up and down!
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Future finished pics:
 
I’m not planning a resto on it - just a clean up, straighten the front fork, put tires on it, and get everything working as it should. It actually came the same dark red color color as my ‘51 Columbia tanker, so I might even do the white tire thing to match big brother.
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That bike is fabulous!!!

The bars; the Speedo, the rack, the chain guard; that bike just flows.

It’s totally beautiful!!!’

Is it a 26” or 24”?
It’s a 26”
I know though, I can’t get over how much I like it either! I ain’t ‘sposed to be likin’ these skinny tire bikes this much!
 
I ain’t ‘sposed to be likin’ these skinny tire bikes this much!
Who ever gave you that idea was a fool.

PS that speedo goes up to fifty! More than a little dreaming went on while riding that thing:21: I love it
 
Who ever gave you that idea was a fool.

PS that speedo goes up to fifty! More than a little dreaming went on while riding that thing:21: I love it
I pity the fool that calls me a fool!

Seriously though, I guess said fool was me, because I’ve always tended to disregard middleweight bikes. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never hated them and I’ve seen some beautiful ones - I just never really wanted to have anything for myself but balloon tire tank bikes. For years, that’s all I ever went after. I used what few middleweight bikes I acquired for parts or to sell.

This year though, I already did the Strato Flyer build (and that’s became one of my favorite bikes) and now this little Columbia has captured my affection.

I think seeing and being around more of these bikes has made me appreciate them.

Coincidentally, I have this bike’s sister that I got from the same guy. It has the frame, tank, and rack of the older Columbia balloon tire era, but has these cool ridged fenders and 26 x 1.75 tires.
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Not sure how something like that happens... Lately, I've been looking at mixte frames and step-throughs. Perhaps this place might be a bad influence, there are a few middleweights being showcased, and folks keep blowing my mind with ladies' builds
 
Not sure how something like that happens... Lately, I've been looking at mixte frames and step-throughs. Perhaps this place might be a bad influence, there are a few middleweights being showcased, and folks keep blowing my mind with ladies' builds
I ended up with a lot cool ladies bikes in my mega score, and cleaning them up is making me want to keep them!

I ended managing to get the cable freed up and got the 2 speed working on the Speedliner. The old rusty rims run true and the spokes are tight, so I think I’m a set of tires from riding that bad boy!
 
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I’ve been working on the Speedliner this morning and got it rideable. I put tubes in and found the 2 best Western Flyer tires I had in my parts stash for now, since that’s what was on it when I got it. The 2 speed shifts great and it is pretty light nimble bike! (compared to what I normally ride).

I SOS’d the whole bike and got a lot of
the surface rust off to reveal a beautiful metallic dark red. I also found that what I thought was a rusty chrome rear rack is that it was actually painted the color of the frame.

This bike may be a great candidate for BLO!
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I straightened the fork and it looks much better.

Before:
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AFTER:
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Took this little beast for a spin this evening. It did great. Besides the seat being a little uncomfortable for my, um - upsized figure - it did great. The kids took turns on it too.
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