Id like to introduce myself and ask for any help avail on a bike ID. New member.

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Wonderwomanlh69

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Hi. Im new to this site and had an opportunity to buy an old tandem bike cheaply on Craiglist this week and took it. Id like to ask any help anyone can give me with your expertise. Im new to the biking world aside from usual childhood use for fun and occasional use as an adult for exercise so you'll have to excuse my lack of knowledge thus far and hope to learn alot here. Im guessing from the style its 1950s or 1960s but that is all it is unfortunately. The plate was removed so no mfr can be found and ive searched the bike for a number and have been so far unable to find one. I was hoping someone would shed some light by recognizing features on the bike or something to help identify it. Sorry for the terrible picture quality and i appreciate any help in the right direction. Thank you for your time and interest and have a good evening.
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Welcome to the best bike forum & the best bunch of guys & girls you could ever find on any bike site . There is plenty on here to keep you entertained & build your knowledge and skills . [emoji1303]


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G-Matt said:
Welcome to the best bike forum & the best bunch of guys & girls you could ever find on any bike site . There is plenty on here to keep you entertained & build your knowledge and skills . [emoji1303]


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G-Matt said:
Welcome to the best bike forum & the best bunch of guys & girls you could ever find on any bike site . There is plenty on here to keep you entertained & build your knowledge and skills . [emoji1303]


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Thanks. Any ideas to help me ID this monster and anything to help ID the value is much appreciated. Im in way over my head here.
 
I'm not positive on the idea . looks kinda like a sears stile bike or Columbia. Probably about 200$ . There is a bike I idea tread on this site some where . It's a little trick to navigate around but you will figure it out .


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It's a Columbia. You said you got it cheaply which is good because the frame appears to be bent at the head tube. It'll probably ride ok, but it does affect the value.
 
Whenever you see dropouts like that, you know it's going to be a Westfield-built frame. Whether it wore a Columbia badge (which was the main brand that Westfield sold its bikes under--- every Columbia is Westfield-built...) or something else for some other retailer, you can rest assured that Westfield built that frame. I wouldn't expect to get much for it, due to the apparent frame damage. Also, in the age of the internet, tandems are at a sales disadvantage due to the hassle/expense associated with shipping them, versus a single.
 
Welcome!

Yes, agreed it's a Columbia, the paint scrapes look like the Columbia headbadge too.

But the bent frame makes it a parts bike. That bend throws off the geometry and you need that with the weight of two people and the very long wheelbase, to ride safely. They must have bumped into something to bend the frame. The forks usually bend before the frame, those forks look like Schwinn forks, so they may have been replaced. Columbia also used forged forks, so they might be the right ones. The front fender is on backwards also, meaning some work was done to the bike. With the different angle, your foot will contact the fender as you pedal if it's on the correct way.
 
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Tandems may be a niche or focused market. Tandems are used by couples, not so much so by single-riders. (I have seen tandems converted to single-rider stretch cruisers, with one seat replaced by a carry basket). Couples however have the option to buy and use two (or more) separate 1-seat bicycles.
As to value, there are often opportunities to buy such items cheaply on websites such as Gregg's List. So that is one very good measure of their worth or value.
An entrepreneur may be able to buy bikes (or bike parts) on the cheap and then re-sell at a higher price for a profit. It seems that I am not so good at doing that - it seems that I always pay more for the sum of the parts than my finished bicycles are worth as complete articles.
 
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Yes its a Columbia. I bought the same bike for 10.00 from a guy.Sold it for 100.00 and darn happy with that after weeks of advertising.

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It's not a total loss, most classic bikes are that same size, 26". So, the wheels tires, fenders, cranks, handlebars, seats and almost everything will fit many other bikes from the 50's and 60's.

If you had a classic frame from another bike, it wouldn't take too much to outfit it with everything you have on that tandem, it wouldn't have to be a tandem to use most those parts.

That's part of the fun of the classic bikes, along with riding them and finding them. You'll need extra space as they add up.

One thing I do is look on craigslist, in the bike section, type in "vintage" and see what all is out there in your area. Since American Pickers came out, many are overpriced, but you'll find some at a good price. A lot are advertised as a certain year, like 1957 when actually they are 60's or 70's bikes, still good but overpriced. You can post them here to get info on them before you make the leap. The how to section can show you how to work on them also.

The for sale section here may have something, a bike or parts.

Or try the antiques section on CL and type in "bikes" and see what appears. I've found a few good ones that way.

It's a great hobby!
 

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