Vintage Find: 1940's-1950's Samchuli (Samchuly) Korean Roadster

My 1950's (possibly 1940's) Samchuly Korean Roadster

A few months back I was fortunate to run into this bike on Craigslist and purchased it for less than three digits. This bicycle is one of the first bicycles ever to come out of what is known today as South Korea. It dates back to a time when the Korean War was on the front page of the headlines and it survives as a legacy of that era.

This bicycle is a roadster, meaning a workman's style utilitarian cargo bicycle. The rear cage is so strong I was able to ride the bicycle with my wife also sitting on it. This bike comes with rod lever brakes, as opposed to the cable operated brakes of today. These brakes work using a front and rear rod that pulls up the brake pads and compress them against the inside diameter of the rim. The rims, known as Westwood rims, are made specifically so that the braking surface was on the inside of the rim instead of the sidewalls.

This bike has some really cool details and because of that it is best to leave it unrestored. The only thing I did was to replace the dry rotted front tire with a passable Chinese tire. Even still, the tire wants to ride off the rim so I can only put about 20 psi of air in it. Despite this, this bicycle is still ridable and would work perfectly if the 26" Korean dimensioned westwood rims would be replaced with 26" westwood rims of English dimensions.

Here's a couple of more photos I took of this bike. I decided to go with my studio setup for the pictures, as it is also for sale online. Check out my eBay link or personal message me for more information. This bicycle weighs about 45 pounds, so it will have to be shipped disassembled in two boxes. Enjoy the pictures!