The Rollfix-Eilwagen GmbH (Rollfix Express Car Ltd.) was a German manufacturer of

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...

s in

Wandsbek Wandsbek () is the second-largest of seven Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg#Boroughs, boroughs that make up the city and state of Hamburg, Germany. The name of the district is derived from the river Wandse which passes through here. Hamburg-Wandsb ...

quarter of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, located at Stubbenhuk 10, today the location of the Henry-Nannen Journalist School. The company was founded in 1923 or earlier. Another source indicates 1926 as founding year. 1923 began the production and marketing of

three wheeler A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels. Some are motorized tricycles, which may be legally classed as motorcycles, while others are tricycles without a motor, some of which are human-powered vehicles and animal-powered vehicles. Overvi ...

of the brand ''Rollfix''. The company was specialized on

commercial vehicle A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers. Depending on laws and designations, a commercial vehicle can be any broad type of motor vehicle used commercially or for business purposes. Classi ...

s. In addition, some were created Passenger cars. 1933 it came to a comparison procedure. Successor company became the 1934 ''Rollfix-Werke Frederic Schröder KG'' with the brand name Motrix. The first vehicles had the single wheel behind. Between the two front wheels was an open platform for cargo. Alternatively, a box was available. A tubular frame formed the base. A

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a f ...

was placed in front of the chaindriven rear wheel. First 127 cc engines were supplied by

DKW DKW (''Dampfkraftwagen'', – the same initials later also used for ''Des Knaben Wunsch'', ; ''Das Kleine Wunder'', and ''Deutsche Kinderwagen'', ) was a German car- and motorcycle-marque. DKW was one of the four companies that formed Auto U ...

and had optional 297 cc. The driver sat on a saddle over the rear wheel. An advertisement shows a two seats in row version. It was steered with a handlebar. The original price was 1000

Reichsmark The (; sign: ℛ︁ℳ︁; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945, and in the American, British and French occupied zones of Germany, until 20 June 1948. The Reichsmark was then replace ...

. In 1927 a

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel, a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and hea ...

superseded the handlebar. The engines supplier changed to the

ILO-Motorenwerke The ILO-Motorenwerke GmbH 2-stroke motor company in Pinneberg, Germany existed from 1911 to 1990 and was one of the biggest manufacturers of two-stroke engines in Germany. The term ‘ILO’ comes from the constructed language Esperanto and mean ...

Pinneberg Pinneberg (; ) is a town in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It is the capital of the Pinneberg (district), district of Pinneberg and has a population of about 43,500 inhabitants. Pinneberg is located 18 km northw ...

. Prices rose from 1260 to 1600 Reichsmark. In 1932 or 1933, a redesign was marketed. The single wheel was now in front. The model Hamburg was a

flatbed truck A flatbed truck (or flatbed lorry in British English) is a type of truck the bodywork of which is just an entirely flat, level 'bed' with no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy loading of goods, and consequently they are used to trans ...

with closed cab. It was designed for 500 kg

payload Payload is the object or the entity that is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of t ...

. The ILO engine was 200 cc. On the same frame a

rig Rig or RIG may refer to: Objects and structures * Rig (fishing), an arrangement of items used for fishing * Drilling rig, a structure housing equipment used to drill or extract oil from underground * Rig (stage lighting) * rig, a horse-drawn c ...

for 1.5 tons payload was designed. The new price was 2580 Reichsmark was described as too high for successful marketing. Also two passenger car variants were offered in 1933, although unclear if ever produced. One is called tail-heavy sedan with four seats and the other as

Station wagon A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...

"Kombinationskraftwagen" with folding top. In the same year the ''Rollfix record'' appeared on the market. It was a two-seater with a single rear wheel. The roof was open, but not the back wall or rear window. The engine was mounted in the rear. He drove over a three-speed gearbox with reverse gear and a chain on the rear wheel. A 200 cc

single-cylinder engine A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, motorized bicycles, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, power tools ...

with 5.5 HP and another 300 cc single-cylinder engine with 7.5 HP as well as a 400 cc two-cylinder engine with 11 HP were offered. The 323 cm long vehicle had a 234 cm

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

and a 136 cm

gauge Gauge ( ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, especia ...

. One sample still exists.

References

Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: ''Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie.'' United Soft Media Verlag, München 2008, , Chapter Rollfix. Michael Wolff Metternich: ''Fix, fixer, Rollfix.'' In:

Oldtimer Markt Old-timer or oldtimer may refer to: Person * Old-timer, a person of old age * Old-timer, a veteran * Old-timer, an eggcorn for someone with Alzheimer's disease * Old-Timers' Day, a US baseball tradition honouring Major League retirees Vehicle ...

, Ausgabe 11/2008, S. 40–45. Bodo Wistinghausen
Rollfix Rekord BJ 1933: Der letzte seiner Art?
(retrieved 10 August 2019) Michael Wolff Metternich: ''100 Jahre auf 3 Rädern. Deutsche Dreispur-Fahrzeuge im Wandel der Zeiten.'' Neue Kunst Verlag, München, {{ISBN, 3-929956-00-4, S. 308–315. 1923 establishments in Germany 1933 disestablishments in Germany Motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany Manufacturing companies based in Hamburg Wandsbek

Further reading

References