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

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...

s in Wandsbek quarter of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, 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. Over ...

of the brand ''Rollfix''. The company was specialized on commercial vehicles. 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 power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

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

DKW DKW (''Dampf-Kraft-Wagen'', en, "steam-powered car", also ''Deutsche Kinder-Wagen'' en, "German children's car". ''Das-Kleine-Wunder'', en, "the little wonder" or ''Des-Knaben-Wunsch'', en, "the boy's wish"- from when the company built to ...

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: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reich ...

. In 1927 a

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), 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 ...

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 artificial language Esperanto and means ...

Pinneberg Pinneberg (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Pinnbarg'') 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. Pinneb ...

. 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 which can be either articulated or rigid. As the name suggests, its bodywork is just an entirely flat, level 'bed' with no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy load ...

with closed cab. It was designed for 500 kg

payload Payload is the object or the entity which 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 ...

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

rig 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 carriage ...

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 ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

"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 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 ( or ) 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, es ...

. 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, 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 Wandsbek

Further reading

References