AMERICAN BICYCLES

Columbia / Westfield Bicycles

 

Westfield Manufacturing Company was a leader in the bicycle industry. Many of the bicycles sold by the Sears Roebuck and Co. were manufactured by Westfield (although not exclusively). Sears bicycles such as the famous 1935-8 Elgin Bluebird were made by Westfield. So was the 1934-36 Elgin Blackhawk and Falcon among many others. Columbia was the in-house brand name for the Westfield Manufacturing Company.

 

 Huffman – Huffy – Dayton Bicycles

 

The Huffman Manufacturing Company began making bicycles in 1934 and continues to this day. The most sought after collectible examples were made in the mid to late 1930′s. Many people confuse the Huffman brand name “Dayton” as the manufacturer. “Dayton” never made any bikes, but Huffman did make Daytons, among many other brands. Like many makers, their bicycles were branded for sale in numerous department and hardware stores. Names such as La France, National, Air Flyte, and Zephyr were used. In 1953 the “Huffy” brand name was created.

 

Sears Elgin and J.C. Higgins Bicycles

The Sears Roebuck and Company was responsible for some of the most outrageous and sought after bicycle designs. The Elgin Bluebird, Robin, Blackhawk, Flightlinger and Spaceliner were all Sears exclusives. Sears primarily used the Westfield Mfg. Co. and Murray of Ohio to produce their special bicycles designs. Sears bicycles sold before World War II were branded as Elgin, and after World War II as J.C. Higgins.

 

Monark Bicycles

Monark Silver King Inc. (formerly Monark Battery Co.) created some of the coolest bikes of the balloon tire era. Most sought after are the aluminum models, such as the Flocycle and Wingbar. One of the most popular models during the late 1940′s and 1950′s was the Monark Super Deluxe. Monark continued making bicycles into the middle-weight era, with some very stylish models. People often confuse “Monarch” with “Monark”. Monarch was a bicycle company from the 1890′s era and not related to Monark in any way.

 

Rollfast Bicycles

Rollfast bicycycles have a long and complex history that has close ties between two different company. The D.P. Harris Hardware and Manufacturing Company originated the name in the 1890′s, and later teamed up with the H.P. Snyder Manufacturing Company in the early 1900′s. Snyder was the primary manufacturer of the bicycles, while Harris provided some of the parts and marketed them. During the Great Depression, Snyder began manufacturing bicycles for other retailers such as Montgomery Ward who sold them under the Hawthorne name. Some sought after Snyder built Rollfast bicycles are the V-200 model and the Hopalong Cassidy bicycles. Snyder built Rollfast bicycles well into the 1970′s.

 

Roadmaster Bicycles

The Cleveland Welding Company, makers of Roadmaster bicycles, like other bicycle manufacturers made bikes for many different retailers. Often these bikes had very little differences between brands, but there were exceptions. The Cleveland Welding Company was not known for creating the best quality bicycles, but they did make a few models that are highly sought after by collectors. Most notable is the 1937 Roadmaster Supreme, with its bug-eye looking horn tank that has built in twin headlights, locking fork, rubber cusioned gooseneck, and other unique features. From the post World War II era, Roadmaster was responsible for the flashy Roadmaster Luxury Liner.

 

Hiawatha Bicycles

Hiawatha brand bicycles were sold by Gambles Hardware stores from the 1930′s through the 1970′s. Most Hiawatha bicycles were manufactured by the Cleveland Welding Company or the Shelby Cycle Company, however some were made by Murray Ohio and Huffman Manufacturing. The most sought after Hiawatha bicycle is the late 1930′s Arrow model, built by Shelby. It featured extreme styling and was similar to the Shelby Airflow model.

 

Shelby Bicycles

The Shelby Cycle Company is known for having produced some of the most desirable collector bicycles. In 1928 they manufactured and sold the “Lindy Flyer”, a bicycle with a Charles Lindbergh theme. In the late 1930′s they made the Shelby Speedline Airflo, a radically styled bike that is very sought after today. In the 1950′s Shelby was responsible for the Donald Duck bicycles, which were painted yellow and blue with a duck head on the front of the frame. Shelby, like other manufacturers of the time made bicycles for other retailers such as Montgomery Ward, Spiegel, Gambles stores, Firestone and Goodyear.