UP CYCLE Classic bikes are on a roll as hot collectibles FINAL EDITION, C

• Published in: Chicago tribune (1963)
• Main Author: T.A. Gordon, managing editor of Antique/Classic Bicycle News
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, Ill Tribune Publishing Company, LLC 26.05.1991
• ISSN: 1085-6706

Some collectors ride their bikes; others collect only those that are new in the box. Some may prefer to leave their finds unrestored; others enjoy the restoration as much as the ride. One collection includes bikes made of materials unusual for the period, such as the Monarch Silver King of the 1930s, made of an aluminum alloy. Or the Bowden, a '40s design in fiberglass of which Kestrol, a new carbon-fiber design, is surely some extended family member. Chicago, home to many bicycle and bicycle-related businesses since the 1890s, was such a manufacturing and marketing stronghold that such names as Schwinn, Monarch, Elgin, J.C. Higgins and Hawthorn are familiar in this area. In 1899, for example, the U.S. produced 1.2 million bicycles, many on Lake Street in what is now the West Loop. Referred to as "Bicycle Alley," this neighborhood housed more than 30 bicycle and bicycle-related firms. As America fell in love with the car, bicycle sales plummeted to 194,000 very uninteresting units in 1932. To survive, manufacturers standardized their lines, many diversified and others left the business altogether. The bikes that carried the bicycle industry into this boom were streamlined Art Deco beauties that looked like flight captured in freeze frame. The '30s models included the Schwinn Aerocycle, the Elgin Bluebird and the Shelby Airflow. The Aerocycle, produced in 1934, may have been inspired by some of the themes featured at the Century of Progress. Aerodynamic design was the buzzword of the day. The public loved the voluptuous shapes that marked everything from airplanes to water pitchers during this era. The bicycles of the day were beautiful and offered a ride with heft and lots of cushion.