https://thecabe.com/ https://thecabe.com/forum/index/sell-trade-complete-bicycles.57/ sign up, do an intro, ask what's it worth in the main forum, then list it. people are cool on the Cabe to non bike folks who want to sell a bike.
So last week I traded with an acquaintance for this bad boy: It's a 1950 Hawthorne Triple-Bar roadster. Less than 20 known to exist, fewer than five with the three speed and drum brake combo. Color me ecstatic.
Nailhead, I know a guy who had several. send me a private note and I'll share his address as soon as I can find it.
Picked up these sears spyders this week went to look at the 5 speed gold one ended up getting both. The gold one is a 1960 and the purple one mid to late sixtys
a mystery rider of all moving toys... Hello, When we, as knowing young parents, decided that his friends all had bicycles and he was the only guy with a cool custom made scooter. We thought he was in awe of the bicycle kids. We even went to some early BMX motocross places and watched to his delight. But, he was a staunch rider of his favorite home made scooter. Bennett Trucks, Cadillac Wheels, German ball bearings, A Sims solid oak skateboard deck and a custom “T” handle for security. A rolling, one-of-a-kind skateboard scooter for his agility and fun. We got the new Sims solid oak deck for $1.00 at a swap meet in Goleta/Santa Barbara. The rest of the parts I had in a small box to be used for later projects. When my son was shown how to ride it and how to turn, handle and come to a stop, he jumped right on and made a few laps of our concrete sidewalk all around our yard. In one gate and out the other in a continuous large circle. The path was his tricycle path, but now that was gathering dust in the garage. It was sometimes an all day course of continuous circles, with some resting under the shade of the large trees. Jnaki So, my wife asked him when did he think he would be ready for his first two wheel bicycle. He instantly answered… “5 and a half.” Which was in a year and a half. So, we both patiently waited for the days to move ahead. When he visited his friends and when his friends came over to play, the first thing everyone wanted to ride was the custom scooter. But, he still wanted to go to the large BMX parks to watch the kids race their BMX bikes. His comments were matched by my own question… “Why do they only go one way and finish in one short course?” “Why don’t they go around a few laps on the course with jumps and corners?” I realized that it came from his favorite kids that looked great with their outfits on, but around the first turn, skidded outside and fell. Their race was over, as recovery time was fast, but the leader crossed the short course finish line. “It is not fair that those kids did not get a chance to catch up and maybe win on a longer course with a few laps…” From a 5 year old? Yikes, very observant for fair play… The scooter may have looked odd, as I had put on a complete ball bearing rear wheel at an angle of the kick tail. It was to keep the scooter from flipping backwards and later on, we found out our son was using it as a brake, (by pulling up on the “T” handlebar) plus sharp turns that required almost a 90 degree turn. Slowing down, pulling sightly back and spinning on the built in ball bearing loaded Cadillac skateboard wheel, made any sharp turn simple and easy. He made it look easy, as my wife and I had a difficult time with the spin portion. So, approaching 5.5, we got him a small Haro BMX version of a cool Tahitian Red/Candy Apple color bicycle. It was small enough to take anywhere in our station wagon. He had a little difficulty getting used to riding a bicycle, but eventually got the hang of it. Here is a photo of him at Grandma’s house in Long Beach, where the Flathead 40 Ford Sedan Delivery was always parked and where the 40 Willys 671 SBC coupe made its way to the deep backyard garage and out to the street. If thoughts were gold, we would be millionaires… YRMV (like… Where is my custom made skateboard/scooter?)
Hello, The bicycle phase stayed with us until the cobwebs started on the bikes and the scooters were stored for lack of use. By this time, "Cartwheels turned to car wheels through the town," from the "Circle Game" lyrics while our lives moved onward. The little BMX bike was given to the neighborhood child care place and our son did not need a bike until college, when I refurbished a multi-speed larger bike for his tall stature. Yes, the Razor phenomenon skipped our son's timeline. But, it did get to his own daughter, our granddaughter. We had no scooter competition for business once established along the coastal So Cal shops. But, liability insurance for our company was not a part of the picture until our friend pointed it out. His son always came over to ride one of the many models I made for my son's friends. The huge problem was that we were not prepared for the liability end of our business. But, as a lawyer, our friend pointed out that if someone bought a scooter, our name was attached as the manufacturer and builder. We would be part of the massive lawsuit if a child got hurt while riding the said, scooter made by me. We had sold 12 scooters of all sizes to a local skate shop in the harbor. They were being used to go all over the sidewalks that lined the boats and docks. The shop sold them and also rented them out to all of the visitors. My son, wife and I always rode around the harbor sidewalks and were always stopped for questions about the scooters we had. They thought that was the next coming of the roller skate phenomenon hitting the cities at the time. When asked how much liability we should have, our friend said at least a million dollars or a two million policy. A what??? With that amount, the companies would do all they could to settle or win any lawsuit case. Plus, our house and personal property would be relatively safe. Jnaki The cost would be about $15k for such a policy and that put us out of business. All of the scooters out in the public and all future sales were recalled. All scooter shops and individuals were refunded. Now, we had a garage full of parts and completed scooters. So we took a break from the whole concept as we did not have $15k for insurance. Within two years, big toy companies made a plastic version with a handle similar to our design and put it on the market. The big company had plenty of insurance that we did not have. Their design was not our design, but a fast copy, slapped together and put on sale. They were cheap versions, but being that the company was big, sales were high to all of the toy stores across the USA, plus, they had plenty of insurance. No comparisons versus our skateboard quality, hand made scooter with high performance parts from the skateboard industry to boot. But, $$$ played a big part, it was just not in the cards. one of these kids is doing his own thing.... Our son and his friends had a great time growing up using the scooters around our yard and at the neighborhood parks. A page from our catalog/flyer... The catchy name for all involved, "Sunshine Scooters" Note: I still use my custom adult model to move stuff around the garage and/or yard. YRMV
Killer bikes guys thanks for posting! How do you guys figure out a value on these, so a guy would know if it is worth the asking price or not? BBC
The CABE is a reference, just like the HAMB......But- different parts of the US demand/dictate pricing........There's always CL,FB, and others.............If you find something that you fancy= get to know the make and the brand........You can always ask before you plunk down $...........But- If you have to pull the trigger right there and then, always be prepared to deal with the outcome. Bikes are a lot like cars......A lot made. But one single part might cost more than the total investment . Depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go...........
This shot is from the Jalopy Jamup this summer. I had a chat with the caretaker, he is in the bike trade and is planning a museum. These are unrestored original bikes for the most part.
Hello, My brother and I got our Christmas wish one year in 1953-54. A couple of Schwinn springer fork bicycles that looked like motorcycles without engines. They looked cool and we rode them everywhere. But, as soon as we saw other bikes in magazines and on different playgrounds, we stripped our own Schwinn bikes to the frame, front end, and no fenders. We kept the custom tank, but now, they looked like racing bikes of sorts. Over the years when the car era came into view, those two bikes were given to our cousins and their history continued. Drawing bikes is a difficult process. Many circle patterns, rulers, white erasers and once the rough is finished, it was daunting to color in the custom bike, for fear of messing up and having to draw the same style of bike again. These days, it could be saved on a computer for access to the art later on for different modifications, if needed. My custom version with new designs from hot rods and racing parts, from a long time ago. A Titanium frame, lightweight one piece wheels, disc brakes, sprung seat coil tube and of course, custom paint + flames. My one and only try at a bicycle art project. It took too long and many erasures with tension, when coloring it with marking pens. My young son wanted to go see some BMX races and there was a park just a short drive away. It was set up in a field and the neighborhood kids were having a field day on the slopes, jumps and circle turns. But, when we went to another city to see an official BMX race park, it was a whole new ballgame. He took his skateboard scooter with him everywhere we went. Kids dressed up in racing clothes with numbers, sponsors and custom made BMX bikes of all types and colors. And under the full enclosed helmets, were little eyes wondering what to do in the next minute or so at the starting line. Jnaki Our son did not want to compete, but thought several ideas about BMX bikes. Like, why the racers did not have multiple laps for each race. If one fell, and plenty did, they were automatically out of the race, with no chance to catch up. He liked the ability of getting up and going after the leader in a multiple lap race. But, to no avail... the race was over in one lap. He like the style of bike and so my wife and I got him one for his "specific 5.5 years old day." He wanted a bike and was ready to start riding. He liked riding around on his new 5.5 Haro BMX version of bike, but we always carried his favorite skateboard scooter with us everywhere we went. YRMV Halloween Adventurer... actually, his daily wear while riding the custom scooter around the yard...
Sold my '67 Thunderbird recently, decided vintage bikes were less headache. Brought these three home recently: '47 Hiawatha roadster, '51 Schwinn Panther, and '56 Schwinn Black Phantom.
Do you still have the red Phantom? I haven't been here for a while and just saw that picture again, realized it's the bike from a Craigslist ad I'd been watching. I had contacted you a couple weeks ago about it, was awfully close to pulling the trigger on that one.
I went to Jaf/Co last month, did you make it? I was really impressed with the amount of bikes and parts for sale.
My son and two of his riding partners are in town this week for the national Madison Cycling Championships at the Lexus Velodrome in Detroit. They had a few hours to kill before racing practice started so I suggested we visit the private museum of a friend of mine. His wife was gracious enough to give us a guided tour. Here is a portion of their collection. They also have a collection of vintage automobiles, many of which are HAMB worthy. I'll save that for another time. Their bike collection dates from antiquity through the HAMB era and beyond. A large supply is in storage awaiting restoration, pending the locating of rare parts. BTW, if you like track bike racing you will enjoy a visit to the Lexus Velodrome this weekend.
They won the Masters Division age 45up. Proud PaPa here. Coverage videos on Youtube. Insane sport - crazy fast on bikes wheel-to-wheel.
The Jalopy Journal
