About Me: My History with Vintage Bikes

 

 How I Started in Old Bikes

 I started refurbishing and riding vintage bicycles in the mid-1990s, I would guess about 1995 or so. I started out somewhat by accident. My father and I were looking for lumber in my grandfather's barn, and in the process of hauling the wood out the lower level of the barn, I saw a dusty J.C. Higgins middleweight bicycle sitting in the corner. 

I was outgrowing my Schwinn Aerostar at that time, and needed a new bike soon anyway. I was drawn to the graceful and classic style of the Higgins. It was made probably around 1960 or so, and had the curving, cantilever type frame so many bikes of that era possessed. I convinced my dad that I was serious about wanting the old bike, so he set me up on it (I was too short to reach the ground from the saddle), and I insisted I still wanted it, so it went into the back of the truck with the lumber and back to our house.

I worked with my dad and my grandfather on rejuvenating the old Higgins over the course of a summer - new oil and grease, new tires and tubes, a thorough cleaning, etc. I rode that bicycle for several years until I outgrew its small frame and 24 inch wheels.

In the summer of 1997, we were once again working in the barn to gather lumber. This time, we had to go into the loft of the barn, into an area where very old things were kept. My grandfather was largely a product of the 1930s, and so he kept everything. After searching through various piles, we came to a very dusty lumber pile by a small window. On top of the pile was another old bicycle. This one was more ornate than the Higgins - black with white and red painted darts, big fenders, and fat tires. It had 26 inch wheels and was a "Henderson" - a bike made by Schwinn prior to WWII.

 I asked to see if we could take it down, but my father said, "no", and that the bicycle belonged to my grandfather and not him. After a couple weeks of thinking about the bicycle we had found, I finally worked up the courage to ask my grandfather about it, and he said I could have it. I was ecstatic. We pulled the bike down from the loft the next weekend and I immediately began work on it. 

I worked throughout a summer with help from my dad and grandpa on that bike. It was a learning experience, and I'm sure I made plenty of mistakes, but it was treasured time for me just the same. If only I knew then what I know now about restoring old bikes, the process would have been smoother. But one has to start somewhere, and you have to learn by doing. I still own the Henderson and of all the bikes I own, it is sentimentally the most significant to me because it is a family heirloom. My grandfather used it to commute to work and school in the 1940s, and he had held onto it because it was also significant to him.

I rode that Henderson until I got my license, and then rode only occasionally for fun after that. It was how I got around until I learned to drive, and it sure did have high gearing...

 

Road Bike Interlude

Sometime in 2000, I bought a 10-speed Samurai (a mix of Japanese and Taiwanese parts) to have a road bike. It was too tall for me (24 inch frame and 27 inch wheels), but it allowed me to ride around the area more than the Schwinn Henderson. But it wasn't nearly as nice as the Schwinn, or as meaningful. I ultimately gave the Samurai to a family member a few years later.

 

Three Speed Bikes 

I got into three speed bikes in college, in the fall of 2003. I noticed an old, beat up Raleigh at a tag sale, but the bike was too short for me. Even so, I knew I liked the style immediately. I needed a bike to commute to class in college, and I ultimately ended up with a Specialized brand bike with about 1,000 different speeds on it. It was a wonder of modern technology, but during a prolonged blackout caused by Hurricane Isabel (funny that I remember that name), the Specialized was stolen.

So for its replacement, I spent $30 on a 1974 Raleigh Sports three speed. It was had a nice, 23-inch frame and 26 inch wheels. I cleaned it up and rode it on the original tires until the inner tube started creeping through the sidewall of the rear tire. A lot of what I know about three speed bikes I learned on the 1974 Raleigh. I still have that bike and I am very attached to it. 

 

In the spring of 2003, I saw an ad for a rod brake roadster in another section of Washington, DC, where I was living and going to college at the time. I took the bus to the closest stop, got one look at the 1948 Raleigh DL-1 that was for sale, and paid $125 (a lot of money to me at the time) for it. I walked the bike all the way back to my home on its flat tires. I gradually refurbished that bike over the course of a few weeks, and during the following summer vacation. I still have that bike as well, and it reminds me of the adventure of trawling through ads for old bikes, finding the one I wanted, and then the long walk back to my room with it. Who says 1970s Raleighs aren't worth your time?

 

While in law school, I commuted on my 1974 Raleigh Sports for the first year, and then finally got a used VW Golf to knock around in, going to work and school. We had several excellent bike trails nearby though for fun riding: the Capital Crescent Trail and the Mt. Vernon Trail. I have especially fond memories of riding the 1974 Sports on both trails with my girlfriend on her 1960s Schwinn middleweight (now my wife, who by the way hates bicycles). 

I kept repairing my small group of old bicycles in the cramped apartments where we were living in the DC area. I managed to get through challenges like re-building a three speed hub in a one bedroom apartment with no work bench (won't try it that way again), and repainting part of a balloon tire bike fender on a 4th floor balcony (fresh air, but cramped). You'd be surprised how much we can make of so little, when we have to do so.

Origins of the Bike Shed - Virginia

 

 The Bike Shed started out as a project of mine in northern Virginia. My wife and I moved to a small house in Fairfax County in mid-2012, after several years of living in apartments in Montgomery County, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia. The 1974 Raleigh Sports made the trip with me each time, much to my wife's frustration. Also in tow was a 1950 Columbia Three Star balloon tire bike, which was fun to ride but awfully heavy.

 

The house we rented had a neat, little 1940s-era garage. That little building became the "Bike Shed", and I continued my hobby of rejuvenating old bicycles, and riding them around the area. The Bike Shed was always a hobby and never a business, and I never made any real money at it. If I was lucky, I broke even on a project, and if not, I was in the red. But it's a hobby just the same.

I still have some of the bikes from the early days of the Bike Shed: a 1947 Schwinn New World, 1958 Raleigh Sports, and a 1963 Raleigh DL-1 Export Model. I've sold some of the others off to make space, move, or swap to other bikes. I tend to keep the ones I like best. Many of the entries on this website date to the period when I was in Virginia (hence the "va" in the web address).

 

I met many interesting people trading, buying, and selling old bikes in Virginia. A nice, vintage-oriented bike shop also opened in Arlington Virginia, which was also good. My neighbors must have thought I was unbalanced, given the number of bicycles, and the late nights working in the garage (and occasional profanity coming from said garage).  I also gradually focused on utility, three speed type bikes made in the United States and Britain.

Bike Shed Today

I moved back to New England in January 2019, thankfully before COVID struck. Some of the bikes made the journey with me, though I had to downsize somewhat to fit everything in the move. I moved the bikes I liked to ride the most, or that had a sentimental attachment.

Thankfully, the house we are renting has a nice garage. It's a bit cramped with the cars, assorted yard implements, and garbage cans in there, but it's functional. I am still rebuilding and rejuvenating old bikes. I tend to enjoy Schwinn and Raleigh bikes the most, which is in keeping with my old bike heritage. I still focus on internal gear hub utility bikes, which are the diamond-frame three, four, and five speed bikes with Sturmey Archer hubs. They make good riders around the area where I am living, though this area is much hillier than where I lived in Virginia.

 

Many of the entries on this website are the products of years of experience and occasional mistakes on my part. I learn as I go (and occasionally re-learn things forgotten).  I've been in this hobby for about 27 years now (1995 - 2022 as of this writing), and still learning things. I encourage anyone wanting to gain and use mechanical skills, patience, problem solving, and exercise to try their hand at this hobby. I have found it very worthwhile.