_dylan

Hey guys,

What were some of the more popular models of WWII era bicycles that have the classic, old, war feel?
Did the military ever supply bicycles?

Pictures are always welcomed!

gna

During the war, several US makers built "Victory" bicycles.



There were many older models that were dusted off and ridden due to rationing.

In England, I imagine the classic Raleighs and other English marques were in widespread use:



There were a vaiety of military issue bicycles, too: https://www.theliberator.be/militarybicycles.htm

SirMike1983 

Several makers, including Columbia/Westfield made bikes for the US military. They were painted flat olive drab generally in their Army form. They were balloon tired models revised for military use. A small number of balloon tire victory models were made early in the war for civilian use, with a greater number of lightweight bikes for civilian transportation use. The Columbia Sports Tourist of 1942-45 comes to mind. Look for blacked-out hubs and handlebars in particular.

The British had their 3 speed roadsters and the like, which aren't all that much different from peacetime roadsters, except again for the wide use of blacked out parts during the war.

_dylan

From what I'm reading in that link you provided, they seem to pretty much non-existent nowadays, huh?

dbakl

I'd think the popular bicycles were the one's made before the war; don't think they were making many civillian bikes during the war. There were scrap drives to collect steel, copper and aluminum for the war effort. That's why there aren't a lot of prewar bikes!

puchfinnland

I see surplus swedish military bike all the time, just big heavy 28" bikes.

their value is not remarkable,

the old ww2 bikes, I do not know their value.

_dylan

I care less about value than the feel they give.

The question stemmed because my grandfather works for Harley Davidson--at their museum, Milwaukee, WI, they have displays for the Harleys made for the Army during the war. We both really like them, sharing the same favorite.

Basically, I was just wondering if it would be easy to find an old war bike that looked similar (and by similar, as similar as a bike can get to a motorcycle ha). Because I wanted to do some work on one and outfit it to look like a war machine. He'd get a kick out of it.

dbakl

Hmmm, I'd get an old Army Harley myself! HD sold HD branded bicycles too, maybe an earlier period.

_dylan

Just Google Image'd. Some of those were/are freaking sweet.
Looks like I'm going to be keeping my eyes out for an HD bike, too, now..

T-Mar

I don't know about the USA but in Canada, the war caused a boom in bicycle sales. The government recognized the bicycle as the most effective use of raw materials for worker transportation. You could make dozens of bicycles out of the rubber and steel required for a single car and they didn't consume vital gasoline. Consequently, bicycle manufacturers were deemed vital to war effort and manufacturers and the government facilitated sales via a Bicycle Salary Assignment program. The only cutbacks were in the number of models produced, which increased the industry's efficency in handling the sudden load increase. Peak wartime volume was actually 71% higher than the pre-war peak.

dbakl

Probably won't be cheap! (HD bicycle)

dbakl

I know nothing of Canadian history, but in the US, most civilian manufacturing ceased and retooled to support the war effort. The men were off to war and the women filled their jobs.

"Purchases of adult bicycles were limited to persons engaged in a gainful occupation or in work that contributed to the war effort or to the public welfare." WWII US Deprivations

SirMike1983 

This is worth a read-

https://www.vintagecolumbiabikes.com/id111.html

Yes, there were bicycles produced in the US, and in fair number. The market for adult bicycles actually increased in the US during the war because they provided cheap, effective transportation for factory workers. The market for children's and youth bicycles pretty much dried up, but a small number were produced early in the war. As Mr. Columbia's nice site points out, the Sports Tourist-type adult bike the most common of the war-time bikes.

The military also took in ballooners and folders for direct service.

https://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthr...-WWII-Columbia

That red bike in the link is a re-painted military offering with olive paint and minimal chrome.

So yes, you can find military and war-time bikes typical of the war years. The most common is the adult light roadster used by civilians and perhaps some military personnel as personal transportation. Less common, you'll find government issued military ballooners and folders, but they too are around if you're willing to pay somewhat of a premium. Among the least common are the youth and premium-type ballooners built at the start of the war and which carried over. Mr. Columbia's site discusses those nicely. Columbia was not the only maker, and others like Huffman also produced. Columbia is the best documented though, at least so far. The CABE actually has an entire forum devoted to military bikes, most predominantly WWII.

T-Mar

From Bicycle (the History) by David Herlihy, "In 1941, a committee representing the American industry petitioned the Office of Production Management, the government's regulatory agency, for permission to continue operations... The agency agreed to allocate the industry sufficient rubber and steel to produce 750,000 bicycles in 1942. In return, the trade agreed to limit its line to two utilitarian adult models, one for each sex...With automobile production suspended during the war, and the existing fleet shrinking daily in the midst of a shortage of spare parts and tires, the American public relied increasingly on the bicycle for transporatation... In Chicago, dealers quadrupled their sales...."

While there are no sales figures for direct comparison, this sounds much like the situation in Canada. It also confirms that at least through 1942, consumer war time bicycles consisted of surviving pre-war models and the new Victory bicycles. Herlichy estimates 2-3 miilion existing bicycles in the USA during the 1930s, so annual production of 750,000 bicycles would replace 25 -37.5% of the existing fleet. That sounds like very healthy production to me.

sailorbenjamin

Well, this just happens to be one of my little fetishes, though they don't really look much like Harleys. Here's the Harley look, there's nothing authentic about it, just spare parts thrown together but good fun;

Here's the real thing. Not so fkashy, but pleasing in a simple way;

sailorbenjamin

Oh yeah, here's an interesting link;
https://thecabe.com/vbulletin/forumdi...itary-Bicycles

iab

Gloria
Bianchi
Frejus
Stucci
Maino
Legnano
Lygie
Umberto Dei
Taurus
Wolsit

zukahn1 

This is largly because during the war years bicycle manufacturing was severly limited in the US and Britian and basically none existant in Europe. The only civillian bikes made for the civillian market where limited production Victory bikes that used a lot of wood and cheap plastic parts and had flat paint where you would normally see chrome to save on metal so these bikes rusted and wore out quickly.