# SoCal Collecting History



## TheSaint (Mar 4, 2011)

Found a cool article on our "artform."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1094709/index.htm

Can any of the "oldtimers" here, (Bahbcycles, Mr.Shakes,
Mr. Day and others from SoCal) share any
stories of these people in the article, Mc Neely, Vorgang,
and Leeedy???

Do tell?

regards,
TheSaint



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1094709/index.htm


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## cyclingday (Mar 6, 2011)

That article was a real blast from the past.

I was around then,(1974) but I was just a fourteen year old punk kid without any visable means of support.
So, I was one of the pesky kids that would ask a lot of questions and get in everybody's way.

By the time that S.I. article was written,(1979) alot had already changed in the hobby.

I was 19 years old then and Larry had come and gone from his original shop in Newport Beach,Ca.
Gertrude had actually succeeded Larry after he left the Newport area.

He came back about the time the S.I. article was written and opened up a shop on Main street in Huntington Beach, Ca.

He was there until, I'd say, maybe 1985. When some low lifes broke into his shop and stole some very valuable bikes and parts, which pretty much soured his enthusiasm for the classics.

I had a couple of restoration projects that he was working on at the time of the burglary, and unfortunately, they were stolen with some other way more desirable bikes.
So, needless to say, my enthusiasm was tempered a bit as well.

But, to Larry's credit, he made good on all of his customers stuff as best as he could with either replacement parts or cash or in some cases, both.

Of course, you can't just replace this stuff so easily, and believe it or not, it was a lot harder to find back in 1985 than it is now.

Anyway, Larry was, or I'm sure still is a great guy, who, with his Dad, I credit with being the guys to start this hobby in earnest.

Leon Dixon was there as well, but  Larry had a shop where you could walk in and see this stuff. And if you had any money, you could buy this stuff.
That is what separated Larry's contribution from Leons.

Leon was a historian, and he did most of the initial research that became the concensus of knowledge about time lines and equipment specifications. 
But, since Larry had a shop, it was there that you would find Leon, and most of the other gurus of the day.

Gertrude filled the void that Larry left behind when he closed his first shop.

 I'm pretty sure that Gertrude's first location, was the same spot that Larry had vacated.

By the time that Gertrude closed her shop, I had pretty much been bitten by the Mountain Bike bug. And I had moved on to lighter and faster bicycles that could propel me into the wilds of our local mountain ranges.

I know that several of the guys that were working in her shop bought a lot of her inventory and proceeded to open shops of their own.

Those ventures were all pretty short lived as most of the cycling community had also been bitten by the Mountain Bike bug.

I do believe that vintage Mountain Bike stuff will be a big deal in the not too distant future because there was a lot of really innovative stuff going on then.

When I got bit by the Balloon Tire bug again, I didn't think that there would be much of a community left anymore.
Boy! was I wrong. This thing has taken off, thanks to this little keyboard and screen that I am sitting in front of.

As they say, "It's gone viral!"

I'm sure that my timelines are a bit fuzzy, but that is pretty much the way I remember it.

Happy Cycling!


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## TheSaint (Mar 8, 2011)

Wow! Thank you Cyclingday! 

Thanks to everyone else who contributed 
as well!

I  love hearing about the history of our hobby
in Southern California. 

Yes the Internet, eBay, and regular swaps have
made the hobby SO readily accessible that 
back in the day you had to work SO much
harder to find parts, bikes and camaraderie!

Thanks again everyone for sharing!

theSaint
redondo beach, ca


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## cyclingday (Mar 9, 2011)

Though, there's no time like the present.

With the weath of really knowledgable people and the Cyclone Coaster gatherings, we are living in a pretty good time for collecting these classics here in Southern California.

I won't mention anybody's names, because it could go on and on, but all you have to to is hang out for awhile, and you will virtually learn something new everyday.

For instance; I was at the ride last weekend and I was inquiring about getting an old Troxel seat recovered by one of our local saddle masters and he asked me if the pan was for a Schwinn or a Shelby.

My reply was that since the seat came from a Schwinn, I assumed that it was for a Schwinn.

So, I asked, "Whats the difference," and he told me that the Schwinn version had an embossed  area underneath to allow for more padding, and that the Shelby didn't.

I guess one more small reason why the Schwinn bicycles were far and away more superior to any other bicycles made at the time.

I know, I just had to say that.

Anyway, that bit of information popped my bubble, because of course the seat pan that I had was for the Shelby model.

Oh! well. My point is, don't wax too nostalgic for the old days, because the availability of information is better now than it ever has been.

We are living in the best of times, and someday we will look back and say, " Remember those guys? What a bunch of characters they were."

Now I'm off to find one of our local Zen Masters and see if I can scrounge up the Schwinn version of the Troxel bucket seat.


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## Larmo63 (Mar 9, 2011)

That is so true about easy access (if you have the cash, because EVERYTHING has a price,) to vintage, (dare I call them "Classic Bicycles?") bicycles. With the internet: Ebay, The Cabe, Nostalgic, and the Cyclone Coaster group here in SoCal, it is a lot easier to get in to barns and stashes of obsolete bike parts and complete bikes all over the country and even the world now. Lucky us. I do see many parts that up until a few years ago were common to see and buy going way up in value due to scarcity. Klaxon horns, Delta and EA lights and horns, original tires, weird accessories,to name a few off of the top of my head. I guess now it's "get 'em while you can," and keep a stash of your own.


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## cyclingday (Mar 9, 2011)

Yeah,
I don't think the the values are being driven so much by scarcity as it is because there are more and more eyes looking out for this stuff.

I needed a pair of red ringer grips a couple of weeks ago, so I typed in what I was looking for and bang! there they were.

Now, I knew that these things would be a hot item, so I bid accordingly.

They went for almost five hundred dollars!

I guess somebody needed them way worse than I did.

Granted, original stuff is not common, but it is available. It's just going to cost you when you see it.

The competition for this stuff is what is growing. I'd say that availability has never been better.


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## DonChristie (Mar 9, 2011)

I remember needing trike rubber before the internet. I found an ad in a bicycle mag. from a woman in Seattle. I had to call her then mail a check. The auction site sure makes acquiring things easy! 

Collecting is bigger than ever! In fact, it seems prices are holding or gaining ground. Supply and demand.


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## Jon (Mar 11, 2011)

I remember riding my '62 typhoon from Irvine to go to Pedal Pushers. Gertrude was very nice and always answered all my stupid questions with great enthusiasm. This was the late 70's. Things are better now with the internet as far as finding parts and info., but I miss those old bike shop days.


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## jwm (Mar 15, 2011)

I bought my 1950 B6 from Gertrude at Pedal Pusher back in 1979, or 1980. Very sweet, very generous person. She also was good enough to provide me with the correct front rack and grips for my '61 Jaguar MKIV. She actually unbolted the parts from a bike that was sitting on the showroom floor. When I bought the B6 it was missing a bunch of stuff- incorrect gooseneck, seat post, pedals. It had painted rims, and it was also sporting chrome fenders that should have gone to a Phantom, and no headlight. Even so, the bike cost me over $500. (remember-1980 dollars!)- somewhat less because I traded in a junker Phantom that I had plundered for the gooseneck, headlight shell, and seat post.
As a side note, some time in '83 I was down in Huntington beach walking down Main Street, when I stopped to check out a Phantom, and some other old bikes in a surf shop window. A moment later another guy stopped to check out the old bikes.
"Neat machine," I said, indicating the old Phantom.
"Yeah," he answered. "I have one just like it at home. The only problem with mine is that it has maroon and cream fenders that should belong on a B6". We made the trade, and set both bikes right. What are the odds?






The last time I stopped by pedal pusher it was just to browse, and see if there was something there that I couldn't live without. Gertrude remembered me from the purchase of the B6. She gave me this little gem as a gift:





I keep it in an antique tobacco jar right next to the computer on the desk here.

As a final note: somewhere out there is a guy with a Phantom, and the flip side of this amazing tale of coincidence. I hope to run into him some day.

Here also is the story of how I accumulated my little fleet of bikes back in the day. This was bike hunting 1970's/80's style.

 Warning! some adult content. A sordid tale of sex, and drugs, and rusty Schwinns:

THE JAGUAR PROJECT  PART ONE

JWM


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