# best prewar ballooner poll, nominate your favorite



## 37fleetwood (Dec 20, 2008)

here it is, the one you've been clamouring for, nominate your favorite prewar balloon tire bicycle. same rules as last time we are limited to 10 so I'll have to edit as best I can.
nominate your favorite 1934-1942 balloon tire bicycle here.
Have fun.
Scott
I nominate my favorite bicycle ever, a 1940 Huffman Champion/Dayton Mainliner.


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## JRE (Dec 20, 2008)

38/39 shelby Airflow is my dream bike.


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## 37fleetwood (Dec 20, 2008)

JRE said:


> 38/39 shelby Airflow is my dream bike.



an obvious great one! does someone have a good photo? I'll look to see if I can find one.
Scott


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## jdw (Dec 20, 2008)

*Elgin Bluebird*






I edited this post so the photo would show.
Scott


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## jdw (Dec 20, 2008)

*and don't forget the Elgin Robin!*

who doesn't love a freaking zepplin tank?







I edited this post so the photo would show.
Scott


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## jdw (Dec 20, 2008)

*'38 Airflow*


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## rjs5700 (Dec 20, 2008)

*1937 Dayton Super Streamline*


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## sensor (Dec 20, 2008)

well.....im going to go with another dayton
1935 dayton d4
http://www.bicyclemuseum.com/alpha.htm (under d and 1935 dayton)


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## 37fleetwood (Dec 20, 2008)

though not 100% there or stock, it is 100%cool, but you're right, the poll will be about the best prewar bike made not modified. so we'll get a photo of a 1934-35 Dayton motorbike. if nothing else comes up I have an ad.




Scott


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## sensor (Dec 21, 2008)

thanks! i tried finding one all over to no avail


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## 46powerwagon (Dec 21, 2008)

My vote is for the 1936-37 Shelby Airflow.  I do not have a picture available, but hope that someone could come up with a nice original.

Gary


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## sm2501 (Dec 21, 2008)

Tough choice to pick a favorite, all the ones shown have lots of style and individual personality, but I think this one ranks very high on my list.






More pictures of this bike can be seen at-

http://www.thecabe.com/arc/prewarballoon/1938%20Elgin%20Bluebird/


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## JOEL (Dec 21, 2008)

Don't forget the ladys.

1937 Mead Ranger.


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## 37fleetwood (Dec 21, 2008)

looks great so far, but where's the Aerocycle? where's the Colson clipper, the Alexander Rocket, the Ingobike, the Evinrude, the Wingbar? you guys are making it easy on me. if there are less than 10 bikes to list how am I supposed to agonize over which ones to drop or combine with which? what I really like is we have a girls bike nominated! very cool. speaking of which where is the Skylark, or Miss America?
Scott


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## floridasfavson (Dec 21, 2008)

1938 Indian


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## 37fleetwood (Dec 21, 2008)

good one!!
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Scott


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## sm2501 (Dec 21, 2008)

did someone say Alexander Rocket?





Great thing about Rocket's is that there is nothing wrong about the components, it's all about personal choice. Handbuilt right here in Texas. Mine is still a work in progress.


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## JOEL (Dec 21, 2008)

Great choice of accessories on the Rocket, Scott.


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## raidingclosets (Dec 21, 2008)

*Aerocycle*





Here's my bike that I've slowly been accessorizing and attempting to learn as much as I can about for 10 years this Christmas... Jason


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## cyclingday (Dec 21, 2008)

*Best prewar ballooner*

My vote is for the Aerocycle. After all, it's the bike that started it all.


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## 37fleetwood (Dec 21, 2008)

Yikes, this is going to be a hot contest. I waited weeks to get enough postwar bikes and we've got a bunch of heavy hitters already in the first day! as a Huffman guy I have to admit the Indian is looking amazing!! I don't know how but we may have to split this one into a couple groups so we give all these amazing bikes a shot. maybe two polls and then a run-off of the top few from both polls. let me know what you guys think.
Scott
somebody needs to nominate a Roadmaster Supreme, Scott???
If you haven't already, vote for your favourite Postwar ballooner!


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## MartyW (Dec 22, 2008)




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## MartyW (Dec 22, 2008)




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## MartyW (Dec 22, 2008)




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## ColsonTwinbar (Dec 22, 2008)

Heres a few of my favorites
I'm not sure if that monark is prewar though...


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## redline1968 (Dec 22, 2008)

my votes is bluebird. but they all really are great. mark


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## jdw (Dec 22, 2008)

*You can almost flip a coin, IMO*

To my eye, these are all so excellent. Seems that period saw an incredible burst of innovation.

In the reprints for the 35-36 F/W Sears catalog, Elgin had introduced the Bluebird, had the Blackhawk and Aluminum Gull, plus the plainer Oriole and Redbird and Swallow.  Then in S/S 36 the Robin came out. Must have been something to see at the Sears showroom.


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## sm2501 (Dec 22, 2008)

cyclingday said:


> My vote is for the Aerocycle. After all, it's the bike that started it all.




I have a Aerocycle and consider it high my list of favorites, but what do you mean by it is the bike that started it all?


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## sm2501 (Dec 22, 2008)

37fleetwood said:


> somebody needs to nominate a Roadmaster Supreme, Scott???
> If you haven't already, vote for your favourite Postwar ballooner!




I am waiting for Phil to nominate the 37 RM Supreme...he's the RM master!


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## 37fleetwood (Dec 22, 2008)

someone needs to nominate a twin 60
oh, the list just keeps on growing! I'm going to have to have several run-offs and then the winners of those will go into the main event.
I think the reference about the Aerocycle may be either the perception that it was the first ballooner which isn't the case or it may rightly be said that the Aerocycle marks the beginning of the arms race to come up with the wildest and most beautiful bike. it does mark the point at which form became more important than function, and I am eternally greatful for such bikes as the Aerocycle which was a radical departure from the motorbikes of the '20's
Scott


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## sensor (Dec 22, 2008)

still waiting to see a hawthorne zep in the running


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## RMS37 (Dec 23, 2008)

I?ll take the bait; here are pictures of two Cleveland Welding Roadmaster Supremes. 






The blue bike represents the 1937 model and is badged as a Roadmaster Supreme. The cream bike represents the 1938 model and has an All American Supreme badge. Both of the bikes have been through the Copake auction and the pictures are from the auctions internet catalogs. 

There are just about as many ways to evaluate and choose the ?Best Prewar Balloon? as there are prewar models. If limited to one nomination and vote I would choose the 1937 CWC Supreme designed by Onnie Mankki for several personal reasons, foremost being its beauty of form combined with its rarity in the hobby.

While the bike stands first for me in the most basic category, my personal favorite, I wouldn?t expect it to win a popularity contest. 

Under tighter criteria I would select the 1935-1937 Westfield built Elgin Bluebird as being the pinnacle of ?modern? balloon design. The amount of individual and unique design that went into it and all of its specialized parts and components and the engineering required to build it and mass market the bike in my mind place it at the top of the pile.

Judged purely on the basis of elegance of form I think the top contenders are the first series Westfield built Elgin Robin and the later Elgin Twin 20. Only one notch removed in my mind is the 1936 Dayton Safety Streamline. 

There is also no shortage of bikes that fail to reach overall superiority for one reason or another but make up for it in character. The opalescent red two-speed 38 Bluebird already pictured takes first for me in this category aided and abetted by the feeling that its originality exudes. This category takes in all sorts of bikes for me and as the music starts and they try to ?play me offstage? I?ll try to name a few that come to mind; Wilbur Henry Adams 1936 Colson Commander, Colson?s 1935 Aristocrat, the 1938 Westfield Twinbar Airider with Box fenders, a 1940 Monark meteor curve steel loop frame with hanging tank, Snyder?s 1936 Speedlined Hawthorne, 1936 CWC shroud tank......

Phil


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## mruiz (Dec 23, 2008)

*Areocycle*

Frank W. Schwinn, was like Herry Ford. To revolutionize to Balloon bike sales.
Wait Herry Ford did work with Ignaz Schwinn? If i am not mistaken.
I vote for Areocycle.
 Mitch


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## cyclingday (Dec 23, 2008)

*Excelsior and the Aerocycle*

With the closing of the Excelsior plant in 1931, Frank W. Schwinn was left with nothing to do but radically change the look of the American bicycle scene for ever. The Motorcycles that came out of the Excelsior/Henderson plant were the finest motorcycle designs ever built. To this day, you can walk up to a bike that has been sitting for thirty years and start it up on the first kick. The styling of those bikes is still trying to be duplicated by manufacturers the world over. The Motorcycle was the look that Frank W. was after, and the best way to emulate that was with a streamlined gas tank and deep rapped around fenders. And since the motorcycles of the day were equipped with a full complement of lighting, then the bicycles should have those as well. And they should be valanced in as an intrigal part of the bike, not just bolted on as an after thought. Before the Aerocycle, there was no such bike. After the Aerocycle there was a flood of such bikes. Many were far more radical and far more beautiful but none changed the face of modern bicycle design the way the Aerocycle did.


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## sensor (Dec 23, 2008)

motorcycle of the day from dayton...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Va7-OMRuw


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## cyclingday (Dec 24, 2008)

*1938 Autocycle*

Since there hasn't been any mention of the prewar Schwinn Autocycles, I would like to nominate the 1938 Autocycle deluxe for consideration. Both models B707 (first year cantilever frame)and the SA207 (last year for the jeweled tank in the straight bar frame). When equipped with all of the optional extras, they represented just about the finest bike that could be offered.


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## supper15fiets (Dec 24, 2008)

here is my choice ;
rollfast 1936/37 zep




monark silverking flo-cycle 1937




Monark silverking M-137 ( wingbar )


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## 30sRollfast (Dec 26, 2008)

Elgin twin bar gets my vote. Still love em all.


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## floridasfavson (Dec 26, 2008)

This is a bike I really want to get. Maybe one day.


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## Flat Tire (Dec 26, 2008)

Well I've got my choice narrowed down to 5 bikes, maybe six,:eek: I thought it would be easier!! haha


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## Langsmer (Dec 27, 2008)

The five bar is definitely up there.










One that deserved a nod for excelent design.


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## ColsonTwinbar (Dec 27, 2008)

That Monark five bar is gorgeous.


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## PCHiggin (Dec 28, 2008)

*Schwinn*

That Streamliner is the winner! Schwinn hit a home run in '38 with the cantelever frame and  springer. That design is the most functional and beautiful. The geometry made the riders position very comfortable and that particularly simple springer design  actually worked. That overall design is still being copied. Pat


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## 35cycleplane (Dec 28, 2008)

*1935 schwinn model 35 cycleplane deluxe*

 simplicity,classic design,frame pretty much the same through 1959,longevity,need i say more. kk


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## 37fleetwood (Dec 28, 2008)

so, you're actually telling us that 35cycleplane is nominating a 35cycleplane? I didn't see that one coming ok, can you get us a photo?
Scott


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## 35cycleplane (Dec 28, 2008)

*my top 5*

elgin /coliumbia built robin,1936
dayton safety streamliner
shelby no nose 1937/38
schwinn cycleplane 1935
schwinn super deluxe aytocycle,1938  
no particular order,kk


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## ColsonTwinbar (Dec 28, 2008)

For me its a split between that five bar and the dayton streamliner.


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## militarymonark (Dec 29, 2008)

I would have to nominate the twinflex


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## cyclingday (Dec 29, 2008)

*Twin flex/Deathbike!*

Don't forget, that the Twin Flex is the second cousin to the deathbike. There is a reson that not many examples are around anymore. Quality of design has to be a factor in choosing the very best prewar balloon tired bicycle of the era. There were alot of really cool looking bikes built that just didn't perform  very well. I don't think that the choice should be made on aesthetics alone.


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## 37fleetwood (Dec 29, 2008)

I have 2 twin flexes and they both seem to work fine, nominate your favourite based on your own criteria, it will all come out in the poll.
so far they are all great bikes. I think I'll split the field into two polls and then the top 10 vote getters from both polls will go for it in the finals. if there are more than 20 we'll add another poll. how does that sound? we'll get it started just after the first. if you have them, please post some photos of the bikes nominated without photos in the post.
thanks guys, Merry Christmas, and Happy (SAFE!) New Year!!!
Scott


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## cyclingday (Dec 29, 2008)

There's no doubt that the Twin Flex is a beautiful bike. It absolutely belongs in the poll for the best pre war ballooner. I'm just trying to stir up the debate as to which prewar ballooner was the greatest of all time. After the total recall of the Death bike and the lawsuits settled, the design team went back to the drawing board and tried to fix what was dangerous about the bike and walla! out came the Twin Flex. But by that time,the  public was weary about the whole concept, so the bike just didn't sell well. The Twin Flex was the Edsel of the prewar era. And just like the Edsel, what wasn't popular or financially successful is now ultra collectable.
Thank you for conducting this poll. All of the bikes deserve to be up for a vote. They're just so cool!


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## 37fleetwood (Dec 30, 2008)

Ok, I still need a couple photos, among them are the following:
1936-7 Airflow
1935 Cycleplane
Elgin Twin 60
please help if you can I'm trying to put the polls together. also if you're going to, nominate your favourite soon.
Scott


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## RMS37 (Dec 30, 2008)

Here is a photo of Jerry Smith's 1935 Schwinn Cycleplane from the 2006 Concours at LeMay. The bike took both the best Restoration award and the Schwinn Best of Show award. Apologies for the size of the ribbon.

Phil


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## sm2501 (Dec 30, 2008)

Here's a Twin 60.


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## RMS37 (Dec 31, 2008)

I dug around to try to find an early Shelby Airflow image for the poll. Here is a link to a photo of a Cadillac badged 36 Shelby Airflow belonging to Bill Triplett located on his homepage on Dave Stromberger?s Nostalgic.net site

http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/BalloonTireBicycles/photos/view/9413?b=71

Phil


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## 37fleetwood (Jan 5, 2009)

Ok, I'm going to close this tonight and start the poll these are the last few hours, post away!
Scott


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