# Elgin Bicycles



## tpender3 (Feb 10, 2012)

Does anyone have or know where any information is on Elgins before 1933. Most what i have seen is on the Sears Elgins. But how far back do the elgins go. I have seen pictures of 1910's. 
Thanks Tony


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## vincev (Feb 10, 2012)

I know at leaast 1910because I have one of these.Anyone know of earlier??


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## bricycle (Feb 10, 2012)

Hi Tony.
Have you tried the CABE search engine for "Elgin(s)"? You will probably find tons of info. I even asked this myself before on here.
The earliest, I believe, begin around 1895. This info you can access thru "The Wheelmen(man)" website. There is an alphabetical list of builder/distributors between the begining and 1918...or maybe up to '08, I can't recall.
I live near Elgin Illinois, and found that a Elgin cycle company actually produced cycles between 1895-6 and 1908.
Other "Elgin" manufacturers were not logated in Elgin. The word "Elgin" simply means; Top, pinnacle, peak, summit, uppermost (you get the idea). "Acme" pretty much means the same also. The main builder of early-teen-20's-30's Elgins was Davis manufactiuing co. They also built bikes for other distributors.
RMS37 (member here) is very knowledgable on most anything bicycle, you may wish to ask him.
Hope this helped some...bri.


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## RMS37 (Feb 10, 2012)

bricycle said:


> The word "Elgin" simply means; Top, pinnacle, peak, summit, uppermost (you get the idea). "Acme" pretty much means the same also.




I "fact checked" this and could not find Elgin defined in that sense. It is a location both in Scotland and in Illinois and is also associated with the Parthenon Marbles (formerly referred to as the "Elgin Marbles") that the Earl of Elgin removed from Greece and shipped to England.

Sears offered Elgin branded bicycles in their line-up very early but they were only one specific model at that time. In the early twenties the name was extended to brand virtually the entire line of bicycles sold by Sears. There are many virtually complete collections of Sears catalogs in the public domain (in libraries) and this makes research relatively easy compared to many other brands.


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## bricycle (Feb 10, 2012)

RMS37 said:


> I "fact checked" this and could not find Elgin defined in that sense. It is a location both in Scotland and in Illinois and is also associated with the Parthenon Marbles (formerly referred to as the "Elgin Marbles") that the Earl of Elgin removed from Greece and shipped to England.
> 
> Sears offered Elgin branded bicycles in their line-up very early but they were only one specific model at that time. In the early twenties the name was extended to brand virtually the entire line of bicycles sold by Sears. There are many virtually complete collections of Sears catalogs in the public domain (in libraries) and this makes research relatively easy compared to many other brands.




I know I read this info somewhere (I'm not making it up). I went on line also, and did find a reference under origin of names and found Elgin to mean "High" and also "Honorable", so high and peak/top/upper really not out of line?
bri.


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## Adamtinkerer (Feb 12, 2012)

I think one of the 'Evolution of the Bicycle' books has a 1908 ad for the "New Elgin King".


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## Tom Armstrong (Jun 17, 2014)

tpender3 said:


> Does anyone have or know where any information is on Elgins before 1933. Most what i have seen is on the Sears Elgins. But how far back do the elgins go. I have seen pictures of 1910's.
> Thanks Tony




There were at least four different manufacturers of bicycles in Elgin, IL during the "Golden Age of Cycling" (1880's until about 1908).


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## Hermanator3 (Jun 17, 2014)

*Mead Elgins*

Elgin was also a Mead head badge.  John Polizzi's Mead book shows 1921 catalog pages for Elgin Motor Bikes.  Compared to the Rangers, appear to be less expensive bikes without tanks.


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## Balloontyre (Jun 17, 2014)

Hermanator3 said:


> Elgin was also a Mead head badge.  John Polizzi's Mead book shows 1921 catalog pages for Elgin Motor Bikes.  Compared to the Rangers, appear to be less expensive bikes without tanks.




the information about Mead and Elgin similarity is probably someone's personal interpretation and not fact. 1921 Mead Rangers were Schwinn Built,  Elgins were sourced from several companies not schwinn though. -


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## Hermanator3 (Jun 17, 2014)

I guess John Polizzt doesn't know what he is talking about.  Any other things in his Mead book that are wrong?  My impression is that Mead's Elgins had nothing to do with Sear's Elgins.


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## Balloontyre (Jun 17, 2014)

[ in 1921 other than Sears labkedQUOTE=Hermana schwinntor3;356461]I guess John Polizzt doesn't know what he is talking about.  Any other things in his Mead book that are wrong?  My impression is that Mead's Elgins had nothing to do with Sear's Elgins.[/QUOTE]

I never said John did not know what he was talking about. my comments are based on your above quote referencing the year 1921. At that point Mead Ranger Motorbike  bicycles we're built by schwinn, Sears Elgins were not.I'm unaware of any other Elgin still in production in 1921.
maybe you can go through the rest of his book and correct what you think needs to be corrected.

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...uot-wheeled-bikes)&highlight=Elgin+collective


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## Archie Sturmer (Dec 31, 2021)

I believe that the catalog pages shown on the Nostalgic website might be from 1922 (and not 1910), with Davis-built Elgins for Sears (look like former Chiefs).

I believe that the word “Excelsior” might be the E-word bicycle related to higher places (not Elgin), and may be part of the motto for a state back East somewhere.

I believe that prior to 1933 there may have been at least four manufacturers of Elgin bikes for Sears: Davis; Excelsior; Westfield; and Snyder. Not sure if the few Emblem Angola built Sears Elgins were pre-1933, or not.


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