1933 Gendron Pioneer Tricycle

[dr.curious]

I was high bidder at a local estate auction yesterday for a Gendron Wheel Company Pioneer tricycle. The owner, Mr. Fly, related some history to me: his parents presented the tricycle to his brother for Christmas in 1933. At first he was too small to ride it so he stood on the back while his brother drove. As he got older he shared use of the trike with his brother until they grew out of it. The parents stored it until 1979 when they returned it to Mr. Fly, as his brother had passed on earlier. Mr. Fly stored it carefully in a bedroom in his home since then. It appears to be totally original and it is in excellent condition. The buzzer works great! It is the most elaborate pressed steel tricycle I have seen, with classic art deco styling. I would certainly like to do some research, especially to determine if the year 1933 is accurate for this model. I have found few leads on the net other than short company histories of Gendron and the Toledo Metal Wheel Company. Any leads that CABE members can provide would be greatly appreciated. I can provide more photos upon request.

 

[thebikeguy]

Amazing find. Cool trike. I found this on the net....
" 1872 to 1941
Founder: Pierre Gendron
Specialty: In 1872, Pierre Gendron made the first "Pioneer" vehicle in a small workshop in his home near Toledo, Ohio. The company was originally organized with the purpose of manufacturing wire wheels. By 1920, in addition to wire wheels, Gendron was making baby carriages, tot's push cabs, and doll vehicles. With the increasing popularity of bicycle riding, Gendron manufactured a complete line of bikes. In 1928, Gendron Wheel Company, now recognized as one of the leaders in juvenile pedal vehicles, added pressed-steel toy trucks to their "Pioneer" line" of toys, utilizing the trade name of "Sampson". Sampson trucks are easily distinguished from American's Giant and Toledo Metal Wheel's Bull Dog trucks by the unique shape of its redesigned hood and radiator. The hood was designed to follow a more conventional radiator shape than the previous Mack profile radiator used by the other manufacturers. Sampson's near rectangular decal, with the word "Sampson", is affixed to the sides of the various service beds and a small Sampson decal is located at the top of the radiator. All trucks, except the low end items, came equipped with hand-cranked noisemakers. In all likelihood, the American-National Company, after sharing the tooling for the trucks with Toledo Metal Wheel, sold the same tooling to Gendron in 1928. Gendron revised the design of the hood and radiator of the truck to give it a Gendron personality and continued to manufacture Sampson trucks until about 1930 or 1931.In all probability, Gendron's "Sampson" steel trucks and airplanes were victims of the depression. Gendron continued to produce juvenile pedal toys and outdoor gym equipment until the outbreak of WWII. "
So it sounds as if Gendron started the shift from Sampson steel trucks to just pedal toys in the early 30s. Which would tend me to believe that there were more produced starting early 30s. So the timeline sounds right. As for determining if it was indeed produced in 33, that might be tough. The best you can do is try to find other Gendron products(of known vintage) and compare. I don't think there's a registry for them.
I also found at that Gendron invented the wire spoke wheel. So I guess all us cyclists owe some sort of homage to Pierre for his wonderful invention.
What did you end up paying for it?(That is, if you don't mind me asking)

 

[vrod]

dr - That is a very nice tricycle! Thanks for sharing the story also about it - that is one thing I like about buying an old bikes off of people.

 

[dr.curious]

Request for information

Does anyone out there recall seeing this trike published in any guide books, or perhaps an original or reprint catalog? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Chris Duffy
Carbondale, IL

 

[dr.curious]

Additional Photos Requested

I have had a request for addtional photos of the Gendron trike so here goes:

 

[generalp2]

Gendron Bicycle Factory.

I was high bidder at a local estate auction yesterday for a Gendron Wheel Company Pioneer tricycle. The owner, Mr. Fly, related some history to me: his parents presented the tricycle to his brother for Christmas in 1933. At first he was too small to ride it so he stood on the back while his brother drove. As he got older he shared use of the trike with his brother until they grew out of it. The parents stored it until 1979 when they returned it to Mr. Fly, as his brother had passed on earlier. Mr. Fly stored it carefully in a bedroom in his home since then. It appears to be totally original and it is in excellent condition. The buzzer works great! It is the most elaborate pressed steel tricycle I have seen, with classic art deco styling. I would certainly like to do some research, especially to determine if the year 1933 is accurate for this model. I have found few leads on the net other than short company histories of Gendron and the Toledo Metal Wheel Company. Any leads that CABE members can provide would be greatly appreciated. I can provide more photos upon request.

FYI. The bicycle factory was owned by my great-great-great grandfather, Peter Gendron, and his brother, Henry. They subsequently lost the business.
Chuck Patton

 

[generalp2]

Gendron Bicycles

FYI. The bicycle factory was owned by my great-great-great grandfather, Peter Gendron, and his brother, Henry. They subsequently lost the business.
Chuck Patton

PS: The company was based in Toronto Canada on Duchess St. They operated in the late 1890's.

 

[Larmo63]

No photos here. Just question marks inside blue boxes.

 

[Greg M]

Well, they are from a five year old thread.

 

[ridingtoy]

FYI. The bicycle factory was owned by my great-great-great grandfather, Peter Gendron, and his brother, Henry. They subsequently lost the business.
Chuck Patton

Interesting...so the Gendron Co. of Canada and Gendron Co. of Toledo, Ohio were both founded by the same Peter Gendron? I've always wondered if there was a connection between the two. The tricyclefetish site Gendron history page only mentions Peter being associated with the Toledo based factory, no mention of the Canada factory. http://www.tricyclefetish.com/gendron.php

Dave