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A brief history of vintage bicycle swap meets

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This is all very interesting. Being a teenager in the late '70's/early 80's I didn't have the means to travel to some of the wonderful meets around the country, but I want to start now. I do have many great memories of attending the local shows (for me) in Huntington and Newport Beach, CA between 1981-1985. Leon Dixon would attend some of them, and John Koenke would have a table there. I even won second place in a show once in 1982 with my first ballooner - a Schwinn Panther. I always wanted to attend the Whizzins of the day, but never went.

I will have to dig, but I have photos of the shows and swap meets somewhere, some were put on by Gertrude Vorgang of the Pedal Pusher. She certainly deserves some credit as a pioneer of this hobby on the West coast. I will post a couple when I find them.
 
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The So Cal event history is all well and good but the big question for me is where are they now? So Cal had several bike show/swaps and they disappeared decades ago. The Cyclone Coaster Swap, the monthly Long Beach Cycle Swap and the new swap at Come on Over Café in Oceanside swap are good for parts-sometimes but there hasn't been a big show and swap in So Cal since what the 80s?...yet other parts of the country are able to maintain the shows...
 
The So Cal event history is all well and good but the big question for me is where are they now? So Cal had several bike show/swaps and they disappeared decades ago. The Cyclone Coaster Swap, the monthly Long Beach Cycle Swap and the new swap at Come on Over Café in Oceanside swap are good for parts-sometimes but there hasn't been a big show and swap in So Cal since what the 80s?...yet other parts of the country are able to maintain the shows...


Well I can account for over half of the meets going away. The folks that put them on-Pope-McNeely-Gibson-Vorgang and many others are all gone! These fine people had 20-30 years on us in age at those times. The Ann Arbor meet is still around because the Klepperts have been at it for 40 years-God bless 'em!
 
There are lots of reasons bike meets come and go. I put on the Simonian Farms Mid-Valley Whizz-in. It was a two day event-ride one day/swap the next. Did it for 4 years and had a health scare so passed the ball to another. They ran it into the ground and it died after a year. Its a lot of work and time-and money to make it happen. Meets don't die due to a lack of interest.
 
There are lots of reasons bike meets come and go. I put on the Simonian Farms Mid-Valley Whizz-in. It was a two day event-ride one day/swap the next. Did it for 4 years and had a health scare so passed the ball to another. They ran it into the ground and it died after a year. Its a lot of work and time-and money to make it happen. Meets don't die due to a lack of interest.
I understand the time investment, hell just putting on a simple ride requires a certain amount of time in organizing...what money was spent and how would it be different now? In the late 80s, at one of the last so cal meets, i was told that the various cities were making it more difficult, permitting and trying to nickle and dime sellers for taxes...i used to sell used vw parts at the so cal swap in pomona once or twice a year and was seriously harassed by an official trying to collect taxes on my sales that i stopped going...just curious, i have wanted to get something going and wanted to know what obstacles there were...

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There are lots of reasons bike meets come and go. I put on the Simonian Farms Mid-Valley Whizz-in. It was a two day event-ride one day/swap the next. Did it for 4 years and had a health scare so passed the ball to another. They ran it into the ground and it died after a year. Its a lot of work and time-and money to make it happen. Meets don't die due to a lack of interest.
I went to that swap meet. Loved it!
 
This is all very interesting. Being a teenager in the late '70's/early 80's I didn't have the means to travel to some of the wonderful meets around the country, but I want to start now. I do have many great memories of attending the local shows (for me) in Huntington and Newport Beach, CA between 1981-1985. Leon Dixon would attend some of them, and John Koenke would have a table there. I even won second place in a show once in 1982 with my first ballooner - a Schwinn Panther. I always wanted to attend the Whizzins of the day, but never went.

I will have to dig, but I have photos of the shows and swap meets somewhere, some were put on by Gertrude Vorgang of the Pedal Pusher. She certainly deserves some credit as a pioneer of this hobby on the West coast. I will post a couple when I find them.
Loved that swap meet! Lots of quality items, there.
 
I have never been to a bicycle swap meet. Would love to go to one. I"m sure that there are rarely rival groups at the bicycle swap meets to worry about.
The last motorcycle swap meet I went to about 15 years years ago, the tension between the Pagans and Phantoms was thick. No fights broke out (that I know of) just a lot of "mad dogging" (aka eye f#ck%ng) going on.
 
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