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Joe Herb's store located in Merced, CA was still in business in the late 1970's. It was then owned by Frank Hunt and was one of the largest BMX stores in the central valley. Frank promote BMX races at a local track. The store was right downtown. Kind of a sketchy area even in 1978 when I called on them monthly.
They still sold bikes but they dropped it from their name in the 60s, then they became solely a Schwinn shop, in the later years mid 70s til they closed in the late 80s they were Thornburys Schwinn Cyclery, so they went they phases thru the years
They still sold bikes but they dropped it from their name in the 60s, then they became solely a Schwinn shop, in the later years mid 70s til they closed in the late 80s they were Thornburys Schwinn Cyclery, so they went they phases thru the years
I agree with your timeline. Thornbury's was a "very large" old time Schwinn Dealership. They were a consistent top 100 dealer. This was the sad fall out of the Schwinn Bankruptcy.
Joselyn's was a small neighbourhood type "mom & pop" shop on the west side of El Camino Real Blvd. only a mile and one half from Leland Stanford Jr. University in California. Many a student purchased their cycle there through the years. IIRC they closed in the early 1980's.
The pattern of the transfer reminds me of something I had not thought about in decades. I believe it is a generic one retailers could order from a trade association such as Bicycle Dealers of America. The blank was standardised and members could give the details of their store to be printed together with their order. Thus saving the store much of the setup cost of designing their own transfer. Does anyone else recall these?
Yes, but by the late 1950's they were yellow colored "water decals". Your correct they were a standardized format, the dealer just gave the name, address, and phone number information. It was available from NBDA, National Bicycle Dealers Association. You could order 500 or 1000. By the mid 1960's the labels became silver or gold mylar peal back labels.
Mulrooney's sponsored the Paramount Cycle Club for many years. They had up to seven dealerships at one point. Always one of the top two dealers selling Schwinn's during the 60/70/80's.
Mulrooney's sponsored the Paramount Cycle Club for many years. They had up to seven dealerships at one point. Always one of the top two dealers selling Schwinn's during the 60/70/80's
But in the 1950's and 1960's when all of this bicycling history was forming, the San Fernando Valley was just like the TV show Leave it to Beaver. Today it's a different story.
Interesting info on Mulrooney’s.
My local shop here in Costa Mesa, was called,
Mulrooney’s Sea Schwinn.
It opened in 1963, but I don’t see them listed as one of the dealerships in that advertisement.
That shop is still there, and serving the community well, but it is now called.
Two Wheels, One Planet.
Interesting info on Mulrooney’s.
My local shop here in Costa Mesa, was called,
Mulrooney’s Sea Schwinn.
It opened in 1963, but I don’t see them listed as one of the dealerships in that advertisement.
That shop is still there, and serving the community well, but it is now called.
Two Wheels, One Planet. View attachment 1786820
Yes, it was a Mulrooney's store (Sea Schwinn in Costa Mesa, CA.) Likely one of their last and run by Michael Mulrooney. The family sold off their stores one at a time to the working store managers, and the stores continued to run for many years under the new ownership. The founder Jerry Mulrooney and George Garner owner of Valley Cyclery were consistently the two largest volume Schwinn dealers in the nation during the 1960's and 1970's. Both dealers were very good businessmen, ran a tight ship, had a business path vision, and worked their long-term plan.
I knew very few dealers that made "their retirement money" only by selling bicycles. It was a hard business, high inventory costs, low profit margins. Selling bicycles was just a path to the end, for the smart dealers. The cash flow from selling bicycles allowed them to pay the mortgage on their large new buildings and buying property. If you ask them today, they made it in the Real Estate game, many are now landlords. I will say that they did enjoy the bicycle business because most of them spent their entire working life connected to bicycle industry.
in about 1973-1974 Mulrooney's did a direct importation of Lejeune bicycles and sold them through display adverts in BICYCLING! magazine for an extended period
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