Jeff_L
On Training Wheels
Hi all,
I'm new, and I'm looking for some information on my late wife's bike. This was given to her back in the middle '50s when she was a young girl by her sister and two brothers. She was told it was the most expensive bike Sears had at the time. I've looked high and low on the internet and haven't been able to find one exactly like it. It is a J.C. Higgins 26-inch girls European-style bike, made in Austria. The original "General Instructions" that came with it list 503.46320 and 503.45330 models, but the number stamped into the bottom the frame is 503 46 930. (Whenever I try to enter that number into a Google search all I get are guns?)
Here are (I hope) some pictures of the bike.
Whew - that's a lot of pictures.
This was obviously a very fancy bike for the day. There is chrome everywhere - fenders, fender braces, tire pump (which still works),even the coil springs at the back of the seat are chrome. Speaking of the seat, it is white leather over a series of more coils, shown in picture 10. No hard metal pan to bruise a little princess' butt - no sir-ree. She told me once that when she got it, even the tires were blue to match the paint. The sheathing around the cables is white. The generator has to be a factory-installed item, given the flared area in the front fender to accommodate where it runs against the tire. I don't know if the mirror is original or not, but I'd bet it is. The biggest difference I see between this bike and the ones I've found on the 'net is the full wrap-around chain guard. I don't believe this is a common item.
The shifter is marked H - N -L, but the hub shows it's a three speed. I've never ridden it, so I don't know for sure.
As the pictures indicate, it has been ridden, and it's had its share of bumps and bruises over the years. There is paint rubbed off the luggage rack from a wicker basket that she had fastened to the coils in the seat and from things she'd strap on when she went to the store for her mother. This is a slight dent in the back fender, just above the rivet holding the brace. But, and I can say this with certainty, the bike has never spent a night outdoors, have never seen rain or snow, and has been cared for all of its life.
I also have the original instructions and parts list for both the bike and the hub. There is a tool kit in a reddish-brown cloth bag that I think also goes with it.
This is a true "barn find", and any and all information would be appreciated.
Thanks a bunch,
Jeff
I'm new, and I'm looking for some information on my late wife's bike. This was given to her back in the middle '50s when she was a young girl by her sister and two brothers. She was told it was the most expensive bike Sears had at the time. I've looked high and low on the internet and haven't been able to find one exactly like it. It is a J.C. Higgins 26-inch girls European-style bike, made in Austria. The original "General Instructions" that came with it list 503.46320 and 503.45330 models, but the number stamped into the bottom the frame is 503 46 930. (Whenever I try to enter that number into a Google search all I get are guns?)
Here are (I hope) some pictures of the bike.
Whew - that's a lot of pictures.
This was obviously a very fancy bike for the day. There is chrome everywhere - fenders, fender braces, tire pump (which still works),even the coil springs at the back of the seat are chrome. Speaking of the seat, it is white leather over a series of more coils, shown in picture 10. No hard metal pan to bruise a little princess' butt - no sir-ree. She told me once that when she got it, even the tires were blue to match the paint. The sheathing around the cables is white. The generator has to be a factory-installed item, given the flared area in the front fender to accommodate where it runs against the tire. I don't know if the mirror is original or not, but I'd bet it is. The biggest difference I see between this bike and the ones I've found on the 'net is the full wrap-around chain guard. I don't believe this is a common item.
The shifter is marked H - N -L, but the hub shows it's a three speed. I've never ridden it, so I don't know for sure.
As the pictures indicate, it has been ridden, and it's had its share of bumps and bruises over the years. There is paint rubbed off the luggage rack from a wicker basket that she had fastened to the coils in the seat and from things she'd strap on when she went to the store for her mother. This is a slight dent in the back fender, just above the rivet holding the brace. But, and I can say this with certainty, the bike has never spent a night outdoors, have never seen rain or snow, and has been cared for all of its life.
I also have the original instructions and parts list for both the bike and the hub. There is a tool kit in a reddish-brown cloth bag that I think also goes with it.
This is a true "barn find", and any and all information would be appreciated.
Thanks a bunch,
Jeff