Info needed on White's Super Chief Bike with Mono Shock

[lshahan89]

I would like to know if anyone has any information at all on a White's Super Chief Bike with Mono Shock. I have searched the internet and cannot find any information on it. I do know that it was produced in 1952. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gordon]

Monark

 

[Oilit]

"White's Super Chief" was a store brand, I'd guess the bike was built by Monark and you're probably pretty close on the year, but there's others on here who know more than I do. It looks like you have a balloon tire on the front and a middleweight tire on the back, but that's easily fixed and it's in great condition for the age. That chrome "grill" on the tank is cool!

 

[ricobike]

That's sweet. I've never seen that combination of color, design, and marque. Rare color scheme, deep fenders, embossed tank, single springer, later model Monark rack, and a Super Chief by Monark to boot. Interesting bike for sure.

Edit: Super Chief was a store brand for White's Auto Stores as @Oilit mentioned above. I've only ever seen that badge on CWC built bikes.

 

[lshahan89]

I do appreciate every ones help, the single springer has me stumped. I'm unsure on how many may have been produced of this model.

 

[Freqman1]

You may find this thread interesting. You will never find any info on the production of a specific Monark--or most other makes for that matter. Bicycle mfrs didn't keep by model records just annual production records of all bikes produced and some of this info seems to have vanished over time. V/r Shawn

‘53 Monark Silver King Rocket pricing | Classic Balloon Tire Bicycles 1933-1965

What’s a good ballpark price on this 1956 Monark Silver King Rocket? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

thecabe.com

 

[10~18kustoms]

Great bike! Like you I own 2 of this model of Monark and can find very little info on them. What i do know is that Monark built 100Ks of their Rocket style bikes which is what these are. The Super Deluxe was their top of the line bike and the Rocket was their middle of the line. They made and sold most of their bikes under their own Monark name but also built bikes for other retailers like Firestone, Spiegel, Sears, and Whites Hardware store, etc. These bikes were a little different and special (in my opinion) for 2 reasons. The first was that it had the single springer fork instead of the standard double spring fork most post 1940 Monarks had. The single spring fork is not super rare, but many less were made that the double. They were also very common on the Spiegel Airman bikes of the late 40s - early 50s. I currently have 7 Monark's/Airman's/Firestone's with single spring forks. What makes this model even more special is the metal shroud on the tank. The addition of the shroud was again a 1 or 2 year option that made it a little more top of the middle line, if that makes since. I call this version the "Deluxe" Rocket because that's what a previous more knowledgeable collector was calling it. But I don't really know if that was what Monark actually called them since I have not found any advertising print to prove it, and there were other Rockets without the shrouds called Deluxe. As far as I have seen these were only badged as Monark Rockets or White Super Chiefs (at least that is all I have ran across so far). Yours is a great mostly original example. Other than missing the pedestal head light everything else except the tires and grips seem to be OG. Also from what I have been able to find, the girls bikes came in either yellow & black like yours or a light blue/dark blue color, and the men's in a Green/Light green or Red/black colors. I started a thread/registry a while back to try and document as many of these as I can find. Here's the thread if you haven't found it yet. Monark "Deluxe" Rocket Registry Project | Classic Balloon Tire Bicycles 1933-1965 | The Classic and Antique Bicycle Exchange (thecabe.com)