Jerrys Bike Shop,Detroit Mich,

[bikewhorder]

And here's that address today.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/1...1d96fdd0ab!8m2!3d42.376994!4d-83.160042?hl=en

 

[DZip]

I'd say your cards are from the 40's or 50's. They sold Schwinn bicycles and were later called Jerry's Bike & Toy Store. It was owned by Jerry Navilia.

Not so sure about the Jerry Navilia. My brother and I, along with a number of friends, worked as mechanics at Jerry's Bike Shop (formerly Jerry's Bike and Toy) in the 1970's. Shop was owned by Jerry Loiselle since its inception. By that point, most operations were run by his children Larry, Ron and Val. Great place to cut my teeth.

 

[barneyguey]

Not so sure about the Jerry Navilia. My brother and I, along with a number of friends, worked as mechanics at Jerry's Bike Shop (formerly Jerry's Bike and Toy) in the 1970's. Shop was owned by Jerry Loiselle since its inception. By that point, most operations were run by his children Larry, Ron and Val. Great place to cut my teeth.

Thanks for the info. I stand corrected. Have a great day. Barry

 

[OSCAR...]

@ MR...LEON D.!! SIR.!! CAN YOU CHIME.

ABOUT THIS ONE...THANKS.!!

 

[NBHAA]

@ MR...LEON D.!! SIR.!! CAN YOU CHIME.

ABOUT THIS ONE...THANKS.!!

Since you asked... Absolutely. Jerry's was a shop I went to regularly back in the 1950s-60s. I bought parts and items from this shop many years before there was ever a classic bicycle hobby. They were a huge Schwinn and Whizzer dealer. But sold other things too. And yes, the last name was absolutely Loiselle.

As a youngster, I used to ride my J.C. Higgins Wonderide bicycle (what people on here today call a "jet-flow") over to Jerry's. Sometimes just to look and talk. For car guys, Jerry's was located not very from the famous customizing shop run by the Alexander Brothers. I also used to ride my J.C. Higgins over to see the Alexander Brothers and watch them work in the early 1960s. For whatever reason, they let me hang out there. Mike Alexander became a good friend. He later was Vice President of American Sunroof Corporation (ASC). At that time I was North American Lead Engineer for a car company. Mike and I last got together for dinner at the debut of the Mitsubishi 2000 GT Spyder. This car had a retractable hard top engineered and built by ASC. We spent some time in the original prototype. It was RED. And yes, I have an autographed photo of Mike and Larry A. in their customizing heyday. The Alexander Brothers LOVED my bicycle!

As for Jerry's shop, to this day, I have brochures, business cards, photos and more. Incidentally Washburn was merely a side street. Grand River Avenue was the main address for the front of the store. Interestingly, Washburn ran all the way beyond 6-Mile road past Mumford High School. Here it was also known to kids in the 1960s as "burn-out street." From the Mumford Driver's Training Course one could pull out and line up on Washburn... then lay rubber for a block– and people often did. There were black patches left there on Washburn from GTOs, SS Malibus, Mustangs, etc. etc. back when these cars were new.

Usually don't respond to these things for what should be obvious reasons today. Last time such a question came up, someone was asking if anyone ever heard of another old shop In Detroit. Of course I responded that not only did I shop there in the 1950s and 1960s, but I knew the owner personally. Suddenly there was no more mystery and the discussion stopped cold.

Anyway, yes, I knew Jerry (Larry and relatives)... used to see him at bicycle industry trade shows in later years.

Perhaps you may enjoy viewing this photo, courtesy of National Bicycle History Archive of America...

Leon Dixon
National Bicycle History Archive of America
(NBHAA.com)

 

[OSCAR...]

THANKS SIR.!!!...

 

[NBHAA]

THANKS SIR.!!!...

You are very welcome. We have thousands of photos like this one... and we knew these places first-hand back in the day.

 

[koolbikes]

Here are a couple of later Jerry's Bicycles Schwinn Dealership sticker / decal from their other locations ... Since 1938
Jerry's Bicycles in Plymouth was where the last of their business was auctioned off, around 1999-2001 was the end. Bought quite a bit of Schwinn items from them throughout the years.

 

[koolbikes]

This story is from cabe member RonR ... dated Oct., 26, 2013

Starts out about "Reliable Bike Shop" which Jerry's eventually purchased ...

They (Reliable) were located on Grand River in Detroit near Burt Road. I got a bike from there in 1968. Between 1968 and 1972 they moved to Livonia. The bike I bought in 1972 came from the Livonia store. Cherry Hill Bicycle shop was located on Ford Road east of Beech Daly. In the Mid- seventies Cherry Hill Bicycle Shop, bought Reliable and changed the name on both stores to Cherry Hill Bicycle Company. They were later bought by Jerry's Bike shop who at the time had stores in Plymouth Michigan and Detroit. The Detroit store was the original Jerry's also located on Grand River but further towards downtown Detroit. Jerry was a cheap sucker. My buddy used to stand in the left turn lane of Grand River and throw eggs at him when he was locking up for the night. The store had a basement and two guys sat down there all day and fixed used bikes to sell. Jerrys ran a constant want ad selling used bikes in the Redford Record paper, which later became the Observer. Jerrys also bought Rosedale Schwinn bike shop located on Plymouth road in Livonia and a Schwinn bike shop in Birmingham Michigan. They closed the store on Ford Road, I think around 1980. Val, Jerry's daughter ran the Plymouth, Mi. store. Val's brother Larry, had the old Cherry Hill Bike shop (Reliable) on Seven Mile in Livonia and brother Dan ran the store in Birmingham. The Plymouth store is now a Pet Food store, the Plymouth Road store is now a mattress store, the Seven Mile store (Reliable) is a Chinese grocery store. I do not know what happened to the Birmingham store located on Woodward. I think that the whole Jerry clan is out of the business except for maybe Val's kids and they do not have a Schwinn store. Larry shows up at the Ann Arbor show and has an outside booth between two metal buildings. Sometimes Dan sets up inside.

Larry Loiselle passed away in 2022 ... RIP

 

[NBHAA]

This story is from cabe member RonR ... dated Oct., 26, 2013

Starts out about "Reliable Bike Shop" which Jerry's eventually purchased ...

They (Reliable) were located on Grand River in Detroit near Burt Road. I got a bike from there in 1968. Between 1968 and 1972 they moved to Livonia. The bike I bought in 1972 came from the Livonia store. Cherry Hill Bicycle shop was located on Ford Road east of Beech Daly. In the Mid- seventies Cherry Hill Bicycle Shop, bought Reliable and changed the name on both stores to Cherry Hill Bicycle Company. They were later bought by Jerry's Bike shop who at the time had stores in Plymouth Michigan and Detroit. The Detroit store was the original Jerry's also located on Grand River but further towards downtown Detroit. Jerry was a cheap sucker. My buddy used to stand in the left turn lane of Grand River and throw eggs at him when he was locking up for the night. The store had a basement and two guys sat down there all day and fixed used bikes to sell. Jerrys ran a constant want ad selling used bikes in the Redford Record paper, which later became the Observer. Jerrys also bought Rosedale Schwinn bike shop located on Plymouth road in Livonia and a Schwinn bike shop in Birmingham Michigan. They closed the store on Ford Road, I think around 1980. Val, Jerry's daughter ran the Plymouth, Mi. store. Val's brother Larry, had the old Cherry Hill Bike shop (Reliable) on Seven Mile in Livonia and brother Dan ran the store in Birmingham. The Plymouth store is now a Pet Food store, the Plymouth Road store is now a mattress store, the Seven Mile store (Reliable) is a Chinese grocery store. I do not know what happened to the Birmingham store located on Woodward. I think that the whole Jerry clan is out of the business except for maybe Val's kids and they do not have a Schwinn store. Larry shows up at the Ann Arbor show and has an outside booth between two metal buildings. Sometimes Dan sets up inside.

Larry Loiselle passed away in 2022 ... RIP

View attachment 2149853

The listing here showing "Joe's Bike & Toy Shop" (later, Joe's Bike and Hobby Shop) is also noteworthy. I bought my last brand-new Schwinn (a Suburban loaded with accessories) at Joe's in the early 1970s. This was a great dealer. At the time of the 10-speed boom, if you went into a store wanting to buy a custom-ordered model with fenders, you would get belittled– even insulted in those days ("why dooya want fenders? That's so heavy!" Yadda-yadda). Sales people tended to make customers who did not know all of the latest lingo buzzwords and how to get the lightest weight models like a rank nobody. Also most dealers back then when 10-speeds were selling like hotcakes, would try to force you to buy something already on the salesroom floor. But not Joe's. They let me order whatever I wanted– exactly how I wanted it. And this was certainly not a cheap bicycle to buy in that era.