Monark Bearcat

[Avanti]

Does this Monark Bearcat girl's bike belong to you? I saved this image off Facebook back in 2020 but can't find the original post. Please message me if you have info on it.

 

[Adamtinkerer]

I believe there's an ad for this model in the Evolution of the Bicycle books, not sure if it's vol. 1 or 2. But it's a later '50s middleweight, shortly before Huffy bought the Monark co.

 

[Oilit]

I believe there's an ad for this model in the Evolution of the Bicycle books, not sure if it's vol. 1 or 2. But it's a later '50s middleweight, shortly before Huffy bought the Monark co.

I posted an ad from the July 1954 American Bicyclist in this thread:

What kind of brakes are these? | General Discussion About Old Bicycles

So I saw this Monark-built Firestone on FB, my first impression was the Firestone version of a Monark Bearcat. I messaged the seller several times but never got a reply. The Bearcat was Monark's take on a three-speed with caliper brakes, but looking at these pictures, these brakes look like they...

thecabe.com

It's interesting that the ad states that the Bearcat has three speeds, while the bike pictured has a two-speed hub. These bikes don't show up very often.

 

[Adamtinkerer]

If it is a '54, there should be an aluminum ID plate on the BB, that was the last year for it.

 

[Avanti]

I posted an ad from the July 1954 American Bicyclist in this thread:

What kind of brakes are these? | General Discussion About Old Bicycles

So I saw this Monark-built Firestone on FB, my first impression was the Firestone version of a Monark Bearcat. I messaged the seller several times but never got a reply. The Bearcat was Monark's take on a three-speed with caliper brakes, but looking at these pictures, these brakes look like they...

thecabe.com

It's interesting that the ad states that the Bearcat has three speeds, while the bike pictured has a two-speed hub. These bikes don't show up very often.

That's the first year 26" version with the Three-Speed hub. Monark used the "Bearcat" name on various other models including the bike pictured above, which is a 24" with a Bendix Two-Speed. It probably dates to '55 or '56 making it a middleweight but I can't be sure.

Incidentally, I'm looking any photos or blurbs about Monark bikes from issues of American Bicyclist (1956-57).

 

[Avanti]

Bump