must have books!

[37fleetwood]

I just received a box of books from the CABE store and was thinking maybe a post on some of the most significant books for the budding collector to own. these are also must haves on even the most seasoned collectors shelf.

first, though they're not perfect, I reccommend both Evolution of the Bicycle books. many of the bikes are not completely correct, but they give a good overview of what's out there. these are a great place to start. before buying your first old bike pick these up and see what you like best.

next, the "Collectable Elgin, JC Higgins, Hawthorne Bicycles" book. there is so much good stuff in this book that it's impossible to go without it. not only all of the bikes offered in these two catalog giants, it has all of the accessories as well.

next, a new book compiled by Scott McCaskey, the "Vintage Bicycle Trinkets" all I can say is WOW!!! tons of bicycle accessories, seats pedals hubs, everything. ads culled from American Bicyclist magazines from 1932-1942.

next, is the reproduction of the 1939 Island Cycle Supply Company catalog. again, tons of prewar bikes and accessories.

I would also recommend the book by CABE member ABC SERVICES. it's basically copies of an old Western Auto parts list. it has serial numbers, part numbers and some other stuff on many of the manufacturers.

P.S. just looked and some of these are not in the CABE store, contact Scott McC and he can set you up.

 

[Freqman1]

As I've said many times before a good library is one of the best investments you can make--in any hobby. The books you mentioned plus the other marque specific books e.g. Colson, Columbia, etc... are all good references. Some people think you can find anything you need on the www net but that isn't the case. It kills me that folks would consider dropping thousands of dollars on a bike but don't want to spend a few hundred on reference material. Knowledge is power and you can save yourself money and grief by knowing what the heck you're looking at before you hand over the green stuff. V/r Shawn

 

[rustjunkie]

better buy books before buying bikes

 

[VR6GTiGuy]

Good thread

If you are in to early bikes, you might like these:

The American Bicycle by Jay Pridemore and Jim Hurd covers just about every period and includes sections on early velocipedes and Boneshakers through to Balloon, muscle and BMX. There are many great pictures of rare early bikes and very desirable pre-war and later balloon bikes. There are also sections on turn of the century racing and the early bike industry itself.

The Bicycle by Pryor Dodge covers a lot of very unique early bicycles with incredible pictures and illustrations of very uncommon machines including not often seen European bikes and related paraphernalia.

Collecting and Restoring Antique Bicycles by G Donald Adams is one of my all time favorite books on the subject. This was my bible when I first got in to collecting many years ago. It covers high wheel through turn of the century and includes an amazing amount of information for identification, restoration and collecting in general. At the back of the book is a 37 page list of bicycle brands from 1890 to 1900 with their manufactures and distributors. Super cool.

 

[bikiba]

As I've said many times before a good library is one of the best investments you can make--in any hobby. The books you mentioned plus the other marque specific books e.g. Colson, Columbia, etc... are all good references. Some people think you can find anything you need on the www net but that isn't the case. It kills me that folks would consider dropping thousands of dollars on a bike but don't want to spend a few hundred on reference material. Knowledge is power and you can save yourself money and grief by knowing what the heck you're looking at before you hand over the green stuff. V/r Shawn

100% agreed. Knowledge is power and everyone should have access to the documents. I personally feel, like the google giants, all of this knowledge should be accessible, digitized and free. This would liberate the hobby and take it to the next level.

A concern i have is the future of the hobby. In the next 20/30 years where will this hobby be? Many of the guys on this site will probably retire from the hobby, sell off collections and there isnt a big influx of new blood. And the new guys who do join up are probably born in the 70s/80s or 90s. For the most part with as little knowledge as i have.

This digitized and proliferation of information is key! I really think there should be a shareware/opensource document repository for bicycles. If i wasnt so busy i wld whip one up. =/

 

[SirMike1983]

I am partial to The Golden Age Of Handbuilt Bicycles and Raleigh: Past and Presence

 

[Freqman1]

100% agreed. Knowledge is power and everyone should have access to the documents. I personally feel, like the google giants, all of this knowledge should be accessible, digitized and free. This would liberate the hobby and take it to the next level.

A concern i have is the future of the hobby. In the next 20/30 years where will this hobby be? Many of the guys on this site will probably retire from the hobby, sell off collections and there isnt a big influx of new blood. And the new guys who do join up are probably born in the 70s/80s or 90s. For the most part with as little knowledge as i have.

This digitized and proliferation of information is key! I really think there should be a shareware/opensource document repository for bicycles. If i wasnt so busy i wld whip one up. =/

Of all the hobbies I'm involved with this one surprises me with how much young blood is entering and they aren't just into the BMX! What surprises me even more is the vibrance of the hobby despite the lack of structure compared to other hobbies with national organization. I think we have a solid collector base with enough youth to sustain for quite a while. V/r Shawn

 

[bikiba]

Of all the hobbies I'm involved with this one surprises me with how much young blood is entering and they aren't just into the BMX! What surprises me even more is the vibrance of the hobby despite the lack of structure compared to other hobbies with national organization. I think we have a solid collector base with enough youth to sustain for quite a while. V/r Shawn

I dont want to derail the original post of book, so i apologize, but I guess youth is relative. To be more specific, I am thinking people under 30. In the NY tristate + PA swaps i dont think i have seen more than a handful that are under 40[ counting myself ] maybe in your location there are more? Would be interesting to relate the cabes location map to age and cross ref it with "join date".

so if i give you the fact about youth joining, they still need access to documents, because their experience and innate knowledge will not be there due to their age [ for the most part ] otherwise the quality which a lot of you guys live up to in terms of correctness etc will be gone. The hobby will degrade. In 30years i hope i will be able to answer some questions from newbies, but i DOUB i will have that level you guys have with ribbed fenders and triple step rims what was painted what wasnt, the angle of the dangle and such.

 

[bike]

I expect to be dead in 20

I have seen this hobby ebb and flow at least a coupla times over the years as the older people die off- what is desired and what is had to find change with the new peeps.

Before the net it could take years to find info- spent thousands on catalogs etc- Now people bitc* when their question is not answered in 1 hour.
Funny.

Adams is available from Scott (sm2501) and this is a must have intro book to the early bikes- I paid 100+ for a copy years ago but Scott is blowing out the 2nd edtion

 

[Adamtinkerer]

I recommend Newsletter By John's "An Introduction to Classic Bicycles", it includes the Monark and Columbia serial # lists, as well as a badge/manufacturer database, and much more.