Snyder Bikes Made in 1942

[Scout Evans]

My Hawthorne is a 42 model. I've read where there was a halt to all but a couple bike makers, Huffman and Westfield, in early 42 because of the war effort. I think they used up all the parts to make as many bikes before the ban. My bike may have been one of the last Snyder made bikes because the bottom bracket looks like a part for the scrap pile that was made to work to make a complete bike. It looks like it had two holes drilled in the wrong places, then was made to work by filling the holes with blanks. Is there a source to find out how many bikes Snyder made in 1942?

 

[fat tire trader]

Its my understanding that most of the large bike makers continued making bikes during the war. They did not make deluxe bicycles with tanks, but instead built lightweight bicycles and cycle trucks for civilians to ride to work at factories that created stuff for the war. A couple of years ago a local historian came to me with a photo of a lady bike messenger who worked at the ship yards in Sausalito. He wanted to know what kind of bike it was. I could tell by the head badge in the photo that it was a Rollfast. I have since acquired a wartime Rollfast like the one in the picture. We could compare serial numbers.
Chris

 

[Scout Evans]

I've read where they started making bikes in a lightweight style during the war, but mine and others still used the same frame as prewar heavyweight balloon style. My Snyder made Hawthorne is #30415 of 1942. I found the Ad for the 1942 Hawthornes, V-50 was the basic, V-60 better, and V-70 the deluxe models.