Tricycle Fetish Blog

Q: Hello, I recently stumbled upon my Mom’s childhood tricycle. She was planning to throw it away. I am planning to restore it for my daughter. I would like to know what brand of tricycle this might be.  I am excited to refurbish this ride.

I have disassembled and started cleaning. I have a few questions if you don’t mind.
1. How do I take the head caps off to have them chromed?
2. If I drill out the rivets on the fender, will I be able to replace them with something similar?
3. What are your thoughts on powder coating frames for a more durable finish? Would I be able to paint the white accents on top of powder coating?
4. Do you know of a source to purchase used or NOS tricycle parts besides your site? I will have several needs listed below.

I will need new, NOS or nice used Flexgrip handle bar grips with a 3/4″ ID. I would love to keep the original wheels. The tires are Firestone! They are so cool! Unfortunately, the front tire is too far gone to save. I read the blog about replacing the entire wheel if possible. I guess it will help to know what I have so I can dig for parts. The front wheel is 16″ X 1.75″ and the back wheels are 10″ X 1.75″ I plan to have the rear wheels soda blasted to save the rubber.

I will need replacement pedals. I see that you sell some that appear to work, but I am not sure if I am missing any parts to hold the rubber into place. Can you tell? I am planning to have the bright red leather seat recovered. It has faded to orange and it cracked a little. Any thoughts or suggestions on that? I want to have all of the chrome redone included the pieces used to hold the bearings and bolt the front wheel in place. I already pulled the tabs and removed the bearings. I hope to find replacements, but if not, I will have to use some bearing grease to hold the ball bearings in place to reassemble all the pieces. I was a little shocked when ball bearings dropped out. Do you think there were nut caps of some sort on the rear wheels?  I will be taking lots of pictures and keeping you posted along the way. Thank you in advance for your help. And, thank you for a great site.  Regards, Scott M.

A:  Wow, sounds like you’re in store for a…project.  First of all, your tricycle looks like it is a circa 1950′s Midwest Industries tricycle.  It may have originally been labeled as something else for sale in a chain store or department store though.  I’m guessing this is your first restoration, so I’ll try to help from that perspective.

1.  Head cap removal: Since most bicycle head cup removers are too small, you can just pop them off with a wide regular screwdriver.  Put screwdriver inside and tap with mallet.

2. Replacing Rivets: This is a good question to ask the guy who does your rechroming.

3. Powder Coating: We get the whole powder coating question a lot.  It is really up to you.  Powder coating will make a more durable finish, but you need access to the equipment.  And it can give a heavy look, especially if not done properly.  You can paint the accents on when your frame is finished.

4. Old Parts Sources: Parts are extremely hard to find.  Most were not worth the space they took up in the day.  And nobody is really making old restoration parts for tricycles, possibly with the exception of a few rare and valuable 1930′s tricycles where it is worth the effort.  You might try bicycle and pedal car swap meets.  If you know of an old family owned bicycle shop that’s been in business forever, you might ask them about parts as well.

5. Tires, Grips, Pedals: We’re expecting a shipment of new replacement tires some time in September, check back if they are not shown in our online catalog.  We have a selection of grips and sometimes run out of stock.  Grips are easier to find that most parts, because some sizes of grips were used on bicycles as well.  The pedals probably should have a retention cap at the end, you can find those at most hardware stores.

6. Bearings: Get new bearings.  You don’t need the casings, just plain ball bearings will work.  Pack with new grease.  If you don’t know what size bearings you need, take an old one with you when you go to the store.

7. Saddle: Anyone who does reupholstery for furniture or automotive should be able to redo you a leather seat.

8. Hub Caps: Your tricycle probably originally had chrome caps over the ends of the rear axle.  They were probably the type that were just round, smooth and slightly domed.

Hopefully that helps in at least a small way.  You’re certainly in for a lot of work.  Hopefully you will keep us updated with pictures along the way.