Tricycle Fetish Blog

Q: Any help in identifying and dating this trike would be helpful.  I think the “MW” on the headbadge may refer to Montgomery Ward.

A: The MW with the crown logo on the headbadge is for the maker, Midwest Industries.  Your tricycle is from the 1950’s.  Midwest did make tricycles for re-branding and sale in department stores, Montgomery Ward may have been one such store, if so, we do not have that information.  You can find more info on Midwest on the Midwest manufacturers page, along with a link to its parent company MTD.

We recently received this photo of a Precise Thunderbolt tricycle with a model T-45-D on the headbadge.  It looks like it could have been made by a couple of different manufacturers but we are unsure.  Anyone that can help out with the identification of this tricycle or help with any information on the company is asked to leave a comment below.

We recently received an email asking for information on a tricycle (pictured at left) that is shaped like a kitty cat.  Though we’ve seen similar tricycles in the past, they all have been unmarked or so worn that a maker’s mark was not legible.  If anyone can help identify this tricycle’s maker, please leave a comment so the owner can have some more information on the tricycle.

Judging by the wheels and pedals, the tricycle appears to be to have been manufactured anywhere between the 1920’s and 1940’s.

Q: My mother bought this tricycle at an auction and didn’t know the history of it. I tried to find information on the internet and could not find anything. Do you know how old it is and about how much it would be worth? Thank You

A: What your mother bought was an Angeles tricycle.  You can find more info about the company on our manufacturer’s page for Angeles. They are still in business producing heavy duty trikes for institutional use mostly.  As far as value goes, your mother’s purchase price would be the auction value.  Retail would be something higher than that in most cases.  You can visit Angeles’ website for current retail pricing.

1938 Junior Sky Tot Before & After

Mike sent in this photo of his Junior Sky Tot project that he recently completed.

Q: I have an aluminum tricycle. By aluminum I mean it could be magniseum but it is solid including the pedals, seat & handle bars. I found 3 of these and don’t know anything about them. I cannot find any markings on the trikes. I have taken photos and can send them to you if think you might be able to identify it. Thanks for your time, Don

A: Your tricycle is a Convert-O Bike, made by Anthony Brother.  It is made of cast aluminum.  The company apparently recently sold out to Angeles, as their website now forwards the the Angeles site.  You can also view our Anthony Brother page for info on dating your tricycle.  Previously you had been able to get replacement parts directly from Anthony Brother, it is not known at this time whether Angeles will be offering replacement parts.

Q: Do you know where I can find bearings for a Gendron Pioneer tricycle?

A: Providing that you still have the dust caps or covers and they are not damaged, any loose bearings that are the correct size will work fine.  You can repack the hubs using the loose bearings and an ample amount of grease.  If the dust covers are still there, just go to your local hardware store and take one of the old bearings to make sure you get the same size.  Having the bearing casing is not a necessity.  If you feel that it is for some reason, you can probably find some of the same size bearings with casings from antique bicycle collector sites or possibly your local bicycle shop.

Q: Does anyone make an american made tricycle for small children anymore, ages up to 5? If so, who, how, where and how much, please. Thank you.
A: This is a common question with a simple answer…yes.  There are a couple of companies that still make tricycles in the USA.  The first company is Dirt King whose child’s tricycle is pictured to the left.  You can visit the Dirt King USA website for sizes and pricing.

A few years ago Litespeed also made some mountain bike tricycles with titanium tube frames, which were quite pricey.  Many former American companies or companies still based in the US (ie. Schwinn and the like) produce their tricycles overseas.

If you are a staunch buy-American-consumer, you may also consider buying a tricycle from an American that was built 40-70 years ago.  Many can still be found for sale online from individuals and plenty are still in useble condition.

Q: Hey, I had this amazing police trike made of heavy-duty steel when I was a kid back around 1959 0r 60. It was metallic navy blue with a red and white metal seat and a pressed steel body. White spoke wheels, typical hard rubber tires. It resembled the Harley-Davidson “Servi-car” Police and delivery trikes. The storage box had a white rubber grommet in a whole to open the lid. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! Anyway, the box was tack welded to the frame and it broke off when some bigger kids were abusing it. Can you tell me ANYTHING about it? Never seen another anywhere.

A: I’ve posted a couple pictures of tricycles that might be the same thing as you once had.  The one on the left is an Evans and the one on the right is a Murray that is available for sale right now at Juvenile Automobiles.  There were other manufacturers that made similar tricycles – though I cannot find pics of them right now.  Garton was one such company.  The main body of these tricycle was usually cast aluminum.   If you watch eBay for police tricycle, you can usually find similar tricycles at least once every month.

Q: [This is a question that we get quite often in various forms] Hi, I recently found a tricycle with two seats, one in front of the other, can you give me any information about them?  Who made them?  What are they worth? How old are they?  etc. etc.

A: If you’ve never seen one before, at first glance you might think you have found a real find.  The bright colors and two seat design have to be worth a fortune, especially since you’ve never seen one, right?  Well, not usually.  If the tricycle you’ve found has a second bench type seat in the back that doesn’t have another set of pedals attached, most likely it is a very cheap Asian made tricycle from the 1960’s or 1970’s.

They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and some have cartoons and character themes.  Most have some type of disc wheels.  They are all very cheaply made and the paint wears easily and the metal rusts quickly.  Finding a perfect one is difficult, and a perfect one could be worth a bit, but not much.

Who made them?  Who cares.  They were made in numerous locations probably by companies whose names you cannot pronounce in industrial towns whose names you cannot pronounce in locations that you couldn’t find on a map…..or possibly Hong Kong.  Either way, collectors are not yearning for these types of tricycles.  They were made for mass market department stores and other outlets.  Researching them on the internet is futile as no information exists on individual tricycles or the companies that made them.

If your tricycle has two sets of pedals, or the second seat is a side car, you may have something.  Several American companies made such tricycles from the 1930’s through the 1950’s and they are much more desirable than the Asian two-seaters.

Sears Happy Time Tricycle Logo

Q: hi. we recently purchased two old tricycles.  One tricycle is smaller than the other but is an exact replica of the bigger one.  at first i had a hard time figuring out what brand they were because both the head stickers were partly worn off. i just knew they looked cool! i evently figured out that they were “sears happytime” tricycles. my husband and i are cleaning them up as christmas gifts for our 3 and 1 1/2 year old boys. they will love them! the tricycles seem to work well. they are just very well played with. the woman we purchased them from has fond memories of all of her six children riding them all over place! my question is first of all, have you ever heard of these “sears” tricycles? do you carry parts for them? and do you have handgrips for replacements for these tricycles? the only thing i know for sure we need to replace are all the handgrips…they don’t have any. it would be nice to know parts are available for us if we need them. if not can you suggest somewhere where we might find parts, handgrips in particular? thanks -cidney
A:  Sears did not produce their own tricycles, at least during the time period that your trikes were made.  Murray seems to have been a maker of many of the Happy Time tricycles, although there may have been other manufacturers making the Sears branded tricycles as well.  This was a common practice that continues to this day (take a look at Wal-Mart, those bikes don’t all come from different companies, just because they have different names).

As far as parts go, you can see the parts we currently have in stock in our online catalog.   You can search for specific parts at the very top right of our homepage.  The inventory online is our only currently available inventory.  This changes on a regular basis.

Q: I need help Identifying a trike. I have looked through your pictures, but no luck. Hope you can help. I believe it came from the late 20s to mid 30s.  Thanks, Greg

A: Your tricycle is actually circa 1950’s, give or take, but certainly not as old as the 1930’s.  It was manufactured by Murray in Ohio.  Murray made tricycles for many different retail outlets and department stores that were branded under different brand names.  It’s hard to tell if yours was branded as a Murray or something else without the headbadge sticker.

More info and pictures can be found on our Murray page.