Questions About Restoring a Colson Flyer Tricycle
Q: I have a Colson Flyer Tricycle. I was told the age of it is late 20′s early 30′s. Have searched for pictures/information on it on various sites and have found nothing about it. I was wondering if you have any information or pictures that you can forward on to me because I would like to restore it. It has a 16″ front wheel; leather saddle seat; steal handle bars without grips (did it come with grips ????). Any information that you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
A: You can check out our Colson information page for some pictures of other Colson tricycles from that time period. I don’t think we have any pictures of that exact model in that color scheme. Some of the pictures you sent were a bit blurry, but your tricycle doesn’t look to be in very bad condition and looks to retain much of the original paint.
One think to keep in mind before beginning a restoration project is your goal. Most likely a real restoration on that tricycle will cost a large amount of money and time. ….money that you will never see returned in an increased value for the tricycle. If you’re just looking to refurbish the tricycle a little bit for your own entertainment, that’s fine too, but I’d recommend finding all the parts, paint etc. prior to beginning the task. We get a lot of questions from people who are half-way done with something and realize that they need tires or this little part or that little part.
You’re dating of the tricycle seems to be pretty accurate. Without having Colson catalogs from every year to check the color schemes, it would be hard to tell the exact year. You can check some of the pictures of old Colsons and other tricycles from that time period on our manufacturers pages to get an idea of what type of grips would have been on tricycles at that time. But again, the exact Colson catalog from that time would be the most accurate way to tell what grips you need. Good luck.
