Tricycle Fetish Blog

Q: I have my grandmother’s (I think) tricycle….the tag says it is a Colson Brownie. Can you tell me what year/era this tricycle would be from? It has wooden pedals, a leather seat, and it is very cool, but I don’t see much info on the web with this name….HELP!

A: Hmm?  That is a pretty rare tricycle…and it’s in pretty nice condition too.  It probably dates back to the teens.   They probably made that model for a number of years.  The wooden pedals are just blocks that were added to the pedals to help a child reach them better.  The price that you’re asking on Craig’s List is fair.  For anyone interested, here it is on Craig’s List.

Q: Dear Tricycle Fetish – Can you tell me anything about this tricycle ?  My brother had it when he was a child in the 1940′s.  The emblem on the front of the bike is missing.

A: Your tricycle appears to be a Colson chain driven trike from circa 1940, give or take.  To see some other photos of Colson tricycles and some info, visit our Colson manufacturers page.

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.

Q: This lucky kid had a cool tricycle and he lived at an amusement park! Could you tell me what kind of tricycle it is?

A: He’s riding a 1940′s era Colson chain driven trike.  Exact year is unknown, you’d probably need to have a color photo as well as a Colson catalog from the year that they used that color scheme to know for sure.  To find more info on Colson tricycles, visit our Colson tricycle manufacturer page.