Tricycle Fetish Blog

Q: Hi, Recently completed a restoration of a trike I found last year at an antique store. Not sure of the brand. Best Regards, Doug

A: You have a mid-1930′s Hedstrom Minuteman tricycle. From the photo it looks like you did a nice job restoring it, even more so considering you didn’t know what kind of tricycle you had.

You can find a bit more info and some other Minuteman photos on our Hedstrom manufacturers page.

A couple of things you could do to make the restoration a bit more authentic is add either period or repro teardrop shaped rubber pedals and some black grips – the kind with the balls at the end.

Nick P. sent us photos of his restoration job on his wife’s 1950′s Hedstrom tricycle.  He used all original parts except for the grips, tires and pedal locking caps.  He went all out and had parts re-chromed rather than just painting them.

The end result looks stunning, especially considering how bad of a state the tricycle was in prior to restoration.  It’s hard to tell from pictures just how well any particular restoration goes, but this one looks to be fantastic. Nick says that it’s ready to pass down to the next generation, hopefully they will keep it stored inside so that his grandchildren won’t have to do another restoration project in 60 years.

If you or someone you know has restored a tricycle and would like to share the results with the world, email us photos of the before and after pictures.

Q: thanks for allowing me to join your site i have an unknown rear steer tricycle from the late 50′s or early 60′s and have been unable to find anyone who knows what company produced it. i dont believe skyjet is the correct name. any help to identify it would be appreciated

A: You have a circa 1960, give or take Sky Jet X-II rear steering tricycle made by Hedstrom.  These tricycles were also produced under the model name Saf-Jet.  They are pretty scarce and hard to find, especially in the condition in which yours looks to be in.