We received the photo above of an early Taylor chain driven tricycle that has relatively small gauge tubing when compared to the later Taylor tricycles. The tricycle was probably made in the late 1920′s or early 1930′s. The owner wants to know our thoughts on whether or not he should restore it. It’s really hard to tell from the photos whether it is rusty or just really dirty. If most of the original paint remains, you might want to leave it as is. If it’s mostly rusty, then it might be a nice project.
The problem that you’re probably going to run into with a tricycle like this is the pneumatic tires. They’re about impossible to find and extremely expensive if you can find them. If the tires are not in bad condition (doubtful, though from the pictures it’s hard to tell) you might be able to have a tire place fill them with the foam that they use in equipment tires. This would keep them looking original…but again, only if they are in pretty good shape right now.
Q: I have a trike I found in a shed on an old farm. I know nothing about it and cannot find any markings on it. I am debating with myself on whether to restore it or leave it as is. Would appreciate any info you have.
A: What you have is probably a 1930′s-40′s era Taylor Tot tricycle. It probably originally started its life out as a baby stroller and as the child grew, the front end was swapped out for the pedal wheel.
As far as restoring the tricycle goes, it would not be worth the effort, if it was even possible. It looks to be pretty rough. The value on those type of strollers when complete is pretty low, and only fine examples would be worth over a $100.
This is what your tricycle would have looked like before the modifications were made…and before it spent 60 years in a shed.
You can find some more info and some more pictures on our Taylor tricycles manufacturers page.
Q: I bought an old Taylor trike and the front tire is shot. I was wondering if the 16′ wheel and tire combo. you have for sale would work for my trike. the size looks pretty close. I was hoping you might be able to help me in that this is the first trike I have bought and I don’t know much about them . Thanks for any help. Keith.
A: First look at the tricycle’s hub. Does it look similar to this?
Circa 1930's or 40's Taylor Tricycle Hub & Crankset With Pedals
Pictured is a Taylor hub, bearings, fork mounts, crankset and pedals that is indicative of what most Taylor hubs looked like. Taylor wheels were built with spokes and nipples (like bicycle wheels) that could be adjusted, rather than spokes that were simply welded to the rim and hub. If this is the case with your tricycle, you could not use our 16 inch wheelset, at least not without getting new cranks and possibly new pedals.
You should however, be able to take the tire off the 16 inch rim and put it on your rim, supposing it is of close enough size. Oddly the cost of the rims on our wheels is negligible when compared to what it would cost to have a bicycle shop build you a new one with spokes. If our tire will fit your rim, we can remove it from the rim for shipment and will offer a discount on just the rubber.
