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: Could you please take a look at my recent purchase and tell me anything about it?

A: Your tricycle is a mid-late 1930′s trike made by the Junior Toy Company.  This tricycle was part of their Sky Line.  If you had the original catalogs from that time, you could narrow down the model number, but usually the tricycles are just referred to as Sky Lines.   The highest end model of the Sky Line was the Sky King.  Yours isn’t a Sky King, but it appears to be an upper end model with a light.

Q: Can you tell me what kind of trike this is?   I don’t know the model and year. I can’t find another picture of it anywhere on the web?

A: Your tricycle is probably circa mid-1950′s.  As far as model name or number goes, that’s not something that you’re going to find unless you have the original AMF catalog from that year, which is going to be especially hard since you don’t know what year it is.  The original catalogs are worth as much or more that a lot of the tricycles in the catalogs, and equally or even harder to find.  Your tricycle doesn’t have any sort of slang collector name either, it’s just a basic fendered AMF Junior tricycle.

The star inside a circle, to the best of my knowledge, has no special meaning beyond being a logo on AMF tricycles.  It is very similar to the old Army logo circa World War II, which also was a star inside a circle.  Texaco oil/gas also used a very similar logo.

Q: Hello, I just paid for access to your online price guide and have a old trike that I was hoping to get some info on.  It looks to be wrought iron/steel with wooden wheels shod in steel straps like a old wagon wheel, except the spokes are steel rods.  Overall condition appears to be good with wheels/steering/pedals all moving freely.It looks  as if the seat was (re?) covered with a padded plastic/vinyl cover at some time.

The previous owner used it as interior decoration and looks as if he had it painted/varnished (wheels, handgrips, seat are obviously brown paint and frame may be same or a varnish).  Any info and it and a ballpark idea of value would be appreciated.

A:  Sadly, your tricycle is a fake.  It is a decorative item, probably made in China in the past few years, but being sold in the US as “antique” to unsuspecting buyers.  For the current selling prices on eBay, you can simply type “Antique Tricycle” into the completed items search and you’ll more than likely get a range of prices from 99 cents to hundreds of dollars.  These are worth roughly $15-30 for their decorative value, tops.  They aren’t rare, so paying shipping on one the whole way across the country isn’t necessary.  I’ve seen these for $5 at flea markets and wasn’t even tempted to buy one at that price.

If you paid a bunch of money for it, I would request your money back and you could always buy a more reasonably priced one.  For more info on antique fakes, visit our Fake Antique Tricycles page.

We’ll once again start selecting a trike each week or so for the Tricycle of the Week.   The Tricycle of the Week will be chosen from the trikes currently for sale on the internet, including on sites such as eBay, Craigslist, Ecrater etc.  If you would like to have your tricycle considered for our Tricycle of the Week, including mention here on our blog, Twitter and Facebook, just drop us an email with a picture.  The only real requirements are that it is currently for sale and that you have at least one good picture.

Q: Can you please tell me anything about this tricycle, I bought it at an estate sale? Sincerely,Jennifer

A: Your tricycle was made by the Junior Toy Company circa 1930′s or 1940′s.  This model was made for a number of years.  You can find more info and other pics of similar tricycles on our Junior Toy Co. tricycle information page.

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.

Q: Hello, I recently stumbled upon my Mom’s childhood tricycle. She was planning to throw it away. I am planning to restore it for my daughter. I would like to know what brand of tricycle this might be.  I am excited to refurbish this ride.

I have disassembled and started cleaning. I have a few questions if you don’t mind.
1. How do I take the head caps off to have them chromed?
2. If I drill out the rivets on the fender, will I be able to replace them with something similar?
3. What are your thoughts on powder coating frames for a more durable finish? Would I be able to paint the white accents on top of powder coating?
4. Do you know of a source to purchase used or NOS tricycle parts besides your site? I will have several needs listed below.

I will need new, NOS or nice used Flexgrip handle bar grips with a 3/4″ ID. I would love to keep the original wheels. The tires are Firestone! They are so cool! Unfortunately, the front tire is too far gone to save. I read the blog about replacing the entire wheel if possible. I guess it will help to know what I have so I can dig for parts. The front wheel is 16″ X 1.75″ and the back wheels are 10″ X 1.75″ I plan to have the rear wheels soda blasted to save the rubber.

I will need replacement pedals. I see that you sell some that appear to work, but I am not sure if I am missing any parts to hold the rubber into place. Can you tell? I am planning to have the bright red leather seat recovered. It has faded to orange and it cracked a little. Any thoughts or suggestions on that? I want to have all of the chrome redone included the pieces used to hold the bearings and bolt the front wheel in place. I already pulled the tabs and removed the bearings. I hope to find replacements, but if not, I will have to use some bearing grease to hold the ball bearings in place to reassemble all the pieces. I was a little shocked when ball bearings dropped out. Do you think there were nut caps of some sort on the rear wheels?  I will be taking lots of pictures and keeping you posted along the way. Thank you in advance for your help. And, thank you for a great site.  Regards, Scott M.

A:  Wow, sounds like you’re in store for a…project.  First of all, your tricycle looks like it is a circa 1950′s Midwest Industries tricycle.  It may have originally been labeled as something else for sale in a chain store or department store though.  I’m guessing this is your first restoration, so I’ll try to help from that perspective.

1.  Head cap removal: Since most bicycle head cup removers are too small, you can just pop them off with a wide regular screwdriver.  Put screwdriver inside and tap with mallet.

2. Replacing Rivets: This is a good question to ask the guy who does your rechroming.

3. Powder Coating: We get the whole powder coating question a lot.  It is really up to you.  Powder coating will make a more durable finish, but you need access to the equipment.  And it can give a heavy look, especially if not done properly.  You can paint the accents on when your frame is finished.

4. Old Parts Sources: Parts are extremely hard to find.  Most were not worth the space they took up in the day.  And nobody is really making old restoration parts for tricycles, possibly with the exception of a few rare and valuable 1930′s tricycles where it is worth the effort.  You might try bicycle and pedal car swap meets.  If you know of an old family owned bicycle shop that’s been in business forever, you might ask them about parts as well.

5. Tires, Grips, Pedals: We’re expecting a shipment of new replacement tires some time in September, check back if they are not shown in our online catalog.  We have a selection of grips and sometimes run out of stock.  Grips are easier to find that most parts, because some sizes of grips were used on bicycles as well.  The pedals probably should have a retention cap at the end, you can find those at most hardware stores.

6. Bearings: Get new bearings.  You don’t need the casings, just plain ball bearings will work.  Pack with new grease.  If you don’t know what size bearings you need, take an old one with you when you go to the store.

7. Saddle: Anyone who does reupholstery for furniture or automotive should be able to redo you a leather seat.

8. Hub Caps: Your tricycle probably originally had chrome caps over the ends of the rear axle.  They were probably the type that were just round, smooth and slightly domed.

Hopefully that helps in at least a small way.  You’re certainly in for a lot of work.  Hopefully you will keep us updated with pictures along the way.

Q: What can you tell me about this tricycle?

A: You look to have an early 1930′s Garton trike.  You can see more info on that company and Garton trikes on the Garton Manufacturers page.

Q: I thought I had a photo to send you, but I see I must have deleted it.  I had a “tricycle” when I was 2 years old – in 1949.  It had 3 wheels, and a flat wooden seat that extended quite far – in fact right to the handlebars.  Are you familiar with this? Is it a tricycle???  Pat M.

A: There were many different models of tricycles made by many different brand for decades like the one you describe.  Many of them are very similar and can be hard to distinguish, especially if all the markings (which are often times on the seat) have worn off.  Tricycles of this style were made from the beginning of the 1900′s (or possibly before) and this style continues to be made today by some manufacturers.

Q: Why does this product link to Amazon.com?

A: TricycleFetish.com sells products on a variety of sites, including Amazon.com, as well as items on the main TricycleFetish.com site.  Also, some products are offered through Amazon as an affiliate.  The goal of TricycleFetish.com is not to physically warehouse every tricycle, but to provide the ultimate tricycle portal of information and tricycles for sale.