• NBHAA HAS OVER 80,000 ORIGINAL BICYCLE CATALOGUES, BOOKS, PHOTOS, BLUEPRINTS, POSTERS, TRADE PUBLICATIONS STARTING IN THE 1860s AND REACHING TO THE 1970s. ?WE HAVE A LARGE AMOUNT OF LEAGUE OF AMERICAN WHEELMAN (L.A.W) PUBLICATIONS BEGINNING IN THE 1800s (starting with Volume 1, #1). • WE HAVE THE PAPER ARCHIVES OF MANY BICYCLE BRANDS AND COMPANIES, INCLUDING ELGIN/J.C. HIGGINS, WESTERN FLYER AND MOST OTHERS. INTERESTED IN COLUMBIA/POPE? WE HAVE ALMOST EVERY CATALOGUE FROM BEGINNING (1877) TO END. • LIKEWISE FOR MOST AMERICAN BICYCLE BRANDS AND COMPANIES, FOR INSTANCE ON ELGIN AND J.C.HIGGINS WE HAVE CATALOGUE INFORMATION FOR ALMOST EVERY YEAR. • PLUS COOL ITEMS LIKE TRADE MAGAZINES, BICYCLE OWNER'S MANUALS, FACTORY LETTERS, DEALERBOOKS AND PARTS BOOKS. • LIKEWISE FOR MONARK-SILVER KING COMPANY.
• LIKEWISE FOR COLSON, SHELBY, IVER JOHNSON, HAWTHORNE, ROLLFAST, MURRAY AND FOR OTHER BRANDS- EVEN ODD ONES LIKE INGO-BIKE, BOWDEN, SHERRELL OR GLIDEACYCLE.
• WE ALSO HAVE A VERY EXTENSIVE ARCHIVE OF BICYCLE MOTOR KITS AND MOTORIZED BICYCLES LITERATURE... FROM SMITH MOTORWHEEL, CYCLEMOTOR, EVANS POWERCYCLE TO WHIZZER (WE HAVE PAPER ACHIVES FOR WHIZZER INCLUDING ORIGINAL BLUEPRINTS, EVERY AD, OWNER'S MANUALS, WORKSHOP MANUALS, BULLETINS, RARE PHOTOS, THE LAST 15 YEARS OF FACTORY CORRESPONDENCE WITH DEALERS AND CUSTOMERS and MORE!), MARMAN, MONARK SUPER-TWIN, TRAVIS... AND EVEN VERY OBSCURE MODELS LIKE BSA WINGWHEEL OR POW-WOW. WE HAVE IT!
• WE ALSO HAVE THE WORLD'S ONLY VINTAGE CLASSSIC BICYCLE FILM ARCHIVE (as in REAL 16mm FILM) CONTAINING OVER 600 ORIGINAL VINTAGE BICYCLE OR BICYCLE THEME FILMS INCLUDING SUCH CLASSICS AS THE 1934 FEATURE COMEDY, "SIX-DAY BIKE RIDER" STARRING JOE. E. BROWN AND THE 1939 GM BICYCLE SAFETY FILM, "ON TWO WHEELS" ... WE HAVE THE ORIGINAL FILMS OF THE 1940s "BOWDEN ALUMINUM CLASSIC" (PREDECESSOR TO THE 1960 FIBERGLASS SPACELANDER) SHOW INTRODUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL, RIDING SCENES, CLOSE-UP DETAILS OF THE BICYCLE AND CONTROLS AND PRESENTATION AT THE 1940s BRITISH DEBUT. AND MANY MORE. WE FIRST CONCEIVED OF THE CONCEPT OF BICYCLE FILM FESTIVALS IN THE LATE 1970s AND FOUNDED THE BERKELEY BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL IN THE 1980s. OUR VINTAGE BICYCLE FILMS HAVE BEEN SHOWN NATIONWIDE FROM COAST TO COAST AT TRADE SHOWS, THEATERS AND BICYCLE EVENTS LIKE OUR “BALLONATIC” MEETS OF THE 1980s AND 1990s. • WE HAVE THE LARGEST ASSEMBLAGE OF SERIAL NUMBER AND MODEL NUMBER INFORMATION IN THE WORLD ON CLASSIC-ERA AMERICAN BRANDS OF BICYCLES. WE BEGAN COLLECTING SERIAL NUMBER INFORMATION IN THE 1950s AND WE HAVE OUR OWN PROPRIETARY CHARTS THAT DOCUMENT EACH MODEL AND SERIAL ERA FOR MANY BICYCLES. WE ACQUIRED FACTORY SERIAL NUMBER AND MODEL NUMBER INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM MANY DEFUNCT BICYCLE COMPANIES SUCH AS MURRAY AND MONARK-SILVER KING WHILE THEY WERE STILL IN BUSINESS. WE EVEN HAVE THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING LIST FROM THE BOMARD COMPANY FOR BOWDEN SPACELINER BICYCLES.
• NBHAA'S ARCHIVAL INFORMATION HAS BEEN ASSEMBLED OVER THE LAST SIXTY YEARS AND CANNOT BE MATCHED ANYWHERE. NBHAA IS THE ONLY BICYCLE HISTORY ARCHIVE OF ITS TYPE. WE STARTED COLLECTING IN THE 1950s. AND WE DON'T GUESS AT INFORMATION ABOUT OLD BICYCLES... WE KNOW! • WE BEGAN ACQUIRING SERIAL NUMBER LISTS DIRECT FROM THE ORIGINAL AMERICAN CLASSIC BICYCLE MANUFACTURERS STARTING BACK AS EARLY AS THE 1960s. MANY SENT US THEIR SERIAL NUMBER LISTS DECADES BEFORE DIY GUESSERS BEGAN THINKING ABOUT THIS SUBJECT IN RECENT YEARS. WE DON’T GO BY GUESSES PUBLISHED ON THE INTERNET. AMONG MANUFACTURERS/RETAILERS WHO SENT US THEIR ORIGINAL SERIAL NUMBER LISTS DECADES AGO WERE SCHWINN, MURRAY-OHIO, H.P. SNYDER, D.P. HARRIS, EVANS-COLSON, SEARS-ROEBUCK, IVER JOHNSON, BOMARD (BOWDEN), FEBS (BOWDEN), CLEVELAND WELDING COMPANY/AMF, HUFFMAN/HUFFY AND OTHERS.
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NBHAA IS PRESENTLY LOOKING FOR MORE ORIGINAL BICYCLE LITERATURE TO FILL IN GAPS IN OUR LIBRARY AND TO REPLACE LITERATURE AND PUBLICATIONS STOLEN FROM NBHAA…• WE ARE MISSING ABOUT 11 COLUMBIA CATALOGUES FROM BEGINNING TO END. • WE ARE MISSING SOME ROADMASTER CATALOGUES IN THE 1960s. • WE ARE MISSING A FEW PRE-WW2 COLSON ITEMS. • WE ARE MISSING A FEW IVER-JOHNSON CATALOGUES BETWEEN THE 1800s and 1920s • WE ARE MISSING A FEW OF THE VERY LAST MURRAY BICYCLE CATALOGUES OF THE LATE 1990s. • WE WOULD LIKE TO REPLACE OUR MISSING AMERICAN BICYCLIST AND BICYCLE JOURNAL AND BICYCLE DEALER SHOWCASE MAGAZINE MAGAZINES WHICH WERE STOLEN FROM US (if they are sold to you on eBay, many will have an address label that says "California Balloon Bike & Whizzer News" or "Como Bike Shop" or "Canoga Cycle Center"...or a shop address in New York or Chicago on the address label, accompanied by a lie that someone had been "collecting them for over 30 years"). If you have issues from the 1920s-on, we would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks. • WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU IF YOU HAVE BICYCLE PAPER ITEMS (factory letters, dealer info, price listings, serial number information) THAT WILL COMPLETE OUR ARCHIVE LIBRARY. THANKS! |
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NBHAA FAQs SECTION! THE MOST IMPORTANT SECTION FOR YOU TO READ! WANT TO GET EXPERT ADVICE ON OLD BICYCLES? WANT TO GET AN OLD BICYCLE IDENTIFIED, EVALUATED, FIND OUT WHEN IT WAS MADE AND WHAT IT NEEDS TO BE RESTORED? OR IF IT SHOULD BE RESTORED? CLICK ON THE "NBHAA FAQs" SECTION AND READ. WHAT ARE FAQs? Frequently Asked Questions. |
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WANT TO LEARN ABOUT CLASSIC BICYCLES? WANT INFORMATION YOU CANNOT FIND ANYWHERE ELSE? CLICK ON "EMAIL" AND WRITE TO US AFTER YOU READ THE FAQs SECTION. READ the FAQs section first- it contains valuable information to guide you. |
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WANT TO SEE THE ORIGINAL CLASSIC BICYCLE HISTORY ARTICLES FIRST PUBLISHED IN REAL MAGAZINES AND BOOKS FROM THE 1970s AND 1980s...YEARS BEFORE THE REGURGITATED STUFF YOU SEE TODAY? THE ORIGINAL ARTICLES STILL BEING IMITATED TODAY? WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SCHWINN PHANTOM, BOWDEN SPACELANDER, SHELBY, COLUMBIA, J.C. HIGGINS, WESTERN FLYER AND MORE? WITHOUT GUESSES, JUST FACTS? DID YOU KNOW THAT CARS AND BICYCLES ARE CONNECTED IN WAYS MOST PEOPLE NEVER IMAGINE? WANT TO SEE A LIST OF PUBLISHED ARTICLES BY LEON DIXON ON BICYCLES?
CLICK ON "HISTORICAL ARTICLES". |
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DID YOU YOU KNOW that 2021 was the 44th Anniversary of the official beginning of the classic bicycle hobby? Ever wonder about how the classic bicycle hobby got started? Who did what–and when? Want to know CORRECT classic bicycle history? Then our section, HOW THE CLASSIC BICYCLE HOBBY ALL BEGAN is just for you! And to be included in this section is our historic tour of the old Schwinn Plant in Chicago! Wanna see what the Schwinn Collection (sometimes erroneously referred to as the "museum"- but this was LONG before the museum you may have heard about) looked in the 1970s? You'll see it all here. Click on the HOW IT BEGAN below to enter an old bicycle history experience (coming soon) like no other anywhere, any time. You'll be amazed, perhaps amused and certainly informed. And the only place you'll find it all is here at NBHAA. PART II has already begun and the NEXT update on HOW IT BEGAN is coming soon! |
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HOW IT BEGANClick here to enter "HOW IT BEGAN"
Are you a serious bicycle historian or restorer? Ever wonder about errors in publications? Want to be a classic bicycle expert? Want to know how to avoid errors and bogus info in books and auction catalogs? Want to know CORRECT classic bicycle history? Then our continually updated section, Guide to Correcting the Classics (GTCC) is just for you! Click on the GTCC letters below to enter a bicycle history experience like no other anywhere, any time. You'll be amazed, perhaps amused and certainly informed-and the only place you'll find it all is here at NBHAA.
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GTCCClick here to enter NBHAA's GUIDE TO CORRECTING THE CLASSICS (GTCC)
In case you missed it, we can take you back for a look! If you were there, here is a second look! A magnificent bicycle history exhibition took place at the beautiful Oakland Museum, in Oakland, CA. Although we cannot show you the entire exhibit, we can give you just a peek at some of the classic bicycles and classic-era artifacts that were there (along with over 80 antiques from the incredible Pryor Dodge collection) from Fall, 1999 through the end of January, 2000. Most of the classics were on display for the very first time ever! If you have tried this link unsuccessfully in the past, please try it again now. |
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Oakland MuseumClick here to TAKE THE TOUR of the 1999-2000 Oakland Museum Bicycle History Exhibition
WANT TO SEE SOME OF OUR UNUSUAL BICYCLE COLLECTION? WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THE GRAPE KRATE PROTOTYPE OR ELGIN BLUEBIRDS? SOMEBODY ON THE INTERNET CLAIMS THEY HAVE SEEN MORE ELGIN BLUEBIRDS THAN ANYONE! REALLY????? WE’VE BEEN COLLECTING AND RESTORING ELGIN BLUEBIRDS SINCE THE EARLY 1970s. AT ONE TIME, MOST OF THE BLUEBIRDS IN THE COUNTRY WERE ONCE OURS. WANNA SEE SOME OF OURS? CLICK ON "GALLERY" AND ALSO CLICK ON "OAKLAND MUSEUM TOUR" BELOW ON THIS PAGE. |
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NBHAA ORIGINAL BICYCLE LITERATURE. (THIS SECTION IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLINE SOON!) Yessss, we specialize in Classic bicycles, but did you know that NBHAA has a very large collection of pre-1920 bicycle catalogues and books going back as far as the 1860s? We do! A new section devoted to showing samples of our massive original antique and classic vintage bicycle literature section is presently under construction and coming soon! Watch for it here! |
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NBHAA'S ORIGINAL BICYCLE LITERATUREClick here to enter "NBHAA's BICYCLE LITERATURE"
Watch for them and please contact us if you see them. Included was our very rare Monark SILVER KING ALUMINUM RACER, Monark SILVER KING HEXTUBE PROTOTYPE FRAME...(and we still have the delivery and source papers on this frame from when Monark sent it to us- so if you buy it, be prepared for a world of trouble), Elgin Twin-Bar tricycle and many others. Thank you.
URGENT ALERT!! STOLEN BICYCLE LISTING! Over 750 bicycles and thousands of irreplaceable vintage bicycle parts, tools and historical artifacts have been stolen from NBHAA's deep storage. This is the largest theft of classic bicycles and parts in history. If you see any of these bicycles, they are stolen. Click for the list and take a look. You may see them anywhere, they may turn up anywhere, including eBay. People selling them may claim to have been collecting for many years, when in fact the only one collecting the stuff for them to sell was us! They have even come here to read the list so they can identify what they stole from us! They may even use you to ID what they stole. If you see bicycle magazines that say "California Balloon Bike and Whizzer News" or “Classic Bicycle & Whizzer News” on the address label- they were stolen from us.
BICYCLES AND PARTS STOLEN FROM NBHAAClick here to see the partial list of stolen bicycles and parts
This page has been visited COUNTLESS TIMES! OUR COUNTER BROKE YEARS AGO!!!
This page and site, all design and contents, all photos unless otherwise noted are Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2021 by Leon Dixon, All rights reserved. The information, articles and photos on this website may not be reproduced in any form without expressed written permission of NBHAA or its curator.
Artwork created especially for NBHAA courtesy of David Stromberger/Stromberger Supreme Computer Art Creations
Date of last update to this page: AUGUST 2021