I have no idea who made the little red tricycle I first rode. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find out it was something my grandfather got for me at the junk yard. He loved looking through junk yards down near the railroad tracks. He came home with some wonderful stuff.
My first two wheeler was a Huffy which came with training wheels. I still remember crying when my dad took those training wheels off. I was sure I would fall and the world would end for me. He ran alongside me, holding me upright, until he wasn't. He let me ride off down the sidewalk not knowing I was on my own. When I realized it I was so excited and remember seeing my folks in our front yard smiling and laughing.
My second bike was also a Huffy. I did not get a Schwinn until I was out of college. I used to love taking it to the mountains to ride around Squaw Valley and around Lake Tahoe. Good times. Good times.
This ad is from the July-August 1951 Archie comic. You can see some photos of an old Schwinn Phantom here. And go here to read about the Schwinn company.
Click on image to see it larger.
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I wonder what a 'Black Phantom' is worth today.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to run on eBay from around $1,500 to 2,000.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bike. Isn't it great how we can all remember the bikes we had and how much they meant to us. That's all we had. Forget video games and TV. It was outside from sun up to sun down. I forget about those great vintage ads in the comics. Thanks for sharing!
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