Question for those of you who were kids in the 40's or 50's?

i bought a reproduction bicycle , it is modeled after the "Phantom" bicycle from the 1950's , its actually an exact replica not just modeled after it. i think its really neat and its something i want to ride rather then have just sit around as decoration, i dont care about collectible value or anything. my question is is it completely ridicules for an ADULT to ride a bike like that? were bikes with tanks only for younger people or did adults ride bikes like the Phantom and Cruiser Deluxe as well? also how "cool" was this bike for a boy in the 1950's i think if i would have had it as a kid i would have been THE coolest kid around haha.
P.S. the bike is very large it isn't a child's size bike.
i would love to hear any story you might have about the bike you raode as a child particularly if you had one similar to mine.

to gov a better idea of what it looks like in case your not familiar with the "phantom"....it is all black and chrome, it has a "tank" with little vents and i beleive a horn mechanism inside because theres a button on the side, havnt figured it out yet maybe needs a battery...it has whats called a "springer" on the front, basically a suspension for the fork that protrudes from the neck of the bike, it has a fancy chain guard, sort of art deco style and a tailight built in to the underside of the rear rack. "paper boy" tires "nubby and wide" with whitewalls.......remember bikes like these from when you were a kid?

I was born in 1952. I do not think it is ridiculous for you to ride it. It is a very cool bike.

I had a spray painted yellow 24 inch with balloon tires that I learned on then I got a 26 inch aqua blue Huffy English racer when I was in 4th grade.

I was one of the few girls in the neighborhood so I would play cops and robbers tag on bikes with the boys. I have the gravel scars on my knees to prove it.

I think that would be sooo cool... I love the look of the older bikes and I think that they were sturdier.... I bet it is only a One sppeed but that would not matter to me... I would ride it if it fits your body and you like it..... Cooll

Yes, I remember bikes like that! I had a bike like that, but it had belonged to my uncle, so the chrome and paint weren't very bright anymore, but it was a heavy frame 26" (inch wheel diameter) bike with a tank under the top-bar and a spring-type shock absorber on the front fork.

Down here in Florida, you see lots of adults riding bikes like that, especially on the beaches. In fact, heavy frame bikes with the wide baloon tires, like you have, are called "beach cruisers" down here, after the Schwinn model of the sam name, but any bike like your is/can be a beach bike.

One of the reasons these bikes are so popular is that the "mountain" style or "racing" bikes have such narrow, uncomfortable seats. Many also make the rider sit hunched over the handle-bars in an awkward manner.

Your bike (and mine) have broad, soft saddles (like my butt) and handle bars that reach up so the rider doesn't have to lean forward to reach them.

So go ahead and ride! Who cares what others think? You have one of the most comfortable, stable bikes anywhere!

I had a Shelby, 26 inch wheels, red in color, white sidewall tires, and promoted by "Bobby Shelby." I'm guessing that my parents bought it for me around 1948 - 49. Odd that I remember the price, $54.54, rather dear in those days. Although I rode it a lot, I kept it in pristine condition. When I learned to drive, I pushed the handlebar through the wall parking the car in the garage. Dad was unhappy about that.

When I went to college my parents gave it to a family less well-off than we were. One of their boys promptly wrecked it. So it goes.

Those bikes are quite heavy by modern standards, and with only one speed, pumping uphill is quite a task unless you are in good condition.

I was born in 1943, and in the 50s I had a Schwinn Phantom (for a photo of one just like the one I used to have, please see the link below)

By the 1950's, the automobile replaced the bicycle as the standard form of transportation. The cruiser bike developed into beautiful motorcycle inspired works of art designed by manufacturers hoping to capture the imagination of young men who longed for a motorized vehicle. Typical features of the 1950 era cruiser bikes included motorcycle style tanks, large chrome headlights, electric horns, and of course, the newly inovated "balloon tires". The bikes were decorated with colorful graphics, and shiny chrome accessories.


Schwinn's Black Phantonm Bicycle 1949- 1959
Photo from Antique Bicycles by Brian Kunzog"

I LOVED that bike - and I don't think it would be "ridiculous" at all for an adult to ride one. It is still, in my opinion, the COOLEST bike around.

Thanks for your question: brings back a lot of memories. And heck no; it wouldn't be "completely ridiculous" for an adult to ride a bike like that.

My older brother(by 2 yrs.) had a bike, but I don't think it was as grand as the one you described.

And no matter how vehemently he objected, at the insistence of our parents, he would have to ferry me around sitting on the "crossbar-?", usually wherever he went; with the exception of when he was delivering papers on his newspaper route.

The freedom and mobility the bike afforded us, was really "neat"; and although he was always complaining about having to take me with him, I don't think he really minded that much; and it was certainly a joy for me.

So again, thanks for your
question, and sharing your enthusiasm
with us,

Wotan

I loved those bikes, even my dad had one. OK, I'm a kid of the 60s, but those were cool bikes for many years. Just make sure that replica seat is more comfortable than most of the modern seats and go ride like you love it!

That is the bike I had during the 1950s. Mine was red with chrome from 1954. I used it on my paper route and to get all over town. One thing I (and my friends) did was to get penny post cards (yes, they really only cost a penny) and a close-pin and hook it on the fender brace so that it hit against the spokes. This was our pretend motorized bike, at least until I got my first motorcycle.

There is nothing wrong with an adult using such a bike.