I agree with Gordon, the Elgin/JC Higgins/Hawthorne book is the one I turn to most. Scott at the Cabe sells the ones that are still in print. There are also a series from NBJ, aka Newsletter By John, one of the earliest classic bike resources. There's an "Introduction to Classic Bicycles" which has a lot of good info. Then, there's the Monark book, Colson book, Shelby Book, and the Dayton/Huffman book! These are all spiral bound, with photocopies of original ads, and some color pix of original and restored bikes. These all sell for $35 each, shipped, which ain't cheap, but neither is the information! Scott and Classic Bicycle news have recently come out with a Rollfast/Snyder book, and a Columbia/Westfield(prewar) book, and they're EXCELLENT! Much higher print quality. There are several "real" books about vintage bikes, like The American Bicycle, and several Schwinn books. I bought most of mine used on alibris, MUCH cheaper!!! The Evolution books have some sweet bikes to look at, but as Crassly said, there's a LOT of misinformation there. I wouldn't count on it as a reference. (Things like "1949 Schwinn Tornado" when they weren't introduced til late '57...) I had to have all the info I could get me hands on, including copies of American Bicyclist from the 40s and 50s, though lately prices on ebay for those are silly. I'm NOT paying $70 for a MAGAZINE, even if it's from the 30s! LOTS of good ads, and manufacturer info, like when new models were introduced. Lastly, I picked up a big box of old bike newsletters from 1989-96, the pre-internet era! This was how I became a Zen master of Vintage bikes!! :mrgreen: ~Adam
