j.c. higgins

[abel01]

I found this girls bike on craigslist,the guy wanted 75 I offered 60...he took it..the bike definitely has potential,but is missing a few things,chainguard and tank,also I don't know what year or model it is,if you know anything about this bike please let me know... by the way,it also has white colored rims with a red stripe on edge of rim and both top and bottom bars are single bars....cause I've seen other higgins with double upper bar..I came across a bike that resembles it quite well it's a higgins mainliner.. bottom pic..

 

[elvis51]

does it kinda have squared off fenders? might just be cuz im tired and my eyesight sucks but looks like it has kinda squared off fenders...... that should be somewhat of a give away for somebody to ID it

Easy E

 

[abel01]

does it kinda have squared off fenders? might just be cuz im tired and my eyesight sucks but looks like it has kinda squared off fenders...... that should be somewhat of a give away for somebody to ID it

Easy E

fenders are rounded .....

 

[elvis51]

yup kinda figured that.realzied it right after i hit submit....... oh well

Easy E

 

[ratina]

Heres a couple pics of one I had. The frame is slightly different though. Looks like somone swapped your chainring for a huffy one.

Cant really help you on the year or anything, hope the pictures help ya.

 

[abel01]

Heres a couple pics of one I had. The frame is slightly different though. Looks like somone swapped your chainring for a huffy one.

Cant really help you on the year or anything, hope the pictures help ya.

thank you...for your help,they are a little different...but the resemblance is incredible....

 

[sensor]

looks to be mid 60's from what i can see...and yeah the ring is off a huffy and the fenders look to be schwinn made the rack maybe schwinn also(maybe wald)....
great score :mrgreen:

 

[Unchained]

I believe that the bicycle in the pictures ratina posted is Murray made, whereas it seems some Jc Higgins (as yours does) were made by Huffy. I may have seen other Jc Higgins bicycles made by several other well known makers (Monark and Columbia both produced some JC Higgins, I think). Jc Higgins was not a company that manufactured bicycles from scratch and bought the little pieces, but rather the name for the line of sporting goods at Sears Roebuck and Co. department stores starting sometime in the mid-to-late 1940's. It seems the majority of JC Higgins bicycles are Murray made, but every now and then one that isn't will appear. I think your bike is early 1960's/ late 1950's. Welcome to the forum, great bike.

 

[abel01]

I believe that the bicycle in the pictures ratina posted is Murray made, whereas it seems some Jc Higgins (as yours does) were made by Huffy. I may have seen other Jc Higgins bicycles made by several other well known makers (Monark and Columbia both produced some JC Higgins, I think). Jc Higgins was not a company that manufactured bicycles from scratch and bought the little pieces, but rather the name for the line of sporting goods at Sears Roebuck and Co. department stores starting sometime in the mid-to-late 1940's. It seems the majority of JC Higgins bicycles are Murray made, but every now and then one that isn't will appear. I think your bike is early 1960's/ late 1950's. Welcome to the forum, great bike.

thank you for the info....you so right about my bike being made by huffy with a higgins badge..I found out the sprocket and white with red stripe rims are huffy made......I appreciate your help....thanks

 

[No cars on mars]

When we went to the Buffalo Bicycles Museum, Carl the owner, said that Elgin was the original in house brand for Sears and was replaced with the brand J C Higgins as a memorial for a Sears worker that died in the Second World War. Sears would put out a bid for bicycles to all the major bicycle companies. Lowest bidder got to make their bikes. That is why some bicycles come with different cranks and parts.
He also said that Hawthorne was the house brand for Montgomery and Ward stores. Same deal, lowest bidder.

 

[RZ94]

look at the rear pointed drop outs.....MURRAY made. The chainring is very common of most Murray single speed coaster brake bikes.....the JC Higgins name was dropped for 1964, accoring to SEARS website.

Here's a similar bike to yours, Murray built, sold by Sears under the Sears name. Based on the Old Roads web site, the serial number makes this a 1964.

Most Huffys and Monarks had chainrings like this one, a late '50's Monark Thunderbird

 

[abel01]

look at the rear pointed drop outs.....MURRAY made. The chainring is very common of most Murray single speed coaster brake bikes.....the JC Higgins name was dropped for 1964, accoring to SEARS website.

Here's a similar bike to yours, Murray built, sold by Sears under the Sears name. Based on the Old Roads web site, the serial number makes this a 1964.

Most Huffys and Monarks had chainrings like this one, a late '50's Monark Thunderbird

WOW...... your bikes are very nice...thanks for the info..now finding the chainguard and tank may be a mission...thank you

 

[Rustinkerer]

Most Huffys and Monarks had chainrings like this one, a late '50's Monark Thunderbird

Huffy bought Monark in 1957. The last "real" Chicago Monark Silver Kings were made before Dec. 31, 1957. Anything after that is essentially the same as a Huffy. The real noticeable difference between the Murray and Huffys of the 60s were Murray's pointy rear dropouts. ~Adam