I know Sears sold various brands of their own but what were they all? Also I am wondering about bike model names, because, for example, a J. C. Higgins Flightliner looks like a Sears Spaceliner.
Thanks
Thanks
Some info on Sears brands for UK members please
- Thread starter stephen
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well this is the Sears 70s "Glider"
not stock colour mind you :mrgreen:
FW
not stock colour mind you :mrgreen:
FW
stephen said:I know Sears sold various brands of their own but what were they all? Also I am wondering about bike model names, because, for example, a J. C. Higgins Flightliner looks like a Sears Spaceliner.
Thanks
I'm no expert but here's what I think I know :lol: . JC Higgins was a brand sold by sears. I read somewhere that JC Higgins was an accountant or something for Sears and they liked his signature so they used it on bikes they sold for a period of time.
As for the bikes that look like the Spaceliners... I think Sears had the bike designed for them by some famous artist/designer. It was manufactured by Murray who retained the rights to make the same frame for other bike sellers as well.
I think Elgin bikes were also a Sears brand or at least sold by Sears.
Sears sold bikes branded as "Free Spirit" that had some nice components and lugged frames. They looked English. I know at the begining of the "English Lightweights" craze, Sears sold red, green and black ones that were pretty nice. Other than that they (as locojoe said) JC Higgins and I have read that same thing about the name coming from and exec's signature. Also sold Huffy bikes that were branded as "Sears" later and then just Huffy.
As for the Spaceliner, it harkens back to that there are tons of examples of the same or practically the same bikes being sold at department stores. All of these bikes that look the same and came from JC Penny, Montgomery Wards (from the 60's on), Sears, Western Flyer, etc, were all the same. All part of the "BMA /6" - Bicycle Manufacturers Association / 6 companies comprised it and bikes after 69 or 70 had the decal on the seat tube of the frame.
AMF (American Manufacturing and Foundry), Western Flyer (sold in Western Auto Stores), Murray, Huffy and two others made up the 6 and all of the bies are very similar if not identical. Others might have been or were Free Spirit and Ward's. These bikes were re-badged as a bunch of other hardware/auto store brands and one-offs sold at reigonal chains. It makes for fun, kwirky finds in the midwest anyway. I saw a bike that was exactly like a Western Flyer cruiser at a swap and shop that was called a "Gentlemen's Continental" or something. It was quite smarmy and cool.
As for the Spaceliner, it harkens back to that there are tons of examples of the same or practically the same bikes being sold at department stores. All of these bikes that look the same and came from JC Penny, Montgomery Wards (from the 60's on), Sears, Western Flyer, etc, were all the same. All part of the "BMA /6" - Bicycle Manufacturers Association / 6 companies comprised it and bikes after 69 or 70 had the decal on the seat tube of the frame.
AMF (American Manufacturing and Foundry), Western Flyer (sold in Western Auto Stores), Murray, Huffy and two others made up the 6 and all of the bies are very similar if not identical. Others might have been or were Free Spirit and Ward's. These bikes were re-badged as a bunch of other hardware/auto store brands and one-offs sold at reigonal chains. It makes for fun, kwirky finds in the midwest anyway. I saw a bike that was exactly like a Western Flyer cruiser at a swap and shop that was called a "Gentlemen's Continental" or something. It was quite smarmy and cool.
I was thinking, I would like to ask admin Rat Rod: could you compile this info into a 'fact sheet' and post it as a 'sticky' it would be nice to be able to find the info at any time? Or even just 'sticky' this thread as it is?
Elgin brand was used by Sears before WWII.
JC Higgins brand was used after WWII till the beginning of the 60's era, than Sears sold their bikes with their own name Sears Flightliner, Spaceliner, Screamer or Spyder, etc.
There bikes were manufactured by the Westfield (Columbia) and Murray.
I read that in the 30's era 25% of all bicycles sold in America were sold through Sears
Unfortunately, I can't find the name of Elgin bicycles designers, who made more for bicycle design (with many others) than Schwinn despite all the books glorifying Ignaz brand (and I am a Schwinn addict).
I found those information on Sears website :
"J.C. Higgins: 1908-1964
Many people ask if there was a real "J.C. Higgins" who worked for Sears. There certainly was. John Higgins began working for Sears in 1898 as the manager of the headquarters' office bookkeepers and retired as company comptroller in 1930.
"John Higgins" the employee became "J.C. Higgins" the brand name during a discussion in 1908 among Sears' executives of possible names for a new line of sporting goods. At this point, the story gets a bit murky, but Higgins' name was suggested and John Higgins consented to Sears use his name. Since he did not have a middle initial, Sears added the "C."
In 1908, the Western Sporting Goods Company in Chicago began putting J.C. Higgins on baseballs and baseball gloves sold in Sears catalogs. By 1910, the J.C. Higgins trademark was extended to cover footballs and basketballs. Later, the popularity of the Higgins brand—combined with the wider participation of American youth in sports—led Sears to place tennis equipment, soccer balls, volleyballs, boxing equipment and baseball uniforms in the J.C. Higgins line.
By the 1940s, J.C. Higgins represented all Sears fishing, boating and camping equipment. After the Second World War, Sears consolidated all sporting goods under the J.C. Higgins brand name and added it to a line of luggage.
The J.C. Higgins brand disappeared shortly after Sears introduced the Ted Williams brand of sporting and recreation goods in 1961."
JC Higgins brand was used after WWII till the beginning of the 60's era, than Sears sold their bikes with their own name Sears Flightliner, Spaceliner, Screamer or Spyder, etc.
There bikes were manufactured by the Westfield (Columbia) and Murray.
I read that in the 30's era 25% of all bicycles sold in America were sold through Sears
Unfortunately, I can't find the name of Elgin bicycles designers, who made more for bicycle design (with many others) than Schwinn despite all the books glorifying Ignaz brand (and I am a Schwinn addict).
I found those information on Sears website :
"J.C. Higgins: 1908-1964
Many people ask if there was a real "J.C. Higgins" who worked for Sears. There certainly was. John Higgins began working for Sears in 1898 as the manager of the headquarters' office bookkeepers and retired as company comptroller in 1930.
"John Higgins" the employee became "J.C. Higgins" the brand name during a discussion in 1908 among Sears' executives of possible names for a new line of sporting goods. At this point, the story gets a bit murky, but Higgins' name was suggested and John Higgins consented to Sears use his name. Since he did not have a middle initial, Sears added the "C."
In 1908, the Western Sporting Goods Company in Chicago began putting J.C. Higgins on baseballs and baseball gloves sold in Sears catalogs. By 1910, the J.C. Higgins trademark was extended to cover footballs and basketballs. Later, the popularity of the Higgins brand—combined with the wider participation of American youth in sports—led Sears to place tennis equipment, soccer balls, volleyballs, boxing equipment and baseball uniforms in the J.C. Higgins line.
By the 1940s, J.C. Higgins represented all Sears fishing, boating and camping equipment. After the Second World War, Sears consolidated all sporting goods under the J.C. Higgins brand name and added it to a line of luggage.
The J.C. Higgins brand disappeared shortly after Sears introduced the Ted Williams brand of sporting and recreation goods in 1961."
zaz said:
Elgin, Evans Colson (the cycle division of Packard Automotbile), Shelby, Cleveland Welding, Mead and a great deal of the bikes until the late 30's are insane, the ammount of engineering, creativity and worksmanship that went into those bikes is incredible.
skoda said:
Wasn't Ross part of that group too? I seem to recall Ross bikes having the BMA-6 stickers on the seat tube. And Ross' parent company was Chain Bike Corp., right? In my limited experience, I've seen a few department-store brands that look like rebadged Ross bikes... Coast-to-Coast comes to mind, I've seen a few Apollos with the Coast-to-Coast name on them. And I have a girls' banana seat musclebike with a Starflite headbadge that I believe is a Ross product. It says Polo Bike on the guard, and I swear that back in the day I saw Ross bikes with the same name in the same style and graphic on the guard... also, there's a guy on the Schwinn board that has a Marlin musclebike that looks for all the world like a Ross Barracuda. Wonder if Ross ever made anything for Sears...
--rick
hey ..i'm the guy that had the marlin.......it was a starjet made by chain bike co.....the guy that bought it said the front hub was stamped ross.the fish in the guard was same as the ross barracuda.............ParkRNDL said:
oh yeah, that's right... the email you posted was the mandysbus one. man, that is a SWEET bike. so you sold it? wish i had the $$$ and the room...
--rick
--rick
While I don't have the expertise, I can tell you one of the Sears bikes was a Free Spirit Britanny. I have one I picked up at a church rummage sale for $10... I put new tires and it rides really well. I am taking it a part right now to polish out all the rust and to Rat Rod it a bit, replacing all black rubber parts with white (i.e. seat, grips, tires, cables). I pictures of the bike in sections but forgot to take a picture of the bike was a whole before taking it apart....duh. Hey I am new to this... :mrgreen:
I just remembered, in addition to the tires, I had to replace the cottered cranks, the pedal threads were stripped on both sides...
Here are a few of the before pictures:
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Here are a few of the before pictures:
