Teach me about Hawthornes!

mrm689 · Aug 31, 2016

So I've been cruising around up here in northern New York. A majority of the bikes I'm finding are Hawthorne branded. I find those most frequently and Western Flyers as a second. Now I know the simple answer about them being a Montgomery Ward item. But as far as models go, well my knowledge includes nothing. I've cruised the "see the Hawthornes" thread. But I am hungry to learn it all. I figure I should learn the local culture of barn finds for the area I moved to. So is there any good published resources you guys can recommend?

Tonight I am going to acquire my first two Hawthornes. Typical craigslist finds. I'll be paying $25 for them. They will just be cleaned up and made rideable. Something fun to take out instead of my Schwinns. Can any one point out a model or even hazard a rough guess at a time frame? Is there any easily identifiable style cues I can keep in mind for future hunting?

SSG · Aug 31, 2016

IIRC those are early 1960's built for MW by Snyder.

Fv2 · Sep 1, 2016

Hawthorne as you know were MW badges, some built by Snyder. I'm told others were CWC, but don't know if they were actually using the wards badge then.

I've never heard of any model names, just the Hawthorne badge.

Wildcat · Sep 1, 2016

As with the the old Western Flyers, Hawthornes are a part of American history. Which bike company made the bikes can be determined by the characteristics of the bikes. The manufacturers provided the same bikes to Hawthorne as their own branded models, so they look alike. The Snyder (Rollfast) chain wheels are a dead giveaway. They also narrow down the decade they were built. The shape of the dropouts (where the rear hub bolts up) are also unique to manufacturers, so your bikes are also ID'ed by the Snyder dropouts. Both of those bikes look good, and all there.

mrm689 · Sep 1, 2016

Well I brought them both home. First thing on the agenda is new tires. Existing is 26" x 1.75". I start reading up and find out there is two different tires in that size??? Schwinn had their own size if I understand correctly? So I wonder, will the standard 26" x 1.75" tires I see advertised work? Or should I look for something specific?