What Are the "Holy Grails" of Bikes???

[Tailwinds]

The Eleanors.... The unicorns.... The unobtaniums...
What are they? Are there examples that predate the 20th century? Are there modern examples?
Post pics of those fantastic, flamboyant, unobtainable prewar/ postwar spectacles.


The Twin-Flex is on my short list. I don't know if I'd call it one of the Holy Grails, but I think it qualifies as an Eleanor (maybe my opinion is biased ). But what about its cousins, like the '37 Fleetwood, or Dayton LaFrance? With that top tube that extends all the way out to the absolute rear of the bike, one of the most fluid and visually agreeable designs IMHO, I really hope to find one someday.

There is of course the Bluebird, the accepted benchmark of Holy Grails, but are there other Elgins in that category?

There's got to be a Monark or two, or a Colson?

Schwinns? The Autocycle? Is that rare enough? Maybe not.

How about the Shelby Airflow?

Or the Evinrude... This thing is just INCREDIBLE, and maybe the "ultimate".

But what's this? A Shelby West Wind? I can't even find a photograph of one.

Discuss

 

[scrumblero]

Bowden Spacelander?

 

[Tailwinds]

But does anyone actually want one of those???
I kid, I kid.

 

[scrumblero]

:lol: :lol: they are kinda cool i guess..

for me it would have to be the A&A motobike I had when i was a kid...

 

[socal_jack]

Mine would be a minty Elgin Oriole 37-38, this one has an optional rear hand shifter for extra bonus points.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

I'd say for me the top ten would be:
1937 Elgin Bluebird

1936 Schwinn Jewel Tank AutoCycle

1940 Schwinn Cycletruck

1941 Cyc-Auto with Scott 98cc engine

Bowden spacelander

Any early Harley Davidson bicycle

1897 Punnett Companion one of the most unique 2 person bikes ever.

1938 Davis Flyer Twinflex

1940 Elgin Twin 40

and this 1930's elgin just because it got me hooked on the show.

 

[B607]

I'm a Schwinn guy so I'll say the 1933 B10-E, the very first balloon tire bike. Unfortunately, this one is not mine! Gary

 

[Meeba]

:lol: :lol: they are kinda cool i guess..

for me it would have to be the A&A motobike I had when i was a kid...

THAT'S IT!!! THAT'S IT!!! I have been looking forever for that bike!!! Mine was painted over black so I never knew what it was, but that is the one I have been searching for forever. I miss my "tank" Thank you for unknowingly helping me out

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Here's a link to a Graco motobike, same thing and the guy is pretty reasonable. He also has a Huffy monoshock.

http://tippecanoe.craigslist.org/bik/2115449921.html
http://tippecanoe.craigslist.org/bik/2115451826.html
And whatever this is, he runs south side collectibles in Monticello, In.
http://tippecanoe.craigslist.org/bik/2115472965.html

 

[rydr1]

Any early Harley Davidson bicycle

Did you borrow this picture from Mr. Robert Pierce's fake CL ad. :wink:

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

This bike is AWESOME! if you can't find one, maybe you could create your own 'repop'?

:lol: :lol: they are kinda cool i guess..

for me it would have to be the A&A motobike I had when i was a kid...

 

[Spokeshave]

Anything with the Bendix three speed orange or purple band. This might be as real as the easter bunny or lepricons. Not Big foot because I know he's real.

 

[necessaryevil]

I always obsessed over the Monark 5 bar. Pic borrowed from nostalgic.net

 

[scrumblero]

THAT'S IT!!! THAT'S IT!!! I have been looking forever for that bike!!! Mine was painted over black so I never knew what it was, but that is the one I have been searching for forever. I miss my "tank" Thank you for unknowingly helping me out

your gonna hate me when you go to try and find one... :roll:

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Every bike here :shock: Sadly he's selling all his bikes
http://www.nemusclebikes.com/bicycles.php

 

[CCR]

Heres another rare bird.

 

[Tailwinds]

A Whizzer Cycletruck? Never seen one. That's really cool.

 

[DougC]

I'm a Schwinn guy so I'll say the 1933 B10-E, the very first balloon tire bike. Unfortunately, this one is not mine! Gary

I kinda agree--in that the "ultimate" must have made a mark on history, so to speak.

Coming from the HPV/recumbent side of bikes, for me it is the Versatron Vector. http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/vector/vector.htm

The Vectors were built for Human-Powered-Vehicle racing as a technical exercise, by a company with no experience in the matter, using methods contrary to what pretty much everyone else at the time was doing. And they cleaned house, kicking just about ALL the speed records at the time around 50% higher.

Even though they were made as recently as the early-1980's, it's not known exactly how many Vectors were made, who they were sold to or how many still exist. The records at Versatron were lost over time. The two people running Versatron estimated that less than twenty were sold--about half complete, and half as mostly-completed kits.

Vectors are heavy (~85 lbs!) have 3/4-inch of ground clearance, only have about five degrees of steering lock-to-lock and are only practical for track racing. They're so cramped I'm not even sure I could fit in one.
The last time I heard of one coming up for sale was at least five years ago, and I don't remember what it sold for.

Vectors are no longer competitive for racing now. HPV speed records are much higher, around twice as high--but because if the Scientific American article (published at the time that Vectors were out whooping butt, and long before the internet was common) the Vectors were the first example many enthusiasts saw. And besides that, Vectors just looked plain fast. They looked like how you thought they should.

If there was such a thing as a "classic" HPV, the Vectors would probably be it.
Other HPV's are famous for as long as they hold the record, but the Vectors are still famous. They draw crowds when one appears at an HPV event, even after all these years.
~

 

[Spokeshave]

That's pretty cool.

 

[c.p.odom]

OK; you have shown some incredible bikes but they are production bikes no matter how few still exist.
So I am going down a different path to the handmade custom frames and straight to the "Holy Grail" of custom built English road frames.
The W.B.Hurlow with his initial cut head lugs. Bill (William) only built twelve of these over his lifetime before he passed away last year.
Bill is considered the frame builders, frame builder, the best of the best that ever came out of Europe.
This frame was in my possession for a few weeks while a friend was photographing it for a book.