1940 Elgin
1940 Elgin girls bike
Elgin made some cool bikes.
Sold through the Sears & Roebuck department stores prior to the second world war, these bikes competed with Schwinn, Monark, and Columbia for the attention of America’s youth.
This girls bike from 1940 is not the most spectacular of the Elgin models (that distinction belongs to the Blue Bird or the Four-Star Deluxe), but it does have some eye-catching features.
The rear rack, a poorly-designed afterthought on a lot of the balloon-tire bikes of this era, is great. It’s sturdy (should be, given the thick steel construction), but it’s also usable since there are slots all over the top deck for tying items down. The handlebar stem is fairly striking with fluting along the sides that match the look of the skirt guard over the back wheel. The torpedo-shaped headlight that is mounted on top of the front fender operates with a couple of D cell batteries and provides just enough light to navigate safely.
Elgin head tube badge
Elgin torpedo lamp
Elgin skirt guard
Neat fluting on the stem
The rich blue and white paint add to the appeal of this Elgin for sure, but the most striking design element has to be the louvered skirt guard. Kinda looks like the grill on dad’s Buick.