Introduced just two years after the first balloon tire bikes appeared in the United States the 1935 Sears Elgin Bluebird marked a radical departure in bicycle design. Sold exclusively through Sears the top-of-the-line Bluebird was marketed under the Sears “Elgin” brand which was used for all of their bicycles before WWII. Sears commissioned Juan Raydolphus Morgansky (a.k.a. John Morgan) to design three new bikes (Bluebird, Skylark, and Robin) for Sears which were built by the Westfield Manufacturing Co.

The Bluebird is constructed from a stamped steel fuselage instead of having a standard top tube. This creates an integral ‘tank’ that houses the speedometer, horn, and electrical switches. Sears sold about 4000 of these bikes from 1935 to 1937 and it is estimated that about 100 survive today. The Bluebird sold for a cost of $44.95 which was about a month’s salary for the average worker if you were lucky enough to have a job during the Great Depression. The 1935 to1937 Bluebird is considered one of the most desirable of all prewar balloon tire bicycles. This is a fully restored bicycle in the original French blue and red. Despite its rarity and value this bicycle is ridden. Owner: Shawn Sweeney