Lake Crystal couple collects Massey-Harris bicycles
By Bill Vossler
When Roger Goodrich and Peggy Eisenbraun of Lake Crystal show their bicycles at tractor shows, they enjoy how surprised and amazed people are to see them. They are collectors of Massey-Harris bicycles, and they show them along at shows with their Massey Harris tractor collection.
“Peggy and I had been collecting Massey-Harris tractors for many years, and the bicycles were part of Massey-Harris, so we knew about them. But many other people didn’t know, and some still don’t. One of the first comments visitors make is, ‘I never knew Massey-Harris made bicycles.’ Then they want to know all about them.”
Since 1990, Roger had collected Massey-Harris tractors until their collection burgeoned to more than 150. “I collected them because I grew up with some on the farm. Getting some could be a challenge, but mostly they were available if you kept searching for them.”
Then one day in 2007, Roger asked his mate, Peggy Eisenbraun, about taking on a different challenge: collecting Massey Harris bicycles instead of Massey-Harris tractors. “Thinking about finding Massey-Harris bicycles and collecting them was intriguing and a challenge for both Peggy and me.”
Roger said it wasn’t that difficult a decision. “When you consider the problems and time and effort required to keep the tractors in running shape and transporting them to different shows, it wasn‘t that hard. And we thought it would be easier.”
Although, Peggy added, “Easier means ‘not as heavy and bulky.’ But the bicycles present other difficulties from the tractors: because the bicycles are smaller and lighter, it‘s not easy transporting them. When you’re packing them you have to be careful not to catch fenders, break or bend spokes and keep the lace guards intact. We wrap them up like a newborn baby, which doesn‘t always work. We tie them to the trailer so they don’t bounce around and scratch each other up, using blankets, quilts, Styrofoam padding, whatever we can find so they don’t rub against each other. You just have to be more careful and precise in how you put them in a trailer.”
Roger said they really didn’t realize what they were getting into. “Because Massey-Harris tractors aren’t difficult to find in the U.S., we assumed the bicycles would be available like the tractors. But they’re not; Massey-Harris bicycles are very difficult to find. The first one I found through the internet, and it took two more months to find another one, also on the internet. After that finding any was pretty difficult. But even though they were extremely hard to come by, we decided to keep our eyes open, and continue collecting them.”
But not in the U.S. “Since Massey-Harris was a Canadian company, we attended a Canadian tractor show, and there we found and bought a few more Massey-Harris bicycles. Those early ones cost $2,000 to $3,500, and the amount to buy them kept rising, some tripling. Lucky I sold some of our Massey-Harris tractors at the time, so I had some money to buy the bicycles.”
Despite the cost, Roger said, “It’s fun when we find them, and make connections with people who have become dear friends, who hear about other bikes, and tell us about them. They also give us knowledge about the bicycles, and introduce us to others who know a lot about the bicycles, because otherwise it’s extremely difficult to find information on Massey Harris bicycles.”
The thrill of the chase is one of the joys in collecting Massey-Harris bicycles, Roger said. “Plus, people like to look at them at shows. Everybody gets to see tractors at shows, but nobody around here gets to see Massey-Harris bicycles.”
Shaft-drive Massey-Harris bicycles are the hardest to find. “Though pedaled like any other safety bike, instead of a chain, they used a bevel gear, which is harder to do. They were manufactured to keep women’s skirts from getting caught in the chain and spokes. They’re hard to find because they didn’t make that many of them, because of the cost, performance, and maintenance ultimately the chain drive won out instead of the drive shaft.”
Early Massey-Harris models had wood fenders, Roger said, “Some Massey-Harris bicycles had wood the front and rear, or only the rear. All CCM fenders had a white tail on back of them, because it was a regulation in Canada to warn people that it was a bicycle.
He added, “Any of the 1896 to 1900 have wood fenders that makes the old bikes so pretty and nice. They’re hard to find in good condition because wood can deteriorate if not taken care of.”
Bicycle History
Though bicycles had been in existence since the early 1800’s, due to the invention of the “safety bicycle,” which had two wheels of the same size with pneumatic tires, and a chain drive, which made driving the machines safer. But they were not cheap. In the late 1890s, when the craze was at its height, bicycles cost $85 each, or $3,300 in 2024 dollars.
Although Massey-Harris had been Canada’s leading agricultural machinery manufacturer--and in the world--in 1895 the company decided to diversify onto bicycles. By 1899, Massey Harris joined CCM, Canada Cycle and Motor Company. After that, all Massey-Harris bicycles were labeled “CCM Massey Harris.”
Even during the 1890s, people didn’t want women riding bicycles, because it could “corrupt their innocence,” as one internet site said, and also because their long dresses could get caught in the spokes or chains. But as safety bicycles were safer, women took to bicycles, and manufacturers helped out. One way was to keep women’s long skirts out of the wheel spokes--silk laces. Peggy said, “They put silk lacing over the back wheel and the chain to keep dresses out of the chain and spokes. But silk did not last, and after that regular string was used.”
Other ways included altering the women’s dresses permanently, or just for the time they would be riding the bike.
One of Roger and Peggy’s oldest bicycles is an 1897 Model B. “The 1897 doesn’t have a brake other than a spoon brake on the front wheel. To stop, they had to scrape their feet on the ground. Or later, put an aftermarket brake on.”
Tires haven’t changed much, Roger said. “They are basically the same as today, a tire with a tube inside. Sometimes old bikes had tire and tube as one unit filled with air. In fact, not much in bicycles has changed from the late 1890s to today. The designs are the same, although some new features have been added to today’s bikes, to make them ride a little smoother. Bicycles were generally 26 inches high, like today, but some were 28 inches.
Roger has ridden a few of their Massey-Harris bikes, “But I choose not to, because I don’t want to create a problem with them. They are, after all, more than a hundred years old.”
Collecting Problems
Collecting Massey-Harris bicycles presents two major problems, Roger said. “First is finding tires to replace the ones that have gone bad, and second, finding more information about the bicycles. When were the individual bicycles made, and what is the real purpose why Massey-Harris made a new model every year?”
As far as repairing their bicycles, Roger said he might have to fix the chain or fix tires, and he had to repair a couple of wooden rims, which is difficult work. “But when we get a new Massey-Harris bicycles, they are in driving condition. I like to keep our bicycles original, fixing the rims and cleaning the bicycle. But if they’re in real tough shape, I’m not so interested in those.”
The Massey-Harris bikes used some similar materials like today’s bikes, like handles of leather and rubber, and leather seats, but also some different materials, like, handle grips of ivory.
Roger said from collecting Massey-Harris bicycles they have both learned that they are stubborn, “and won’t give up until we find what we want.”
Peggy added, “You learn how much patience you have, because it’s not like working with a tractor on a flat bed or trailer. You have to have patience in the hunt for the bicycles, and patience to load and unload them. They are much more fragile than a large tractor and you don’t want to destroy what you care for and bought. As we age it’s fun to continue to learn that’s one thing that I found in myself that researching and learning about these old bikes has expanded my mind, and we’ve learned information about the past so we can pass that on to later generations.”
Roger said the value of Massey-Harris bicycles has gone up greatly in the past 10 years. “Most are worth $5,000 or more. If you want a shaft-driven bicycle for example, like two of the 25 bicycles that we have, it will cost $10,000 if it‘s in good condition. I only know of four total.”
The couple enjoys displaying their Massey-Harris bicycles, often with a clip of information attached to the bicycles. They also show a wide variety of Massey-Harris bicycle memorabilia, like pants clips for men, old tire pumps, wrenches, tire gauges, bicycle locks, and other items that are similar to today’s bicycle needs. Peggy said, “The whole thing is our part in preserving history.”
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