Pittsburgh - Bicycle Heaven

Three Weeks, Three Kids

In the past three weeks, we've been able to visit all three of our children (Naperville, IL; Laurel, MD; Pittsburgh, PA). This week we've been in Pittsburgh. Most of the days were cold and rainy, so it was a good week to check out "Bicycle Heaven", a bicycle shop (repairs, rentals, sales) that has turned into an impromptu and extensive collection of bicycles, bicycle parts, and memorabilia. Calling it a "museum" implies some sort of curation; while some of the bikes have informative notes, many do not. Bicycle Heaven's large collection of period bicycles makes it the go-to bicycle source for Hollywood.

The collection fills two floors (and walls, and ceilings) in a nondescript industrial building in Pittsburgh's Manchester neighborhood. Unfortunately, the pickup truck with snowplow pulled up as we got out of our truck, and was still there when we left, so I couldn't get a nice photo of the exterior.

The oldest bicycle in the collection: everything is made from wood except the metal rims. It is affectionately called the "Boneshaker".

Among the most unusual, rare, and valuable bicycles in the collection, the Bowden Spacelander had a frame and fenders made entirely from fiberglass. The bicycle debuted in 1960, but less than 600 were made. Today they are collectors' items worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Parts Galore! The left photo shows a wall of chain guards (mostly Schwinn, mostly organized by color). The right photo shows a wall of front forks (again, mostly Schwinn and and mostly organized by color). In general, the Bicycle Heaven probably includes almost every Schwinn bicycle model ever made. It also has a large selection of Huffys. European and Asian bikes are few.

Bicycle Heaven's parts collection includes a large number of "Original Factory Color" Schwinn paints.

A baseball bat holder on the rear of a Schwinn "Grey Ghost" Sting-Ray bike.

It's not all serious collecting. This black-light-lit room has a bicycle and hundreds of cranksets painted in phosphorescent paints. A true throwback to the 1960s. (David says I'm making sure this blog is Y2.1K compliant!)

The "tree that ate two bicycles" was found in rural Ohio. Where else but Bicycle Heaven could such an item end up?