Back in 1954 or 1955 our next door neighbours "the Clarksons" Art and Helen for their sons Tommy and Jimmy, acquired some most amazing tricycles. At the time we lived in Byron, a suburb of London Ontario, on Colville Blvd. Mr. Clarkson (Art) owned a Goodyear or B.F. Goodrich (can't recall which) Tire store in downtown London. I suppose somehow Art came across the line of J.E. Donalson Jockey Cycles through his retail store. Since they were not produced after 1948 I have to imagine these bikes were probably slow-movers sales-wise. Somehow, through the magic of Christmas. I received one of these weird vehicles. In fact several of the neighbour kids sported new Jockey Cycles as Art probably cleared his inventory. I recall they were not terribly efficient devices and it was very difficult to achieve any great speed with the gyrations required to keep one moving.
Here's a blurb from a recent eBay ad for $2350 for one of these machines:
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The Donalson Jockey Cycle Antique Tricycle Collector
The Jockey Cycle is a most unusual
tricycle, since it has two large rear wheels and a very small front
wheel. What makes it even more unusual is the way it is powered. Instead
of the usual rotary pedals, the Jockey Cycle has a bar that is pushed
down on with both feet. This turns the rear axle crank which rotates the
rear wheels. Another unusual feature is the saddle/seat to moves up and
down when the wheels turn, giving the rider the feeling of riding a
horse.
The Donalson Jockey Cycle was manufactured in Kansas City in the 1940's for about 4 years from 1944 until 1948 by the J.E. Donalson Manufacturing Company. According to local newspapers in the area, the company's most notable product was the Donalson Jockey Cycle, a tricycle that was ridden like a horse rather than pedaled. The company also made bicycle, tricycles and some airplane parts for the US Military during World War II. There really are no records to know how many Jockey Cycles were manufactured but several web sites estimated about 100. The cycles were sold across the country before the company went out of business.
The Donalson Jockey Cycle was manufactured in Kansas City in the 1940's for about 4 years from 1944 until 1948 by the J.E. Donalson Manufacturing Company. According to local newspapers in the area, the company's most notable product was the Donalson Jockey Cycle, a tricycle that was ridden like a horse rather than pedaled. The company also made bicycle, tricycles and some airplane parts for the US Military during World War II. There really are no records to know how many Jockey Cycles were manufactured but several web sites estimated about 100. The cycles were sold across the country before the company went out of business.
In the Schroeders Toy Book (1997 edition) it books for $8500.00
One day a few of us neighbourhood kids decided to take our Jockey Cycles, "up-and-down-bikes" as we called them up to the top of Reservoir Hill. The road was a paved but very winding, narrow, two-lane thoroughfare that wound up to the water reservoir at an extreme angle. Fortunately, in those days there was not a lot of automobile traffic. Nowadays the road has been "tamed" considerably and carries a lot of traffic.
The "up-and-down-bikes" have no brakes and usually went so slowly that you could stop by simply sitting still and in a stroke or two the bike would stop. That's all good on level ground.
You had to be there to appreciate what happens when this otherwise sedate machine accelerates down a steep grade. Since there was NO BRAKES the speed immediately increased and at the same time the frequency of the undulations of the seat started to become painful. There was no way to keep your bum on that hideously thrusting metal saddle. You could not stand up because the push pedals were also connected to the rear wheels and were cycling up and down with increasing velocity as the whole monstrosity gained even more speed. At age 5 or 6 the ride was simply terrifying. Like the reciprocating linkage of a speeding steam locomotive, the increase in velocity caused the oscillations to become a blur. Steering stability of the small front wheel became an issue as the whole device started into an incredible "speed wobble" all the while bucking me like a wild horse. I don't know how I held on and made it down that hill without upsetting, but I'll tell you... $2350 or even $8500 would not have made me get on that thing EVER again!
Sometimes there's a reason things don't exist any more.
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