James Allen didn’t set out to start a museum. He just wanted a bike for his daughter.

This was 1985, and his daughter had outgrown her kid’s bike. So Allen went to a local swap meet to find a basic used bike, and something else caught his eye: an antique bicycle from 1937. He quickly purchased it — and with that, his addiction was born. Before long, he was traveling to a big swap meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

“I think I bought 27 bikes and had to rent a trailer to bring them all back home,” recalls Allen with a chuckle.

The upshot of Allen’s collection is Pedalers Bicycle Museum, a cyclist’s paradise located in the historic C-Street district of Springfield, Missouri. The museum fills the entire first floor of an 1887 building that used to be a hotel. Allen, a retired telephone repairman, bought the building in 2010 and opened the museum in 2013.

A wooden “bicycle” from 1817. (Steven Spencer)

If you visit the museum, you will notice a few things. First, it’s free (although donations are appreciated). Second, your tour guide will be Allen himself. Tours can last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on how many questions you ask. Third, in addition to bike-themed signs, posters, photos, and beer steins, you will encounter all manner of bicycles, some peculiar-looking, others awe-inspiring. Among the highlights:

  • A wooden, pedal-less draisine from 1817. Named after German inventor Karl von Drais, it’s the forerunner of the modern bicycle.
  • A velocipede from 1869. Constructed of wood and metal, it’s nicknamed a “boneshaker” because if you ride it over brick streets, it feels like your bones are shaking.
  • High-wheel bicycles from the late 1800s. Also known as penny-farthings, these are the old-timey bikes with a huge front wheel and a small rear wheel.
  • A 12-seat bicycle from the 1950s. Crafted in Brooklyn, New York, for an attempt at a Guinness world record, it spans 23.5 feet and weighs 450 pounds.
  • A 1911 bicycle assembled by the Wright brothers (yes, those Wright brothers) that includes a one-of-a-kind 1895 Wright brothers brass nameplate.

A 12-seat bicycle from the 1950s. (Steven Spencer)

When it comes to antique bikes, Allen doesn’t just talk the talk, either. He also pedals the pedals. Which is to say he is also a rider of vintage bikes. In fact, he has logged more than 23,000 miles on his high-wheel bicycle over the years. And in 1999, he and another member of his antique bike club, the Wheelmen, rode some 3,200 miles from San Francisco to Boston on their high-wheel bicycles. Now 74, Allen isn’t as mobile as he once was, but he still enjoys taking his penny-farthing for a spin near his home north of Springfield.

Does he worry about injuring himself?

“No, not really,” says Allen. “I just rode it so much over the years. It’s just like riding a bike.”

Pedalers Bicycle Museum (328 E. Commercial Street, Springfield) is open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment at 417-576-1464. 

Author: Shawn Donnelly is the managing editor of Terrain.

Top image: James Allen with his high-wheel bicycle and other antique bikes outside his Pedalers Bicycle Museum. (Steven Spencer)