By 1902 the price of bicycles sold in America had plummeted. The automobile was in its ascendency. The Kenwood bicycles offered by Sears (the Amazon.com of its day) were at the bottom or near the bottom of the range--but after more than one hundred years, with a little tender loving care, each of the bicycles seen here would still be rideable. I received the Gents' model from my friend James Allen of Pedalers Bicycle Museum in Springfield, Missouri over twenty years ago, and the ladies' model came to me this summer, again in Springfield. All good things come to he who waits.
This pair of Kenwoods are all original, save for the recovered saddles and new single tube tires on the ladies' model. It always surprises me that bicycles of this vintage survived the scrap drives of two world wars. I think the answer may be that many people, even fickle Americans, love their bikes.
This pair of Kenwoods are all original, save for the recovered saddles and new single tube tires on the ladies' model. It always surprises me that bicycles of this vintage survived the scrap drives of two world wars. I think the answer may be that many people, even fickle Americans, love their bikes.
1902 Sears Kenwood (Gents' and Ladies') ©Daniel Dahlquist