Cycling museum opening in the Securian Building
Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer
In the late 1800s, the latest craze was the high wheel bicycle, which looked far different than today’s bikes. Its seat was about five feet off the ground, the wheels solid rubber, and it had no brakes or suspension, creating an often “boneshaking” ride, according to early reports.
You’ll be able to see one of these contraptions on display this spring – and on the street every now and then – when the Cycling Museum of Minnesota moves from Bloomington to its new home at the Securian Financial building in downtown St. Paul. The museum, which has one of the largest collection of antique bikes in the state and is owned by the nonprofit Cycling Museum of Minnesota, is expected to open by March with two rotating exhibits and event space. Admission is free.
“We wanted to have more accessible space for our guests to come and check out our bikes and be out in the public view a little bit more,” said co-founder Juston Anderson. “We’re super excited about it. We’ve had some really great hosts that have donated space to us in the past…but we have always been looking for our own brick-and-mortar location.”
The museum is opening with help from the St. Paul Downtown Alliance’s Grow Downtown program, which provides free short-term leases for businesses opening in vacant commercial spaces. Among the bikes that will be on display are various high wheels from the 1880s that have front tires more than 50 inches in diameter, one of the few Monark Silver Kings that wasn’t recycled for aluminum during WWII, and the 1901 Rainmaker that A. A. Hansen built for himself in Minneapolis and used in a 6-day race. Also being dusted off for viewing is one of the earliest mountain bikes known to exist, and the mountain bike that professional biker Jeff Hall from Shakopee used to win a national mountain bike championship race in 1996.
The list of models in the museum’s collection goes on and on, and most have a unique story behind them. They have been displayed in a wide variety of exhibits throughout the Twin Cities including at the Goldstein Museum of Design at the University of Minnesota and the Hennepin History Museum. All museum team members are volunteers so its hours of operation at the new location were still being ironed out as of press time, but visitors can expect it to be open on weekends and perhaps one day during the week. Guided tours will be available by appointment.
“We’re telling stories with them [bikes] and that’s one thing that the museum taught me,” said Anderson. “When I was collecting, it was all about the bike and it [restoration] had to be just perfect. Whenever I acquired a bike, I would research what it came with when it was brand new and then I would source everything right down to the correct reflector. Now, I still restore and preserve bikes but it’s not so much about the artifact, it’s about the story that the bike tells.”
Anderson was an avid biker in his youth and became fascinated with antique models after getting a book about them for his birthday. In adulthood, he realized his childhood dream of owning a high wheel. In 2012, he displayed 22 bikes at an exhibit at the State Fair, which was well received and opened the door for the founding of the museum. The other co-owners are Brent Fuqua and owner of Recovery Bike Shop in Northeast Minneapolis Seth Stattmiller.
In 2014, the Museum received a legacy grant from the State of Minnesota that allowed it to hire a consultant to assist with curation strategies and guide development of its collections care and maintenance plan. Anderson has also received curation assistance from members of the Minnesota Wheelmen, an antique bike club of which he’s a captain. Notably, with the National Wheelmen he has on multiple occasions completed a 100-mile bike ride in one day on a vintage high wheel.
“Once you do a century [100-mile ride] on a high wheel bike, I’m telling you, it changes you,” said Anderson. “You’re a completely changed person. It just changes your outlook on life, because you’re not afraid to tackle anything anymore.”
“I wanted to find a space that’s a destination, and that’s a really great space there [downtown],” he added. “We can have events there, we can have rides that start from there, and there’s some larger spaces for lectures and classes on bike restoration.”
The Museum has five members on its board of directors and is seeking others to join. For more information, visit cmm.bike.
