Pedalers Bicycle Museum, Springfield
May 2025
The non-profit museum, which opened in 2010, is housed in an 1887 brick building in Springfield’s Commercial Street historic district. Some of the bicycles in the collection are even older than the building, with one of the oldest being an 1817 strider bike, a “walking bicycle” used by surveyors in Germany.
The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation has called it “the best and most complete bicycle museum in Missouri, and one of the best in the country and world.”
A popular item with visitors is the 1911 bicycle built by Orville and Wilbur Wright (of Wright Brothers of aviation fame) after they stopped building aircraft. Another is a replica of the 1890s-era bicycles used by Buffalo Soldiers in the 25th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army Bicycle Corps for a trip between Missoula, Montana, and St. Louis in 1897. There’s even a 23.5-foot-long custom-built bicycle for 12, and at the opposite extreme, a unicycle with one wheel for one person.
The high-wheel or big-wheel bicycles, popular between 1877 and 1892, are among his favorites. These bikes pair one big wheel with one small wheel. The League of American Bicyclists is a national group that encourages restoring and riding antique bicycles. As a member of the state chapter, Allen has pedaled thousands of miles on a high-wheel bicycle, including a 3,270-mile cross-country journey from San Francisco to Boston in 1991.
Bicycles with equal-sized wheels were introduced in the 1890s and are mostly what we ride today. In the early days, the high-wheel bikes were called “ordinaries” and the equal-sized-wheel bikes were called “safeties,” because they were less dangerous to get on and ride than the high ones.
With some 800 bicycles in his collection and many of them in storage, Allen rotates the exhibits to display different pieces. He can spin off a story for every item in the museum, so a tour can last as long as the visitor has interest.
Among the memorabilia, there are photographs, posters, magazines, books, tools, antique beer steins and even bicycle-themed wine bottles.
Pedal on over to the Pedalers Bicycle Museum for a fascinating tour of two-wheelers through history.
Pedalers Bicycle Museum is located at 328 East Commercial Street and is open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday or by appointment or chance. Visitors should call 417-576-1464 to arrange group tours. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.