We have driven past the sign on I-75 numerous times and I have always been curious, The Bicycle Museum of America, wonder if it’s worth the stop? Turns out it is totally worth the stop! Honestly, I had anticipated a small building, almost shack like in assembly with minimal paraphernalia. Needless to say my expectations were low. So you can imagine my surprise when we drove into New Bremen, which by the way is an adorable little town, and came upon the Museum which was so not a shack!

As we entered the museum I was blown away by the amount of bikes, everywhere you turned there was a bicycle. Fact, The Bicycle Museum of America has one of the largest private collections of bicycles in the world!! It houses elegant antique bicycles from the 19th century, balloon tire classics of the 1940s and 1950s and even the banana seat high-rise handle bar bikes of the 1960s. And its latest collection on display is Robin Williams’s bicycles.

 

But, what about the kids, did they like it?

The kids were just as mesmerized as us adults. They were fascinated as they journeyed through the museum’s bicycle timeline. Watching the evolution of the bicycle turned out to be a fabulous lesson in history as well; it’s amazing how modifications were made based upon the happenings of the time, including the military.

And while they enjoyed learning about the first bicycle and tricycle the highlights of their tour through the museum were riding the Highwheel and peddling the car in the large room upstairs.

 

Fun fact: Ohio has been home to prominent bicycle manufacturers; Huffy, which remains an important distributor of bicycles today and the other manufactures that are gone but not forgotten, Shelby Bicycles of Shelby, Cleveland Welding, the producers of Roadmaster, and Colson of Elyria.

 

Plan your visit today:

Address: 7 W Monroe St, New Bremen, OH 45869

Phone: 419-629-9249

Website: http://www.bicyclemuseum.com/

Admission: Adults: $3 Seniors: $2 Children: $1

Hours: Summer: weekdays 9am-7pm, Winter: weekdays 9am-5pm, Saturdays 10am-2pm Closed Sundays

 

While you’re in New Bremen be sure to check out the Komminsk Legacy Park and Harmony Park located behind the Museum. The park features an embankment slide, a splash pad, a sun-shade structure by Tork Werks, hillside seating, and a commissioned sculpture.