Western Flyer was an American

private label A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

brand of bicycles, tricycles, scooters, play wagons, and pedal cars and tractors, and roller skates, sold by the former

Western Auto Western Auto Supply Company—known more widely as Western Auto—was a specialty retail chain of stores that supplied automobile parts and accessories. It operated approximately 1200 stores across the United States. It was started in ...

stores. The

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

brand was first used in June 1931, and the brand of bicycles was sold until 1998. Western Auto had other companies manufacture the bicycles.

History

Mail order supplier / auto parts store Western Auto had several companies manufacture bicycles including Shelby, Cleveland Welding,

Huffy The Huffy Corporation is a supplier of bicycles with headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Early history It has its roots in 1887 when George P. Huffman purchased the Davis Sewing Machine Company and in 1890 moved its sewing machine fa ...

, Murray and more. Western Auto advertised dozens of Western Flyer models; features on later models included front brakes, three-speed gears, luggage racks, and chrome springs. The bicycles were sold and advertised through Western Auto stores and advertising brochures.

"Reproduction-style" (Repop) models

Columbia Manufacturing Inc. also made bicycles for Western Auto. In the 1980s through 1991, Columbia made reproduction-style Columbia and Western Flyer models, similar to many and identical to none of the classic bicycle "styles" of the classic period (1930-1950) with runs of 5000 and 10000.

Trademarks

The trademark for "Western Flyer" bicycles was registered by the United States Patent Office in 1931, it was last renewed in 2002, and was cancelled in 2016 (# 71317910).

References

Cycle manufacturers of the United States History of cycling Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1909 {{Cycling-stub