Bicycle Heaven
World’s Largest Bike Shop & Museum
Bicycle Heaven is just a bike shop somewhere in Pittsburgh, PA, that makes grandiose claims of being the world’s largest bike shop and museum. Frankly, I had my doubts. In fact, my 9th Grade English Teacher and I only stopped by because we were ahead of schedule and needed to kill some time on our Pittsburgh mission. So, our expectations for finding something interesting were very low. Its just a bike shop. Well, sometimes low expectations are a good thing. And yes, Bicycle Heaven blew the doors off our expectations.
Inventory Out the A…
OK, I realize that it sounds odd to say that their inventory was impressive. But…their inventory was IMPRESSIVE. This is not something that my pictures can do justice to. So, you will have to trust me when I say that you could buy any part for any bike ever made in the last 100 years. The crap was endless. They must have the most amazing system of cataloging and locating this stuff.
For us old folks, you will find yourself being reminded of childhood concepts like the “sissy bar” and the “banana seat.” I saw the old Schwinn 5 speed that I had back in the day. The place is nostalgic. The place is wild. But, most importantly, the bikes and parts are endless. So, I will stop with my endless inventory theme at this point. If you do not believe me by now, you never will.
Old, Unique, Custom and Expensive
The endless bikes and parts are the bike shop side of this business. But, its a museum too. They have old, unique, custom and very expensive bikes for your viewing and/or purchase. So, in the category of old, I give you a 1890s wooden wheel bike. And, as for unique, how about the Evel Knievel custom bike.
If you like custom features, how about a stereo in a classic Schwinn bike. They were available for cassettes, as well as 8 track tapes…for those of you that know what that is. But, the most shocking bike for me was their collection of Bowden bikes. I was not interested enough to dig into this history of these bikes. But, suffice it to say, these collectors’ items were manufactured around 1960 and the price tag for each of them was somewhere in the neighborhood of $50K. Sorry, I think I would rather have a new car.
So…you want more?
So, if you are still unconvinced of the merits of this place, here is some random weird things and celebrity bikes. The first picture below is an Airstream beer cooler to pull behind your bike. Who wouldn’t want that? Also, the second picture is their very impressive collection of Pittsburgh sports legend, bobble heads…
So, I saved the best for last. My two favorite bikes from the entire warehouse. These are truly magnificent examples of celebrity bikes. I give your the 4 seat bike used by the Monkees (famous pop band of 1960-70s) on their TV show. And, if that’s not enough…for my grand finale…Pee Wee Herman’s bike…mic drop
Wrap It Up
Vast…endless…rare…odd…expensive…this place is all things for the bicycle enthusiast. And, if I forgot to tell you…its all FREE. I am sure they welcome you in hopes that you are the rare collector to purchase a $50K Bowden classic. Anyway, this place is worth a visit. My 9th Grade English Teacher and I were very surprised by this very enjoyable, impromptu blog stop at Bicycle Heaven. Have a wonderful day. PT
I hope you have enjoyed “Bike Heaven” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks
Here was another place with an endless inventory of their passion… https://travelingwithpt.com/for-the-love-of-trapping/
If you need to plan your visit.. https://www.bicycleheaven.org/
