Happy are the owners of Fairy Bikes – Velocipedes, Scooters, Tricycles, Coasters – each ride so gracefully, speedily and safely. Only Fairy Bikes are made exactly like you want them and last the way your parents hope they will.
Playtime is always joytime on a Fairy. What fun you can have! Out in the glorious sun, riding here and there in the fresh air, building strong, healthy bodies.
Tell Dad and Mother to get you a Fairy because a Fairy costs no more and is so much stronger and better than ordinary bikes, rides so smoothly and looks so bright and gay.
– Fairy Cycle Advert
The Fairy Sidewalk Bicycle was a popular child’s bike in the twenties. It was marketed extensively both in America and Great Britain. For many folks of a certain age it provided the first means of wheeled propulsion.
Bicycle manufacturers targeted the full-size two wheel bicycle to teenagers while younger children were provided with tricycles and scooters. However, during the 1920s and early 1930s, in a bid to attract younger riders, small two wheel bicycles were developed for children aged five to ten years. They were advertised as ‘sidewalk’ bicycles and, with their small wheels and low construction, were relatively safe. They were marketed in Great Britain by Lines Bros Ltd of London as The Fairycycle.
Lines Bros created the famous ‘Tri-ang’ brand name after WW1. Below you can see the Fairy Cycle advertised on the side of the wooden toy Tri-ang General Omnibus…
1928 Tri-ang FairyCycle Sidewalk Bicycle
LINES BROS LTD
(TRIANGTOIS)
Old Kent Rd, London
1928 LINES BROS GENERAL OMNIBUS No 0
PHOTO LOCATION: Brighton Royal Pavilion, Now (above left) & Then (above right)