Milledgeville man restores big bike for ‘American Pickers’

MILLEDGEVILLE – When the guys from “American Pickers” needed help fixing up a high-wheel bicycle from the late 1800s, they took a turn off state Route 40.

“It needed a new handle grip,” Allen Polhill, 84, said Thursday as he walked past shelves of parts for lawn mowers and other items, and down a row of narrow stairs into a repair shop at Polhill’s Inc., 448 N. Main Ave.

Among the tools and parts sat the restored bike in all its historical glory – complete with a 54-inch-high front wheel, restored brakes, and other repairs performed by the lawn mower shop’s owner. The bike was featured in the Nov. 28 episode of “American Pickers” on The History Channel.

Stars Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz found the bike in Ohio, and brought it to Polhill in August for repairs. Allen, the son of store founder Ray Polhill, is no stranger to the Pickers.

“I sold them some safety bikes before that,” Polhill said, laughing, as he discussed how he met the TV stars. “They had two big white vans, two cars, and a motorhome.”

Polhill has collected antiques most of his life – some of which were purchased by the Pickers.

“They bought a couple of bikes, a couple signs, and a rear axle for a 3-wheel Harley-Davidson bicycle used to peddle papers,” Polhill said.

For last week’s show, Polhill was able to show off his own high-wheel bike.

“I went home and got my bike, which is exactly the same as the one Mike Wolfe had,” Polhill said. “We rode around the corner and the alley.”

From Polhill’s research, the bikes appear to have been made by Overman Wheel Co. in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. He examined the one the Pickers brought to him and said, “It was probably 1886; the last patent date is 1885.”

Such bikes cost a month’s salary, or about $150, back in their heyday, Polhill added.

Part of Polhill’s interest in old bikes is his membership in Wheelmen, a nationwide group of antique bicyclists.

“We made 15 of these bikes, replicas, in the early 1970s,” Polhill recalled. “A lot of the local kids rode with us in parades. We had five [local] families who joined the Wheelmen.”

The Pickers sent Allen a DVD of the episode he appeared in, but he’s not done with them yet.

“Danielle [Colby, another member of the Pickers] and a film crew are to come and get the bike,” Polhill said.