Shelby Bicycle Days — Community Improvement Corporation of Shelby

Experts in Shelby bicycle history will be on-hand at the Shelby Justice Center to answer questions and provide guided tours of the Shelby Bicycle Museum.

Saturday, July 11, 2026, from 10 AM to 6 PM

Shelby Justice Center

Main Midway

Saturday, July 11, 2026, from 11 AM to 11 PM

Food Trucks and Non-Food Vendors

The support of an entire community.

OhioHealth is proud to be the presenting sponsor of Shelby Bicycle Days

Shelby Supreme Sponsor

ArcelorMittal and Shelby Fraternal Order of Eagles #763

The Whippet Sponsor

Adams Albert and Curry Agency, Discovery Dental, Mechanics Bank, Penwell Funeral Home, Ralph Phillips VFW #291, Shelby Mutual Insurance Agency Inc., and The Rotary Club of Shelby

The Lindy Sponsor

Barkdull Funeral Home & Crematory, Civista Bank, Directions Credit Union, Hess Industries, Milliron Auto Parts, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Phillips Tube Group, and Richland Source

Shelby Flying Cloud Sponsor

113 Ace Hardware, Lloyd Rebar, Marvin Memorial Library, Park National Bank, State Farm Insurance Amanda Mobley, The Vault Wine Bar, and Weber’s Bar

Vote now for the 2025 Kiddie King & Queen

Online donation voting ends Sunday, July 6, 2025.

VOTING NOW CLOSED

Contact us.

2025 Festival Contact

Kristen Wasilewski - (419) 545-5229

Lauren Browning - (614) 205-0007

BicycleDays.Shelby@Gmail.com

What are Shelby Bicycle Days

Shelby Bicycle Days is an annual community festival that takes place in the heart of Downtown Shelby. The festival is designed for family fun, while incorporating the history of Shelby Bikes that were once manufactured by the Shelby Cycle Company. The festival has taken place for more than 25 years in Richland County.

Each year a group of Shelby residents, help to plan a festival that includes signature events like the Shelby Bicycle Days Parade, Spokes4Kids Community Challenge and the area's best firework display.

The event takes place annually in early to mid-July in Black Fork Commons.

Shelby Bicycle Days is a project of the Community Improvement Corporation of Shelby.

History of Shelby Cycle Co.

Shelby has a rich history in bicycle production that, through foresight and perseverance, prospered through the Great Depression and World War II. It was a profitable 30-year venture that almost didn’t come to be.

The Shelby Cycle Frame Builders was formed in 1921 by A. D. Meiselbach of Chicago, a pioneer in the industry. Lured by a local supply of seamless tubing and the promise of free factory space, Meiselbach began producing frames and forks in Shelby.

Despite increased capitalization, the company was failing by the summer of 1924. Shareholders abandoned the venture, but factory superintendent Leon A. Smith found work to keep the factory open. By November 1924, Smith and 18 employees began to turn a profit.

In 1925, the company name was changed to Shelby Cycle Company and began assembling complete bikes.

The company displayed their newest creation, The Whippet, at a trade show in Madison Square Garden in January 1927. There they met trans-continental cyclist Clarence Wagner, who agreed to ride a Whippet cross-country later that year. Wagner broke the transcontinental record from Newport Beach to Atlantic City in 20 days, 17 hours.

In the 1930’s, there were several plant expansions. By 1937, Ohio companies made 50 percent of American bicycles; the Shelby Cycle Company was responsible for 1/3 of the output. More than 200,000 bicycles were made by 400 employees working day and night.

World War II and a required industry shutdown in 1942 would impact the mission of the mighty bicycle company. The company made a bold decision in 1941 to build a two-story addition in anticipation of national defense orders. At shutdown, the plant was already doing some war work in addition to manufacturing bicycles.

Through sub-contracts, Shelby Cycle Co. made tank rangefinder telescope tubes, gun shells, and airplane rockets. In 1945, bicycle production resumed. To fill orders more quickly, the most popular models were mass produced.

The company signed contracts with outlets such as Western Auto Stores, Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, and others.

With the retirement of Leon Smith, the decision was made in 1953 to sell the company. The Shelby plant would continue to operate under an agreement with the Cleveland Welding Company, a subsidiary of AMF.

By year’s end, the Shelby plant was closed; operations were moved to Cleveland, then Little Rock, Ark. About 100 local workers were laid off. Within 10 years, the name Shelby was no longer used.

Written by Christina Drain, 2018