‘VIKRAM PENDSE CYCLES’ is a story of fantastic hobby of bicycles. Vikram Pendse has been fascinated with bicycles and motorbikes since childhood. For this reason, he decided to set up a motorcycle repair garage, even after a degree in commerce. This bicycle museum is a symbol of his bicycle passion for the last more than 25 years. This bicycle museum is a private collection of Vikram Pendse which he has displayed in his living three storied bungalow.
Aditi Pendse, daughter of Vikram Pendse, told about the story of journey of Vikram Pendse’s bicycles collection. In 1995, Vikram Pendse got a 1940 paratrooper bicycle of BSA Company. From then on, he started collecting old two-wheeled and three-wheeled bicycles of different types and different companies and their spare parts. For this work he got valuable help from Pandurang Gaikwad. Pandurang Gaikwad is a cyclist himself and has participated in various national and international cycling competitions. ‘It would not have been possible to restore the old bicycles to their former glory without Pandurang Gaikwad’ Aditi said.
While visiting the museum, you can understand Vikram Pendse’s hard work in collecting the old bicycles and its spare parts. We can see more that 150 vintage bicycles, tricycles, pedal cars which were used within more than last 100 years. This collection ranges from children bicycles, tricycles to paratrooper bicycles.
Paratrooper bicycle is a foldable bicycle which was used in world war II. Soldier jumps from aero plane with help of parachute with folded paratrooper bicycle. After reaching on the land, soldier can assemble the bicycle and use it for travelling. In the photo below, we can see a folded paratrooper bicycle on left side and assembled bicycle on right side.
Antique bicycles of companies like Hauffman, Golden Sunbeam, Royal Enfield, Raleigh are displayed in this museum. (I did not know before coming here that Royal Enfield, the world’s leading motorcycle manufacturer, had previously been involved in bicycle production.)
I could also see a wide range of parts and accessories of bicycles such as lamps, locks, dynamos, air pumps, gears, seats etc.
In old days (till around 1960),in India, owners of bicycles had to pay tax for using their bicycle on road and they must use to get a tax badge. That tax badge must had to be displayed on the bicycles. (As like now a days we have number plates for our vehicles). I could also see these tax badges of bicycles. I was not aware of this bicycle tax before coming here.
The museum is organized very well. The display of the bicycles and its parts is awesome. Each cycle has a unique tag which indicates its manufacturing company, country and year of manufacturing. Moreover, Aditi was very enthusiastic to provide the information about the objects in the museum.
On the third floor, Vikram Pendse has replicated an old-fashioned bicycle repair shop. Here he has created a typical old cycle repair shop. And while doing this all small things which we can find in such shops have been considered. This replica really took me to my childhood days, that time I was used to visit bicycle shop to repair my bicycle.
Apart from bicycles, they have also displayed plenty of vintage household items such as wall clocks, radios, weighing scales, fan, gramophones, sewing machines, locks, key chains, mirrors etc. I also liked their collection of vintage kitchen ware like bronze and copper vessels, cups, plates, kerosene oven and stove, buttermilk churner, bottles.
On the ground floor, they have a display of vintage cars and motor cycles (From year 1920 to 1970). And I was surprised to hear that all these cars and motor cycles are still working in good condition.
Vikram Pendse really takes you into the past era by showing this collection. That’s why his museum’s tagline is – ‘Vikram pendse Cycles : A Journey Into The Past’
Museum Timing: 1100am to 07.00pm
(Tuesday closed)
Entry Fees: INR 100/- per person
Photography: Not allowed. I took a special permission for some photos.
Parking facility: No private parking facility. We have to park our vehicle roadside. But we can easily get the parking space outside
Accessibility: Not accessible for wheelchair. This museum is located of floor 2 to floor 4 and we need to use steps. No lift.
