Japanese Bicycles, 1896

A Japanese bike from 100 years later than the two articles below

Short article about Japanese bicycle industry in 1896, from the Morning Times of Washington DC, September 13, 1896

JAPANESE BICYCLES.
An American Says They Are Not Being Largely Exported.

D. H. Kenaga of Port Townsend, Wash., has received the following letter from a friend in Yokohama, related to the oft repeated Japanese bicycle rumor:

"I have visited the oldest bicycle factory in Japan, and had an interview with the proprietor. He gave me a printed price list of all the cycles he is now putting out. The retail prices varied from forty five to one hundred and ten Yen. He informed me that his factory is unable to supply the demand iu Japan at these rates. At wholesale he could not offer 10 per cent reduction. There is a factory in Tokio which I have not yet heard from, but owing to the large demand for wheels in this country a large number being imported from America and Europe, I believe that the Japanese are not now exporting, and never have exported cycles to America. The great danger on this side is not from the Japanese alone, but from foreigners who may establish factories for the purpose of flooding foreign markets. In a few years the country will be all opened to foreign enterprise. The Japs [sic] have the will and facilities to compete with foreigners, but they lack in enterprise, originality,
and organization. In due time these drawbacks may be corrected, but it will not be for years to come."

In 1897, the Yen was worth about fifty cents to the U.S. dollar according to a Wikipedia article. So these prices were (in theory) about half the U.S. range for bicycles at the time.

Thus it would seem that at this early period of industrial production in Japan there was a concern in the U.S. that inexpensive Japanese bicycles could or would flood the American market. (Presumably that potential flood is what is meant by "oft repeated Japanese bicycle rumor," above in bold.)

Short piece in the magazine "Cycling Life" for bicycle tradesmen, 1896

JAPANESE BICYCLES.

Yokohama, Japan, Oct. 9.—There are at present four bicycle workshops of note in Japan, two in Tokyo, one in Kyoto and one in this city. All were opened some three or four years since. Kajiuo's workshops in Yokohama and Sasaki's in Asabu, Tokyo, being the pioneers. One other big workshop is that of Morita, in Honjo, Tokyo. The output of each shop does not exceed 130 machines, 17 mechanics being employed in one, and only 10 in another. They are not adepts at the work. At present many different kinds of bicycles, are manufactured in the workshops of Tokyo and elsewhere, the price of the machines varying very much. A pneumatic tire machine of the first-class from the Morita factory costs $58.92, a second machine $49.10, but one of special make costs $73.05 The pneumatic tire being difficult to repair, is not in favor with Japanese riders, who prefer substance to fashion. They like the solid tired bicycle, which costs less to keep in repair The latter sell for a first-class machine at $51.50; second class, $46.64; third class, $39 GS and fourth class at $34.39. The high, thin tired machines, though much more in vogue formerly, are not now so popular. Their price is comparatively low, a first-class machine costing $31.15, a second-class one $27 and a third-class one $22. Both the Tokyo shops are patronized by the post office and one is under the patronage of the metropolitan police. Generally speaking, bicycle riding is not so popular in Tokyo as in Yokohama riders of that city being confined to employees of mercantile and banking corporations, head clerks of large shops and school teachers. In Tokyo the home-made machine and foreign makes are closely balanced in point of numbers. With the increase of riders the patronage accorded to Japanese machines is on the increase.

This author does not seem concerned about imports of Japanese bicycles to the U.S. but rather interested in trade heading the other direction. From time to time Cycling Life would report export figures of bicycles to different countries, including Japan, although by today's standards the figures would generally seem modest, Japan was generally in the top half.

Church Leaders & Morality of the Wheel (Bicycle), 1896

Article from the Washington DC Morning Times, August 9, 1896.



The illustration with the article provides the idealized view of the situation - bicycle as means to get to church on Sunday

This full page article looked at "the moral, the physical, and the commercial effects" of the "craze." Firsthand opinions of church leaders were gathered and presented as evidence ~

The clergy men whose views on the moral side of wheeling are given below were selected at random, the only object in view being to secure opinions to secure expressions which would represent the various denominations.

Their opinions are practically in accord, and, as will be seen, form a strong verdict in favor of the bicycle for both men and women, Practically the only point of difference among them is the question of Sunday riding.


REV. GEORGE LUCCOCK, D.D., Metropolitan Presbyterian "As I ride a wheel myself, I naturally approve of the invention, of course it can be used to an immoral end, like everything else. It's greatest abuse, to my mind is using it as a means of desecration of the Sabbath, but this in not the fault of the wheel; it is due to the ungodliness of the riders."

In other words, this minister assumes riding bicycles as a Sunday activity is in competition with church attendance but otherwise fine. He doesn't mention the compensating possibility shown in the illustration of cyclists using their wheels to get to church.

REV. I. J. STAFFORD, of St. Patrick's "I have given the bicycle subject no thought. I, therefore, have nothing to say for the present."

Well, that's clear enough!

REV. THOMAS CHALMERS EASTON, Eastern Presbyterian. "So far as the immodesty of dress is concerned, I believe every gentleman will admit with me that the decollete dress of ladies in the circles of fashion are more suggestive and imprudent than the a la bloomer costume of the wheel."

"I endorse the wheel and regard it as healthful exercise, which can only be made a means to licentiousness where the tendencies are already immoral on the part of its patrons. Unfortunately, I have not a wheel of my own, and no doubt I would be a greater enthusiast for its use if I possessed the 'flying iron steed.'"

A number of the ministers focused on the morality (as they saw it) of women's cycling attire.

REV. W. R. STRICKLEN, pastor Hamline M. E. Church, Ninth and P streets Northwest. "As Washington is the wheelman's paradise, no minister who propose to do his whole duty should be without a bicycle. Mine is as much a facter in my work as my study. By its aid I have gone through a hard season's pastoral work with comfort and delight. I would not part with my faithful companion under any consideration. All hail to the ever increasing army of wheelmen!"

So there you have it - Washington DC, in 1896 a paradise for cyclists!

These are just excerpts from the statements in the full article of ten representatives of different denominations whose opinions were mostly positive - which isn't too surprising since judging by the content of typical articles in the Morning Times at the time it seems to have been trying to attract cycling Washingtonians as readers.

Encouraging Fashionable Cycling Attire (1896)

An article on August 30, 1896 in the Washington DC Morning Times anticipates colder weather with advice on fashionable attire for women riding in the coming winter.


"Winter Bicycle Girl" with her fashionable boots (rather than leggings)

The article starts off in a whimsical tone ~

Bicycle Girl of Winter - She Has Solved the Problem of Wet Weather - Jaunty Cold Day Suit.

The bicycle girl is spinning up the high road of favor and Fortune, on her wheel, leads the way.

When an oracle more dyspeptic than Delphic howled forth the prophecy that the wheel was not the sphere for woman, somebody blundered-but it wasn't the bicycle girl.
She knew she was right, and Dave Crockett himself could not have surpassed her in the art of going ahead.

She is no longer an innovation but a fact, and collectively considered, such a vast and ever-increasing fact that her disapproving sisters, cousins and aunts, who only a little while back flung criticisms at her in the same spirit that boys stone frogs, now find themselves, to their astonishment, figuring as exceptions rather than as a rule. Only a few days ago one of those uncompromising creatures who have a fiendish fancy for adding the world's affairs into figures that nobody can deny, made the announcement that for every woman between fifteen and thirty-five years of age who walk the streets of a city there are two such women who wheel.

At the strictly present time the bicycle girl is spinning all over the country in nondescript skirts that are too long to suit her and too short to satisfy her friends. It is hard work serving two masters, but the fashion-plates are hurrying to the rescue, and the bicycle girl's last trial the uncertainty of what to wear and how to make it will banish with the coming of the fall.

The article continues at length, including an imagined conversation between several young women of the fashion options available, such as the choice between leggings and boots.

Growth of Cycling - 1891-1896

Article in the Washington DC "Morning Times for June 21, 1896, describes the phonomenal growth from less than 1,000 to 30,000 plus in 1896, with a graphical representation of this growth.

There are several places in the city at which the bicyclers meet unconsciously in the great afternoon tours which are usually taken to the north into the lovely suburbs. One or these places is on Capitol Hill, Second street and Pennsylvania avenue southeast. A writer from The Times took the pains the other afternoon to watch the stream or bicyclers as they passed that point, some going down the grade toward the Botanical Gardens, others north toward new Library Building, and all heading for points west and north. He counted the flyers for forty minutes, and found that the average was nine per minute. This, of course, does not mean all day, but in those, at present, delightful hours of the after noon, when the Departments are closed and the prospective tourists have dined well.

and

INCREASE IN SALES. Another measure of the phenomenal increase of sales is had from the records of the dealers. The record of one of these is as follows: In 1892 he sold 12 machines; In 1893, 80; In 1894, 124; In 1895, 200; and 633 so far in the present year. He expects to make a record of 1,500 sold for the whole year 1898. [Well, 1898 was not so good, I expect]

and

The police bicycle squad is doing good work. Although comprised of but three officers and organized less than one month ago, the silent riders have made nearly 100 arrests for reckless riding and other offenses against the bicycle regulations. Scorching- has now become the exception, where heretofore it was the rule. This city, with its smoothly-concreted and splendidly shaded streets and avenues is a paradise for wheelmen and a standing inducement for speedy riding. There are thousands of bicyclists In Washington, and while manly of them are careful and cool headed, there are others who are reckless to a degree bordering on criminality.

Bicycle Messenger 1896

Nice photo of a bike messenger in New York in 1896 from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog.



Item's record with details. This was taken by Alice Austen, a photographer who did the photographs of a woman rider for Bicycling for Ladies also published in 1896.

More about her photography is available at the "Friends of Alice Austen House" site.

The Model Year Conundrum - 1896 and Today

With the new year, one is reminded of the "model year" aspect of bike sales, which isn't (as it turns out) a new thing.

From the September 17, 1896 issue of Cycling Life

DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS STOCK.
Probably the bicycle trade has now outgrown the necessity for a sharp distinction between models of one year and models of the following year. As a stimulant for new business this distinction has played its part, and a considerable part, in creating and holding the public interest in mechanical improvements and in [bicycle] shows.

Perhaps more a plea from the retail sellers' point of view, it would seem, than anything else. Already in September they state that ~

The large surplus of finished and half finished stock which remains on the hands of our manufacturers labeled with the numeral of 1896 brings the question of the best disposal of the same to the forefront and with it the question of price and production for 1897.

My own "good" (carbon fiber with Ultegra components - shown above) bicycle is a "2006 Scattante CFR" (carbon fiber race) that I bought on a "year end clearance sale" in February of 2007 at what seemed like a good price. While there were some (very slight) changes in the design of the 2007 models, I was really more interested in the Ultegra components that were unchanged (since 2005, I believe). I do confess to some level of awareness that my now (apparently) four year old style of road bike is woefully out of keeping with present road bike designs but these days I'm looking more back, at older steel frame designs, than forward.

The Cycling Life writer was vexed by the model year situation ~

To accentuate a new year's model as such, so as to rouse the public's curiosity by loud emphasis on the recent date of its design, was among the adequate means for booming the entire cycle industry in its infancy; it was a resource open to all makers alike and of no more benefit to one than another. . . . . . In order to arrive upon a safe and sound basis for the bicycle industry it seems necessary to surrender all fealty to this idea of a fashion-plate regularity in changes . . . . .

I suspect however that the writer was giving far more credit to the introduction of new models with new features in stimulating demand than was accurate - the bicycle boom of the 1890s was driven by a certain segment of society deciding that they wanted bicycles - and could also afford to buy them. The real problem in 1896-97 was that this market was becoming saturated. Unless the prices dropped considerably many who wanted to own a bicycle, or at least a new one, were probably unable to act on this desire. (The issue of the used bicycle market in those days is a topic for another day.)

As an aside, I am once again amused by the prose style of Cycling Life.

Would You Like a Revolver? Or a Bike? (1896 ad)

At least it gives some context for the prices of bicycles at the time . . .



From the September 17, 1896 issue of Cycling Life.

This ad is a bit puzzling - the magazine Cycling Life was intended for "the bicycle trade" and not bicycle consumers, so the marketing strategy of telling (reminding?) this audience that the very same Iver Johnson that made quality bikes would sell them a reasonably priced high-quality revolver is not clear 100-plus years later.

If nothing else, this gives some sense of the relatively high cost of a bicycle in those days - Iver Johnson bicycles were many times more expensive than a revolver.

The price of the Iver Johnson bicycle for men and women in standard finish for 1897 will be $100; the price of the Fitchburg bicycle for men and women in standard finish will be $75.

Fitchburg was the name of the town where the Iver Johnson factory was and was used as the brand name for the lower cost cycles.

In fact, a revolver was less expensive than a pair of tires (with tire pump) ~

Possesses all the advantages of the highest priced tires on the market, and yet it can be fitted to any bicycle at the moderate price of $7.00 per pair; with pump and repair outfit.

(Ad from the same issue for Web Tread tires.)

Below, from Flickr, a handsome example of a Iver Johnson truss frame bike (and Iver Johnson rifle, apparently).

"Bicycling for Ladies" (Book - 1896)

Bicycling for Ladies available online from HathiTrust.org. Another version (with the cover) from Harvard.

Bicycling for ladies : with hints as to the art of wheeling, advice to beginners, dress, care of the bicycle, mechanics, training, exercise, etc., etc. by Maria E. Ward. Published in 1896.



Includes many illustrations showing how to (and how not to) ride and repair a bike. The illustrations were made from photographs from Alice Austen and are quite interesting themselves, aside from the text.

How to make a turn.



And how not to make one.



How to coast.



This bike is like a modern "fixie" and the pedals keep spinning as you coast - there is no freewheel feature. Although not clearly visible, the bike she is riding does have a hand brake that will apply pressure to the front tire to slow the bike down, since putting one's feet back on the pedals during this coasting activity could be difficult.

Under "Women and Tools" the author states:

I hold that any woman who is able to use a needle or scissors can use other tools equally well. It is a very important matter for a bicyclist to be acquainted with all parts of the bicycle, their uses and adjustment.

The author then provides a fairly detailed set of basic mechanical advice, although she starts with care of the rider, who is the "engine" after all.

Yet Another Alternative Drive System for Bikes (1896)

While the drive system was a bust, he did have a good idea with his spring-suspension.



From Cycling Life, September 10, 1896. Another invention announced that the inventor hopes will supplement the reliable basic chain system.

The bicycle shown herewith is the invention of John W. Mclntire, of Chicago. The principal object of the inventor is to provide a driving mechanism by which greatly increased speed may be obtained. The rear wheel is constructed with an open center and in reality constitutes a circular track upon which the driving friction-wheel of the machine rests and runs. The track-wheel comprises an outer rim of crescent shape, in which is arranged either a solid, cushion or pneumatic tire, and also an inner rim concentric to the outer rim and connected thereto by spokes. The inner rim of the track-wheel is U-shaped in cross section, comprising a flat horizontal bearing surface and a pair of flanges. These flanges receive the ends of the spokes. The rim of the driving-wheel is composed of two metal rings. Each ring is formed with a flange, by means of which the rings are united to form a rim, the flanges being perforated to receive the spokes. The two rims slide and adjust themselves relatively to each other, thus compensating for inequalities in the surface traveled over and keeping the driving-wheel in constant engagement with the track-wheel. In order to guide the track-wheel and hold it against wabbling [sic] a triangular frame is connected to the main frame of the machine. In this frame are two guide-wheels, each provided with oppositely disposed flanges. These wheels run freely against the inner surface of the wheel-rim and support the track wheel against lateral movement. A brace is interposed between the rear end of the upper main horizontal bar of the frame and the rear corner of the supplemental frame. This brace is made in two sections and permits of-contraction [sic] and expansion by means of a spring. The spring serves to cushion the weight of the rider and prevents his weight tuning transferred to the supplemental frame in such manner as to cause the latter to bind against the inner rim.

The complexity of the drive system description suggests immediately the unlikeliness that this is a better solution than a simple chain connected to wheels with teeth to transfer power. On the other hand, Cycling Life had an oligation to the cycle trade to do this sort of publicity.

On the other hand, the spring "to cushion the weight of the rider" was not the main point of this invention (and perhaps not as unusual as it seems to me 100-plus years later) but is a feature in modern bikes.

The "Skate Cycle" for Winter (1896)

A small ad from the December 24 1896 issue of Cycling Life - directed at the cycle business and not end consumers, this company is hoping dealers will sell this innovative approach to getting around in the snow and ice.

I don't think this would work well on snow - the "skate" would sink down and scrape whatever was below. Perhaps more importantly the front wheel spinning must contribute something to keeping the bike upright. And what would the steering be like? Today I rode home after about two inches of snow fell in Washington, about eight miles of snow covered bike trails. It's tiring because of the need to stay balanced as the wheels encounter hardened snow. This looks like it would be much worse.

Bicycle Christmas Ad (1896)

An ad in the December 24 1896 issue of Cycling Life.



I don't understand what this ad is trying to show specifically. Yes, this woman is pleased to have received a bicycle as a gift, but why is it hanging from the ceiling? Is that what it is hanging from? It seems a little odd.

You can see clearly the mesh added to the chain guard and rear fender to keep skirts out of the chain and the rear wheel.

Because Cycling Life is a magazine for "the trade" rather than consumers, it didn't feature too many themed ads of this sort. Below an image of Santa riding a bike taken from a larger ad for E.C. Stearns & Co. of Syracuse.



Full page version of above ad from the December 24, 1896 issue of Cycling Life.

Bicycles Sales in the U.S. South (1896)

A letter to the editor in the December 24 1896 issue of Cycling Life.



The open racism reflected in this "communication" is appalling.

The special want in bicycles for southern states is the subject of the communication given below:

To The Editor— That there is still room at the top in bicycles is particularly true for us in the south, where the color line pevades [sic] everything. If some maker would only make a machine listing at $150 and held at that price so as to keep it strictly at that figure, we, for one firm in the south, would make it our ne plus ultra wheel. Just as the theaters are now empty so far as white people are concerned at all ordinary shows, and crowded even at $2 a seat on special occasions when there will be no people of color in the house, there is every chance that the best classes will soon stop riding bicycles because the negroes are taking to them in great numbers. We claim that the success of the machine which has been sold here considerably higher than a hundred dollars is due to the necessity of providing a mount which the negroes cannot reach financially, and to nothing else.
What we want, however, is a machine of superb finish, distinctive appearance and inflexible price.

Jos. Labadie, Jr., Sec'y,
The Galveston Cycle Co., Inc.
Galveston, Tex., Dec. 16.

$150 for a bicycle was a very high price in those days - the price range I have seen was from somewhere under 50 dollars for lower end models to 100 dollars for top models.

Triangle Frame Bike from Seattle - 1896 Design

So, some Seattlites from the century before the last one had this clever (?) idea. But is it rideable? I do not think I have seen anything quite along these lines, although certain recumbents have the same business of the handlebars coming from the rear.



Really, can a bike with this extreme a head tube angle - it appears to be around 45 degrees - handle properly? One might also wonder about braking, but many bikes were supplied without brakes since this would not be a freehub, so you stop by slowing your peddling.

The construction enables the rider to propel the machine with safety, because no obstructions are presented in advance of the position of the rider and the machine can be readily mounted.

I wonder if the inventors supplied this mangled text or if writers at Cycling Life produced it. It borders on gibberish.

1890s Women Riders Prefer Tires with Tread

Or anyway, a full page ad for VIM bicycle tires in an 1896 issue of Cycling Life suggests that this should be the case.



Cycling Life was a trade magazine and not read by likely purchasers of bicycles (or tires) so further research will be required to determine if this ad would have appeared in a publication read by cyclists (but I would expect it was). The message here is interesting, I think - rather than a concern that the risk of falling would put off potential women riders, the thinking seems to be that women want to ride bikes but they don't want to fall down, so the purchase of these tires can allay that concern. (Other VIM tire ads were directed at men, by the way.)



As tread patterns go, I'm not sure these would be all that much help - but better than nothing.

Bicycle Marketing, 1896 Style

A full-page ad in the Cycling Life issue of August 13, 1896, has a standard description of the advantages of Columbia bicycles along with "extracts taken from letters to the Pope Manufacturing Company." Several of these "extracts" (quotes) surprise me.

Perhaps most of all is the quote, "I have had rare delight from my Columbia bicycle. It is matchless." - so says Sarah Bernhardt! Apparently she was not considered too bohemian to use in this capacity as celebrity endorser.

Sturdiness and low-cost maintenance are clear themes - two separate "extracts" combine the two in similar ways.

"I estimate I have ridden my Columbia bicycle 2,400 miles. It has given no trouble and has not cost me one cent for repairs. My weight is 200 to 205 pounds."— I. N. Knapp, Omaha, Neb.

and

"I have ridden a Columbia for two years with but twenty-five cents for repairs. I weigh 207 pounds." Allen H. Taylor, Cleveland, Ohio.

A bike able to withstand a rider of over 200 pounds was apparently regarded as exceptionally sturdy. One wonders what maintenance could be performed for 25 cents. . .

Tally-Ho Tandem Bike (1896)

An ad in Cycling Life for a tandem bike with a somewhat unusual design by today's standards, anyway.



This rather simple design adds a new triangle with seat behind the seat post for the (now) front rider, with the rear rider somewhat aft of the rear wheel. The distribution of weight to the rear wheel would be severe - could this handle at all well? Presumably this would be unrideable without someone on the front seat. And the wear on the rear wheel's spokes and tire would seem likely to create problems. Particularly unusual is the chain that connects the rear rider's handlebars to the front rider's, so either (or both) can steer.

Another version of this cycle was a step through model for the front (woman) rider, a "courting tandem." The man in the rear could pedal and steer his sweetheart who rides in front. Thus having the rear seat slightly higher was a "feature" since the rear rider could then see over the front rider's head to do steering while seeing where they were going.

Another blog entry describing this type of tandem with more photos and includes a modern-day attempt at one - the modern version was intended to take advantage of possible advantages as a tandem track bike (I think). The rear wheel on the modern version looks like a lot of effort went into being it extremely strong.



Above, a model with a similar approach to the back rider, from a different company. Not sure what the need for a six seater bike was in the 1890s - there were certainly three and four seat pace bikes that racers would draft behind to set records, but six seats?? Without riders the bike weighed 124 pounds . . .

Cycling is good for you (per 1896 article)

Short item in Cycling Life (journal) issue of August 6, 1896.

By turning the lights of physiology on cycling a Russian doctor has come to the conclusion that, next to lying abed, the cycling position is the most restful attitude the human body can assume, having five points of well-distributed support, on each of which the load may be varied at discretion. According to this opinion cycling is a scientific return to the quadruped motion of early man.

Articles in the cycling press (books as well) of this period often referenced the advice of doctors in favor of cycling, but whether this expert being a Russian was thought to add to his credibility or not is hard to know.

"Giant Tricycle for Advertising Purposes" (1896)

Giant Tricycle for Advertising Purposes.
The Boston Woven Hose & Rubber Company exhibit at the L. A. W. meet at Louisville - a gigantic tricycle fitted with Vim tires.



It takes eight men to propel it, and was built complete at the company's factory in Cambridgeport, from plans by John Dewolfe, the mechanical expert of the company. Many attempts have been made in the past to build giant machines, either bicycles or tricycles, but none of them have ever been successful, faulty construction proving the obstacle to the success of all previous similar undertakings. This tricycle has already been used with success at meets near Boston, and has been ridden over the road seme few miles around that city. The extreme height of the machine is about eleven feet, which is the diameter of the larger wheels and tires when inflated; the cross section of the two tires is sixteen inches. These are the natural rubber color. The smaller or guiding wheel has a diameter of six feet with a cross section of nine inches. This tire is of the floxine color, which this company has used to characterize its product this year. The three tires are exactly the same in construction as the regular Vim tire put out by the firm, and has its pebble tread. The machine weighs 1,453 lbs. without the eight men, who weigh approximately 1,120 lbs. more. This makes the whole thing 2,573 lbs. In construction it is analogous to the locomotive, having in reality a double set of gears. The four men on one side are geared to the wheel of that side, and the four men on the other side are geared to the other wheel. It will be ridden through the streets every day during the meet at Louisville by a picked crew of men.

From Cycling Life, available online. August 6, 1896 - page n21 in the online version.

Cycling Life, August 1896 - January 1897 issues

Cycling Life, August 1896 - January 1897 issues



Cycling Life is a weekly periodical intended for "the bicycle trade" published in the 1890s. The issues for a year and a quarter that the Library of Congress holds have been digitized. Published in Chicago, the subtitle was "A Cycle Trade Paper - the Only One."

From the Cycling Life, Dec 3 1896 issue - this is the only full color ad for a bike in these issues - very pretty.


Link to the above page in Cycling Life.


The bound volume that was scanned, above and below.

The Bicycle Chain - 1896

The technological improvements in modern bikes over those of the 1890s are much less than the 120 years would suggest likely. One of the critical "ingredients" for the first "safety bicycles" was the use of a chain to connect the rear wheel to a drive shaft with pedals (rather than pedals at the center of a large front wheel). The basic structure of a bicycle chain has not changed in all that time, but I was surprised to see that there were variations - the 1896 Victor Bicycle catalog (from Overman Wheel Co.) shows a chain where the sprocket teeth are spaced further apart and engage the chain only between every other (rather than every) link.





Commercial catalogs collection. Overman Wheel Co. Victor bicycles. 1896, University of Michigan.
Available online: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015071455961


Perhaps the perceived advantage was that each of the sprocket teeth could be much more substantial, but the trade-off of having half as many teeth makes this seem a wash and somehow the symmetry of the chains we use today seems more efficient (and in any event, that chain won out). Would this approach mean that the pins would bend less? (That may have been a problem in those days.) And maybe the relative cost of chains was more than today so a sturdier chain for the money seemed wise. Hard to know at this distance in time.