Tolstoy's Bicycle Riding - 1896

Tolstoy's bicycle, preserved in a Russian museum

A Cycling Notes entry in Scientific American for April 18, 1896, includes this brief item:

Count Leo Tolstoi, the Russian novelist, now rides the wheel, much to the astonishment of the peasants on his estate.

Apparently Tolstoy took up bicycling at the age of 67. Russia comes up again in a later Cycling Notes entry, for May 9, 1896:

Though Moscow has nearly five thousand wheelmen, only about one-half have permission to ride in the city limits. [?!?!?] Russia asks $12.50 duty on each wheel imported into that country, no matter what the price may be.

Presumably Tolstoy had no problem paying a price that included this fairly high duty.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on Benefits of Cycling, 1896

The usual quote from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Scientific American 1896 is given as:

When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.

But did he have more to say? Yes he did.

The rest of what he had to say:

I have myself ridden the bicycle most during my practice as a physician and during my work in letters. In the morning or the afternoon, before or after work as the mood o'ertakes me, I mount the wheel and am off for a spin of a few miles up or down the road from my country place. I can only speak words of praise for the bicycle, for I believe that its use is commonly beneficial and not at all detrimental to health, except in the matter of beginners who overdo it.

This quote from the physician Conan Doyle was in the spirit of this period to find medical doctors who would endorse the health benefits of cycling, or at least not condemn it. That he was a famous and clever writer was presumably a bonus.


Cycling Notes column in Scientific American issue of January 18, 1896 with full "Dr. Conan Doyle" quote in middle.

Maxim Gun Equipped Bicycles (1896)

Part of an article about a bicycle show in Washington DC - the article is in the Washington D.C. "Morning Times, March 26, 1896 issue.

Another novelty is the duplex wheel [that is, bicycle - with side-by-side seating], with the Maxim rapid-firing gun mounted upon it. It carries two riders, one to propel the machine and the other to work the gun. It is understood that a proposition has been made to the representatives of the Cuban government to equip a regiment of their soldiers with these machines, it being shown that with proper handling they would prove awful and effective engines of destruction.

Unfortunately no illustration of this bicycle was included and I have had no luck finding one elsewhere. The machine-gun equipped bike didn't seem to prosper as a tool of war.

The Woman Cyclist - 1896 Article

Ad for "bicycle suit" for women cyclists, 1896

Text from an article in the Washington DC Morning Times, June 7, 1896.

THE WOMAN CYCLIST.
She Reigns Supreme This Season. Some Timely Suggestions for Her.

The woman cyclist reigns this season. The number of women who have taken to the wheel shows an increase of 75 percent, and the makers of machines for women can scarcely keep pace with their orders.

In the selection of a machine most women who are making their debut as riders this reason need reliable wholesome advice, and if any points of value are secured from this article its purpose will have been fulfilled.

So far as the costume is concerned, knickers are very largely worn in Europe, especially in Paris, but in America they are the exception more than the rule, and therefore this is addressed to ladies who will ride in skirts.

The question of weight in connection with ladies' machines has recently received more attention at the hands of manufacturers than ever before, and the consequence is reliable machines may now be purchased, fitted with brake, mud guards, dress-guard, and gear-case at just about thirty pounds in weight.

In selecting a machine a lady should see that the handle bars and saddle can be so adjusted as to enable her to sit perfectly upright, for nothing looks much worse than to see a lady adopting what is known as the "scorcher" attitude.

Large makers build machines in more than one size, and exceptionally short and exceptionally tall ladies should have machines built higher and lower respectively in the frames than standard patterns.

The pedals should be rubber, and not all steel, the latter with their sharp points being more liable to catch in the rider's dress, pedals to suit the width of foot, can, of course, be selected.

A really first class-machine by a leading firm will cost nearly $lOO, or perhaps a little more, but, of course, very good machines can be purchased for less than that amount.

There are several little things a tider should be particularly careful about, and one of these is the application of the brake. The brakes fitted are usually those which act on the tire, and should consequently not be too suddenly applied, or they will probably tear the tire.

And finally this ~

A lady will find it very convenient to mount from the curb, and will thus be enabled to properly arrange her dress. Sometimes this method of mounting is impossible. A lady will then do well to allow one of the pedals to ascend to its fullest height and descend the merest trifle, and then, placing one foot on the pedal in question, spring into the saddle, the weight of her body on the pedal necessarily causing the machine to go forward. When well going it will only be necessary to slightly raise herself in the saddle, actually standing on the pedals, and the dress will fall as it should. This will be found to be a perfectly easy accomplishment with a little practice.

Full article as PDF is here.

Cross Country Cycle Road - 1896 Plan

Map for a cross country bicycle route

Taken from Washington DC Morning Times, June 7, 1896. Reflects some wishful thinking on the future of cycling in the days before automobile owners (and their allies) took over the lead in advocating for funding a good network of roads. The article's author advocates a connected network of "good roads" rather than more expensive macadamized (asphalt) dedicated "bicycle tracks" or "bicycle paths" for long distance bicycle travel.

Some quotes ~

To establish a bicycle track from coast to coast so that wheelmen can journey from New York to San Francisco as easily if not as rapidly as they now do by train. Such tours have been undertaken and partlv carried out. One man would wheel from Salt Lake Cit to Buffalo. Another, at some time, would start at Chicago and wheel to the Pacific Coast. But they seldom wanted to take the trip twice. It was too tiresome. Roads were too bad. Too many mountain paths had to be climbed, too many prairies tortured through. But I am looking into the matter so as to do away with all this.

What has hampered us more than anything in this cross country project are the wheeling [cycling] enthusiasts. These gentlemen insist upon bicycle paths and so we get nothing. A macadamized bicycle path costs in a rocky locality $15,000 per mile. Now make this same locality and use tho road that is already in it by merely improving it and the cost will not be $3,000. You can make a mile or very bad road into very good road for that sum. That is what I mean by intelligent wheeling legislation.

"Across the country in eighty days will be the wheelman's attraction a few years hence. Now it looks funny, but that is what Jules Verne's idea or "Round the World In Eighty Days" did to people years ago. Now we can belt the sphere in seventy days."

Full text of article available most readably here.

1896 Map of Washington "Bicycle Tours"

PDF of this newspaper page provides the best image quality and ability to zoom in. Given that this image is from microfilm of the original (that is, several times reformatted from the original paper item) the quality is pretty good. Not great, but good.

From the article below the map ~

There has never been a season when there was half as much travel on the flying wheel as there has been, is, and is going to continue to be this season.

and

Not a night passes but some gay party passes out for a run through the country. All routes are being tried and becoming better known, so that even the inexperienced, with the assistance of a map and a little information from a friend can make pleasant and health-giving trips into the open country.

The article goes on to provide descriptions of different possible excursions.



Above, somewhat more detailed view of the Northern Virginia part of the map; below, zooming in further



Already in 1896 bicycle rentals were available ~

Escape from the heat and air of the city for a few hours a day is possible to every person who cares to learn to ride and can get the small amount necessary to hire a wheel - it is of course better to own one, but no longer absolutely necessary.

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.

Wheels of Change - Women Cycling 1890s

Wheels of Change is a brand new book about the liberating influence of bicycles on the lives of American (mostly) women in the 1880s and 1890s.

The bicycle craze swept the nation and allowed women to ride into a new world full of all sorts of freedoms.

Dust jacket blurbs often resort to hyberbole, but this volume really does include "an astonishing number of primary source research gems" that I have been enjoying.



The author, Sue Macy, has her own author site where she uses as part of her web design the picture I have above, so I know we have been looking at some of the same stuff that is out there!

I suppose this is intended for a teenage audience, but I find it excellent.

To be a Russian Wheelwoman . . .

(Scroll down the above image if you wish to see text in original - lower right of page). Under "Wheelwomen in Europe" in the February 1901 issue of L.A.W. Magazine we read ~

In Russia everything is managed "by order of the czar," and cycling is no exception to the rule. Before a woman can possess a wheel she must obtain royal consent, and as this is granted quite sparingly there are but few wheelwomen in Russia.

Can this have really been true???

Self Defense for the Cyclist (1901 article)

Self-Protection on a Cycle is an article in a 1901 issue of Pearson's Magazine, a British magazine. I found reference to it (albeit a bit obscure) in a Russian web site (where some of the illustrations have been posted).



The article covers the following~

How you may Best Defend Yourself when Attacked by Modern Highwaymen, Showing how you should Act when Menaced by Foot-pads, when Chased by another Cyclist, and when Attacked under various other Circumstances ; Showing, also, how the Cycle may be used as a Weapon.

explaining that

Self-protection awheel is an art full of possibilities. The cyclist who is a skilful rider, who possesses pluck and dash, who has mastered the elementary rules of defence on a bicycle, and who is armed with a knowledge of how to use a machine to the best advantage as a weapon, may rest content that he is able to defend himself perfectly when attacked under the majority of likely conditions.

The article then goes into considerable detail, with photographs of the "tactics," on how to achieve the best defensive results.

1982 Sirius Bridgestone

As I mentioned in my preceding post I have bought a frame (+ headset + fork + bottom bracket) on Ebay.


The 1982 Bridgestone Sirius as shown in the 1982 Bridgestone bicycle catalog

I am apparently a terrible librarian - I should have done various research before I bought the thing, but instead am doing most of it after. So far, no particularly surprising (unpleasant or otherwise) discoveries.

The bike is double-butted 4130 Chromoly (CrMo) with Tange lugs and Tange headset. The 23 inch (or 56 cm using today's usual metric) size was listed at 23 pounds, which is fairly good. Made in Japan. . . it is the same "Bridgestone" that makes tires for Toyota etc. It was the top of the line for Bridgestone at that time, but that doesn't really mean too much - they were not yet a very serious builder.

Apparently some time not long after Bridgestone made the Sirius (and other spacey-named bike models) a fellow named Grant Petersen started running the Bridgestone bike division and the Bridgestone road bikes produced under his leadership are considered rather special - "Bridgestone bicycles are something of a cult item now" per Sheldon Brown. However he means ones made after the one I just bought. Still, this is a classic Japanese-built steel road frame and should be very nice to ride.

Research on such things is interesting. Sheldon Brown has an entire separate page on the subject of Bridgestone bikes (again, focusing on 1985 forward) as well as digitized Bridgestone bicycle catalogs from 1985 through the 1990s. These digitized catalogs are quite interesting (well, it depends on what turns you on) to look at, but of course the selection generally via the Internet is completely random depending on someone having them and then decided to digitize them. (Many such catalogs, particularly from 1989 on, are in violation of copyright, but one can assume the relevant company wouldn't care, up to a point. The catalogs before 1989 for the US market that aren't marked with (c) or the word "copyright" with a date are probably in the public domain. Maybe.)

At any rate, a simple Google search on "1982 Bridgestone bicycle catalog" brought up a site where someone has the full 1982 catalog in PDF - I'm not going to link to it since it is slow to load; it is over three megs. Very nice to have that, if only to confirm that what I bought in fact is an '82. There is another article about Bridgestone bikes that gives some further background.



The above beautiful randonneering bike was built up on the same frame I purchased (which is available in two color schemes - this is the less gaudy one). It is from a Flickr group devoted to Bridgestone bikes. The randonneering approach with fenders and so on is not the direction I am planning to go in but it is nice to see someone investing that kind of money into this frame.

The Early "Coaster Brake" (1900)

.

The full page of the 1900 Columbia Bicycle catalog is here.

COASTER BRAKE — This device enables the rider to stop pedaling on down grades, or at any time when a sufficient degree of speed has been attained, the wheel continuing to coast along while the feet are held stationary on the pedals at any convenient position. We have experimented for many months with coaster brakes of various types and designs, and now have the pleasure of announcing that we shall be able to supply a coaster brake which has stood the most exacting tests of hard usage on rough roads and which we know to combine effective operation with great durability. The clutch in the rear hub is simple, positive in action and designed to avoid all wedging of the parts and all hurtful shocks in their engagement. The brake is of the outside type, acting upon the rear tire.

A slight backward motion of the pedal from any position throws back the oscillator seen in the cut and draws the brake spoon against the tire with a force easily graduated and controlled according to the needs of the situation. Upon relieving the backward pressure, the wheel coasts on with entire freedom, or the forward pedaling may be resumed. All of the apparatus except the brake spoon and its connecting rod is contained in the rear hub. It will be furnished to order on any Columbia bicycle for 1900. Price, $5.00.

So, unlike a modern coaster brake, the braking action comes from an external "spoon" that is actuated by a rod that runs from the rear hub to the front of the rear tire. The major advantage here is that the bike coasts when you stop pedaling, such as descending a hill. Previously bikes had "direct drive" and when you stopped pedaling, you didn't coast, you stopped! (Like a modern fixed-gear bike.) But if a typical fixed-gear bike set-up is converted to being able to coast, there is no ability to stop! So a brake was suddenly essential.

A similar "spoon" type brake was also an additional option for the front tire, actuated by a hand lever.

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.