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 . . .

Durability & Bicycle Parts

For some years I used "traditional" Shimano SPD pedals and shoe cleats. I did not spend a lot of money on the pedals and had some "interesting" (unpleasant) failures - I never developed a good understanding of how to adjust or maintain them. When I bought a new road bike in 2007 I bought "road" Eggbeater pedals made by Crank Bros as well as a set of mountain bike Eggbeater pedals for my bad weather bike. The later set are now on my Traitor Ruben commuter bike (see below). Three years old and something like 6,000 or so miles on the pedals (not the bike) there was some play in one of them. I had used a small grease gun and lubed the pedals from time to time, but things do wear out.



Each pedal has two "bearings" - one to the inside and one to the outside. For this not terribly expensive pedal, the inboard "bearing" isn't a bearing at all but a plastic bushing (sleeve) that is greased. The outboard bearing is a true cartridge bearing (ball bearings in two rings that keep them under easy control). Seems kind of amazing to me that they lasted this long, particularly since Crank Bros advised rebuilding every year!!!

I ordered a rebuild kit - basically, other than the pedal and the spindle, all the other parts get replaced - new bearings, new seal, new bolt to hold the pedal on to the spindle. The tedious part is cleaning off all the old grease and the plastic bushings didn't want to come out, but eventually all worked out.

Of course the outside of the pedals still look beat up, but then they are - but also pretty indestructable.

Separately I had the rear wheel of my Traitor Ruben rebuilt with DT Swiss spokes - the original spokes started popping after less than 2,000 miles, and when the third one went, I had the wheel rebuilt before the rim was ruined. No more black coated spokes on the rear wheel (which is how it came).

Since the bike has (mechanical) disk brakes front and back, one reason that the rear wheel was stressed was the extra load of braking near the hub with a disk brake that is transmitted out to the rim through the spokes. It would be great to have a disk brake on the front wheel and a cantilever brake on the rear wheel to reduce that stress - it would also be simpler than trying to adjust the rear desk if you have a rack attached to the bike since the rack complicates access to the desk brake.

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.

Washington Post story on growing popularity of cycling in D.C.

"Bicycle program makes District easier place to get around, residents say"

Article is about both the success of Capital Bikeshare and the unexpected (apparently) growth of cycling as a way to get around fashionably in the district.

. . . officials say they are stunned by the immediate popularity of Capital Bikeshare, a network of 1,100 communal red bicycles scattered around the District and Arlington County for residents and tourists.

I have certainly seen more and more people using these cycles, some in the morning in places that indicate they are using as part of their commute.

But generally there is room for improvement . . .

Andy D. Clarke, president of the Washington-based League of American Bicyclists, said the District still has a long way to go to catch up to Boulder, Colo., San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and other West Coast cities that promote bicycling.

But Clarke said the District and New York have moved into the "top tier" for short-term gains in launching cycling-related initiatives.

Very Pretty City Bike

Linus Roadster Sport - looks like a very nice bike for civilized city riding. (Perhaps not what I generally do, but still.)

Photo from Flickr showing a Linus Roadster Sport


I'm a little puzzled by their frame options - either 51 cm or 58 and nothing in between. And at 30 pounds, the small is a tad heavy. Why is the model with a rack the "sport" model? Oh well. On the other hand, the prices most dealers list on the Internet seem quite reasonable for this kind of quality.

Good to see something like this with dual pivot brakes. Stopping is good!

"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.