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.

Bike Lanes in Perm' (Russia, Siberia . . . )

If one is unhappy with progress for cycling where one lives, it is always possible to cheer oneself up by looking at someone else's situation - say in far-off Perm', in the Urals. (Think Dr. Zhivago.) (OK, I have remembered that Perm' is on the west side of the Urals and therefore not in Siberia, but close enough.)

This Russian-language site has photographs of the city of Perm' - the sixth one down is of a bike lane. In fact, if you click on it, it flips to a different photo of the same bike lane with sign overhead indicated it as such. (Yes, that space about 15 inches wide is supposed to be a bike lane. As I said, I thought I had problems . . . )

The text, in Russian, reads:

Велосипедные дорожки, обозначаемые в прошлом году робкой разметкой на одной улице, возмужали, окрепли и превратились в полноценных участниц дорожного движения. Теперь к разметке добавились дорожные знаки — важный шаг с правовой точки зрения.

and below the photo

Правда, ни одного велосипедиста на улице нет. И припаркованных велосипедов на улице нет.

In English, this would be:

Bike lanes, laid out last year by a faint line, have been strengthened [made more manly, is the word used!] and turned into a full-fledged participant in the road system. Now in addition to the lane line, signs indicating the bike lane have been added - an important step from the legal point of view.

but under the photo, it says

In truth, there is not one cyclist on the street. And no parked bicycles, either.

In other words, they have a way to go there in Perm' with this encouraging of cycling business.

Don't we all. But perhaps not as far as the пермяки (residents of Perm') have to go.

Rider in Accident Near Park Tool School Dies

In a previous post I wrote about driving to a session of the Park Took School in Alexandria (VA) and observing where a car-bike accident had clearly taken place in the previous half hour or so - a beautiful randoneering bike was laying in the middle of the intersection with police everywhere. I now read that unfortunately he has died from his injuries.

The article notes that, According to FABB, this type of crash is very common for accidents involving vehicles and bicycles. Drivers making left turns at green light yields often do not see approaching riders or misjudge the bike's speed.

At age 16, I hit a car making a left turn in front of me on Connecticut Avenue in DC and rolled over the car, ending up sitting on the asphalt of the other side of the car wondering where my bike had gone (the bike stayed on the side where I hit the car - I had a concussion). Didn't ride again for years.

Certainly sad to read that this cyclist passed away.

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 . . .