Figure 1.-- This unidentified American boy looks to be wearing his regular clothes with a modetrn looking bike. Note the unusual collar. It does not have fenders, but does have a ringer. Note the ringed peaked cap on the handle bars. We think this may be a school cap from a toney private school, but could be a bike club cap as well. The studio was Morrill of East Somerville, Massachusetts. The bike was probably a studio prop. Sone studios kept a bike as a prop. The portrait came from a northern Vermont estate sale. The portait is indated, but we would gues was taken in the 1890s.

Americans began to take an interest in bicycles as soon as they appeared after the Civil War. The first bikes we note were European imports. All the early work on bikes was done in Europe. The first bikes were called Penny Fathings, an English term based on the different sizes of the two penny and farthing coins. These were bikes with different sized wheels. We see studio portraits with bikes. We are unsure to what extent these were studio props or if the individuals involved were actually bikers. A strong clue is if the indidividual was wearing biking clothes. The boy on the previous page seems to wearing a bike club outfit. Early bikes were very difficult for children to ride and only safe in the hand of an exoerienced rider. For the most part, only teenagers had the physical skills to master them. Trikes were developed for younger children. The bicycle became a very popular item and we see clubs organizing. These clubs became early advocates for better roads even before automobiles appeared (1880s). Also Americans in the many bike shops that appeared began tinkering with building better bikes. And bike shops began to appear across the country. (One of these shops, the Wright brothers shop, interestingly would lead to the first true airplane.) Safety bikes appeared in the 1890s which opened the way for children's bikes. They were not, however, primarily for children. Middle class men used them for sport. Working-class men if they could afford them, used them to get to work. At first it was mostly wealthy children that had them. By the end of the century we see boys riding bikes in their ordinary clothes rather than bicycle club uniforms. Almost always this was knee pants which by the time not only avoided the problems of long pants geting entagled in the mechaims, but had become the standard type of trousers worn by boys.

The 1860s

Americans began to take an interest in bicycles as soon as they appeared after the Civil War. The first bikes we note were European imports. All the early work on bikes was done in Europe. The first bikes were called Penny Fathings, an English term based on the different sizes of the two penny and farthing coins. These were bikes with different sized wheels. Although not a first associated with bicycle or even transportation, the rubber indistry came into its own in th 1860s. Civil War armies found many uses for rubber as did America's booming industries. [Jackson]

The 1870s

Rhe first bikes had wooden wheels. At the time carts, covered wagons, and stagecoaches drawn by horses all had wooden wheels, some with metal surfaces for treds. Horse-drawn streetcars, also with wooden wheels, were the principal mode of urban transit. The horse was also still a major source of personal transportation. This posed problems as cities continued to grow. Not only were the droopings unsanitary, but it was difficult and expensive for city dwellers to keep horses. Early bikes like velocipedes and boneshakers appeared more as novelty items than actual modes of transit. Bicycle clubs begin to form which organized events and competitions. We begin to see studio portraits with bikes. We are unsure to what extent these were studio props or if the individuals involved were actually bikers. A strong clue is if the indidividual was wearing biking clothes. The boy on the previous page seems to wearing a bike club outfit.

The 1880s

Bicycling exploded in America during the 1880s. It was a partial answer to the horse problem in America's burgenoing cities. There were a mere six factories producing 11,000 bikes (1885). Production rapidly expanded. Bike clubs organized popular events and facilities were constructed. Early bikes were very difficult for children to ride and only safe in the hand of an experienced rider. For the most part, only teenagers had the physical skills to master them. Trikes were developed for younger children. The bicycle became a very popular item and we see clubs organizing. These clubs became early advocates for better roads even before automobiles appeared (1880s). A huge number of industrial and military uses were found for rubber. [Jackson] This only increased with the development of the electricity indutry. Rubber proved to be an ideal insulator. The potential of rubber was in large measured realized by a Scottish inventor, John Boyd Dunlop whose 10-year old son Johine loved to ride his tricycle, but got headaches from the joshling riding over rough roads. The metal tires gave a very jarring ride when Johnie got up a ittle speed. The first practical pneumatic tire was made by Dunlop in 1887 for Johnie. Other inventors had been working on the idea, but it was Dunlop who proved that rubber could withstand rough wear and still retain its resilience. Dunlop produced the first commercial pneumatic tire (1888).

The 1890s

Bicycles had become an important industry in the 1890s and rubber played an important role on it success. . There were 126 factories in the country producing 500,000 bikes (1895), ahuge increased in only 10 years. And shops opened all over the country to maintain the bikes. Americans in the many bike shops that appeared began tinkering with building better bikes. Bike shops began to appear across the country. (One of these shops, the Wright brothers shop, interestingly would lead to the first true airplane.) The rapidly developing bicycle industry was the first major masrket. We are not sure just how rapidly these tires replaced metal tires. We see metal tires being used in the late 1890s. An example here is American boy Joseph C. Ritter in 1897. It is a little difficult to tell if the rubber tires on bikes are solid are pneimatic. Perhaps readers will know how to tell. It was the development of the automobile industry beginning at the turn-of-the- 20th century that created vastly increased demand for rubber needed for pneumatic tires. Thus in the 20th centyry rubber became a critical natural resource. Safety bikes appeared in the 1890s which opened the way for children's bikes. They were not, however, primarily for children. Middle class men used them for sport. Working-class men if they could afford them, used them to get to work. At first it was mostly wealthy children that had them. By the end of the century we see boys riding bikes in their ordinary clothes rather than bicycle club uniforms. Almost always this was knee pants which by the time not only avoided the problems of long pants geting entagled in the mechaims, but had become the standard type of trousers worn by boys.

Sources

Jackson, Joe. The Thief at the End of the World: Rubber, Power, and the Seeds of Empire (Penguin: 2008).

Created: 9:30 PM 8/18/2011
Last updated: 3:47 AM 4/26/2014