Veeder Cyclometer Advert
Endorsed by the “spirit of the Cycling world!”
These cyclometers measured only wheel rotations, and you had to do the conversion to miles/km on your own.
Why Not Cycle Abroad Yourself? Clarence Stetson, 1898.
“Bloomer Club” Cigar Box Cover
An 1890’s satiric lid for a cigar box, featuring women in the just-barely-acceptable new styles of skirtless knickerbockers (Bloomers) at a swanky social club. Of course, late-Victorian gender mores were still very rigid in many aspects of society, especially in formal settings, so this was an absurd satirical proposition.
The acceptable settings for bloomers (at least for the more progressively-minded - many people still felt scandalized by them in general) were not restricted to when one was bicycling. Sports such as basketball were also becoming more acceptable for women, and nonrestrictive clothing was a “must” in those arenas, as well.
![“That foolish thing of modern use - the velocipede.”
Despite modern depictions, the velocipede [penny-farthing] was not the “true” forerunner of the bicycle, nor the primary cycling apparatus for any length of time.
Cycling of any kind was a sport of the well-to-do, but within that population, the vast majority of cyclers still used the tricycles and quadricycles of the day. Though faster than the tricycle, the penny-farthing was much more dangerous and not able to be ridden with womens’ clothing of the day. Both the risk-averse (such as older men) and the ladies stuck to their older 3 and 4-wheeled machines.
Cycling. The Right Hon. Earl of Albemarle and G. Lacy Hillier, 1896](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxlhfnG1Vw1qmrpnro1_250.jpg)
“That foolish thing of modern use - the velocipede.”
Despite modern depictions, the velocipede [penny-farthing] was not the “true” forerunner of the bicycle, nor the primary cycling apparatus for any length of time.
Cycling of any kind was a sport of the well-to-do, but within that population, the vast majority of cyclers still used the tricycles and quadricycles of the day. Though faster than the tricycle, the penny-farthing was much more dangerous and not able to be ridden with womens’ clothing of the day. Both the risk-averse (such as older men) and the ladies stuck to their older 3 and 4-wheeled machines.
Cycling. The Right Hon. Earl of Albemarle and G. Lacy Hillier, 1896
The Dennis Johnson Wheel
The Dennis Johnson Wheel was the first velocipede to be sold in England. It had no pedals, but had two wheels and was steerable, and was definitely the “in” thing, the summer of 1819. The dandies and Corinthians of the Regency adopted the use of the velocipede, and thanks to that, the public dubbed it the “dandy horse”. However, thanks to a high number of accidents and a high level of wear-and-tear on their fancy boots, the fashion only lasted one year.
After the two-wheeled velocipede craze, more safety-minded people began to turn to tricycles and quadricycle (four-wheeled) machines. In the end, it was the two-wheeled velocipede that was adopted and modified into the basic bicycle that we know today. But between the Dennis Johnson Wheel, and the advent of the “safety bicycle” with the chain and gears that we know today, there were definitely some crazy machines thought up…
Image from Cycling Art, Energy and Locomotion. Robert P. Scott, 1889.
Looks like you guys already know a lot about the ridiculous and bizarre origins of the many parts of the modern bicycle. But they all came together to form a pretty functional machine in the end, n’est pas? Well, at least I find it functional.
Sort of for personal reference, but mostly for you guys, I’ll leave my sources for bicycle history illustrations here. I actually have one of my sources in print, but it’s been digitized (if not as crisp as real-life) by Google, so I can even link to that one. Yay online archives! :3
Online resources for the history of bicycling:
Pleasure-cycling. Henry Clyde, 1895.
The Star-Rider’s Manual. E. H. Corson, 1884.
The Cycle Industry. W. F. Grew, 1921
Hyslop Bicycles and Accessories. Hyslop Bros, Ltd., 1922
Cycling. William Coutts Keppel, 1887.
Dr. Neesen’s Book on Wheeling. Victor Neesen, 1899.
Cycling for Health and Pleasure. Luther H. Porter, 1890.
Cycling Art, Energy and Locomotion. Robert P. Scott, 1889.
Cycling. The Right Hon. Earl of Albemarle and G. Lacy Hillier, 1896
![“That foolish thing of modern use - the velocipede.”
Despite modern depictions, the velocipede [penny-farthing] was not the “true” forerunner of the bicycle, nor the primary cycling apparatus for any length of time.
Cycling of any kind was a sport of the well-to-do, but within that population, the vast majority of cyclers still used the tricycles and quadricycles of the day. Though faster than the tricycle, the penny-farthing was much more dangerous and not able to be ridden with womens’ clothing of the day. Both the risk-averse (such as older men) and the ladies stuck to their older 3 and 4-wheeled machines.
Cycling. The Right Hon. Earl of Albemarle and G. Lacy Hillier, 1896](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxlhfnG1Vw1qmrpnro1_1280.jpg)
