The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-03-15
EVOLUTION.
Brief History Of the
Bicycle Business.
THE COMING SEASON
1t Should Be the Best Deal
ers Have Ever Seen.

Never was there better outlook fer
a prosperous bicycle season than mis-
year. Improvements in construction.
cut rates and growth in popular interest
IN the sport viii cause more wheels to
be sold than ever before. The vast wave
Of Mckinley prosperity that has struck
the country causing increase Of wages
IN hundreds of manufacturing plants
will make itself felt in the bicycle trade
as in many other branches of industry.
Bicycling first took hold upon the
public over 90 years ago, although the
crude hobby horse" the first ancestor
of all bicycles, was enjoyed by the
&randfathers of the present generation.
Following that the process Of evolution
went on through the successive stages
of go-cart, yelocipede, tricycle., "ordina-
Fy high bicycle, kangaroo" safety :"
down to the perfected wheel Of today.
1t was some time before the public
took an active interest in the sport even
after years of experience had enabled
manufacturers to turn out a fairly de-
Nirable wheel. High pricea prevented
II from coming into general use. Sell
dom was there more than one in fam
lily. In the early years the high frame
mad made the use of the wheel possible
only for boys and acrohats. The dan
EeroIs header precluded the timorous
from using ii.
Cycling first became the sport Of the
people in IS. The manufacturers Of
nigh grade wheels cut their price 10
800. That was looked upon as start
ling reduction But the frame of a wheel
would have to be set with diamonds to
fetch that price today. Nevertheless.
thousands We're sold all over the cOun-
try. The demand was greater than the
supply. The bicycle craze was ON
Many prophets ventured the predic-
ton that the sO-called fad would be as
short lived a. the roller skating of the
latter eighties, But the wise saw clear
~ that skimming over country roads
on bright summer day was d far diff
ferent matter from spending the winter
months gliding over the plank floor of
a banlike rink" This cycling boom
was all the more surprising because It
occurred in the very midst of the hard
times. The manufacture of luXuTies
is usually the first thing to suffer when
the money market is tight And bicT-
Gle although now recognized to be a
necessity, was looked upon as a luxury
Since that year rates have been cut
time and time again The sport, too.
has made rapid strides in popular
favor. A bicycle is within the means
of every purchaser. Few large families
now exist that do not have several
wheels. a family without one renders
itself conspicuous.
At last there came a change in the
bicycle trade that for time unsettled
the business. About two years ago one
of the leading manufacturers startled
the bicycle world by making a big cut
on all his wheels in the very height of
the season. This forced other manu-
facturerS to follow suit. The result was
disastrous to the small manufacturer.
Hundreds had OVerstocked themselves
with cheap wheels that met no sale
when highs grade bicycles could be had
at the same price. These firms went
into insolvency The pessimists again
predicted direful things for the future
of the sport But they reckoned with
out their host
The result has been eminently a case
of the survival of the tittesI. The ir-
responsible dealers We're forced to the
wall. Those still engaged in the manu-
facture of bicycles are almost without
exception firms in which the public
may place confidence. The public has
been the gamer People now get a
high-grade wheel for the same price
they formerly paid for the bargain
counter variety that used to fall to
pieces after a five-mile ride over a
rough road
Last year was a successful year in
spite Of the fact that people haG
thoughts for nothing but war. The
rough rider was the hero rather than
the 'scorcher." But thousands were