The Washington times., 1902-03-17
FIRST BICYCLE MADE
IN CAPITAL City
Built in 1889 by Mr.. w. K.
Stevens for His Wife.
ALWAYS RIDDEN AFTER DARK
well-Known Patent Attorney Outlines
History of the Wheel in This Country.
Was Always interested in Practical
Mechanics.

The first bicycle ever made for q lady
in Washington, and possibly the first In
the country. was built in 1883. by Mr.. w.
x. Stevens. of this city. for his wife. IL
was ridden by Mrs. Stevens after dark.
on such asphalt pavements as then ex-
listed on Capitol Hill. but the invention
went no further at that time. The idea Of
woman riding a wheel was one not
seriously entertained twenty years ago.
Mr.. Stevens, although by profession
patent lawyer. has always taken a great
interest In practical mechanics. and par
ticularly in the bicycle. AS far back as
1858 he was experimenting with the veloci-
pede. as it was then called. In conversa-
tion with a Times reporter he outlined
practically the whole history Of the BIZ
cycle in this country.
What were the old velocipedes like?"
enquired the reporter. whose own reco,-
lection took in only the miniature tri-
cycles that were once sold under that
name for the use Of small boys and girls.
Very much the same in general shape
as the present bicycle" said Mr.. Stevens
II built velocipede in 1858 which was
almost exactly like the present wheel.
but the frame was wooden instead of iron
and Of course 1t didn't have a rubber tire.
II weighed. should say, thirty-hve
pounds. The old velocipede wheel was
simply wagon wheel. Then they got to
using solid rubber tires. and finally it
came TO the pneumatic tire. They also
experimental with the steel spokes until
the weight was perfectly distributed
"0ue important defect Of the velocipede
was that 1t could not be made to travel
up hill. The weight of the rider came
entirely on the forward wheel With pres
ent bicycles the. riders weight can be uti-
lized as motive force"
What was the arst lady's bicycle
like" was the next question.
Almost exactly like the modern safety
bicycle ridden by women. l ought to
know. fer / built 1t in 1883. for Mrs.
Stevens. She demurred very much about
riding it. for such a thing as woman
riding a bicycle was never thought of.
used to take her out after dark. on such
asphalt pavements as there were where
We lived. on Capitol Hill-there weren't
maryland 1 taught her to ride. l sup
pose that was the first wheel ridden by
woman in this country. l am sure it was
the first in Washington
How was it built?''
'It was OF wood, but with that excep-
tion it was. as have said, very much like
the modern machine. It had drop
frame which was even lower than the
present safety wheel-it came down to
within five inches of the ground-and
there was a regular step. like a carriage
step. by which to mount. You see my
object was to buid wheel which woman
could mount as easily as she could step
into a carriage"
Didn't you patent it?" Mr.. Stevens was
asked.
mo it couldn't be patented. / talked
the matter over with the Commissioner OF
Patents. and found that the principle on
which it was built was so nearly covered
by the tricycle. patent that nothing could
be done. The tricycle. was in common
use then, and the motive power of my ma
chine was exactly like that of the tricycle.
except for the fact that it ran on two
wheels instead of three
Il once manufactured yeIocipedes
There is a curious story connected with
that. | made three sizes of hobby horses
for children. with a velocipede inside the
principle being the same as that of the
tricycle.. The thing was SO arranged that
the legs Of the horse would move as the
wheels moved and it looked as ii the ami
NAL were really trotting. I found out
that only the small sizes were in demand
The little fellows liked them, but as soon
as the boy got to be any size at all he
wanted regular velocipede. In fact. the
children that were hardly big enough to
work them were the only ones. finally.
who cared for them. The older orss got
the idea into their heads that they we're
only fit for little boys. and that settled
it,, laughed Mr.. Stevens.
Children" he continued, are corserva-
tives. 1t doesn't do to attack their
prejudices. The parents liked those hobby
horses very much. but the children
wouldn't have anything to do with them.
The boys wanted the same things they
saw the men have"
when did the bicycle come into COM
mon use in Washington was TIE next
question propounded.
Il don't know exactly replied Mr..
Stevens Il have only been here twenty
years. But it was not used until the
asphalt pavements were common. As far
back as 1868, when the veiocipede craze
existed. there were no roads to speak OF
here that would have been fit for such
an experiment"