The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-04-09
BIKES" ALL THE GO.
1904 Is to Be a Popular Season
for Bicycles.
Regarded Now as a Necessity and
Not a Luxury.

The prevailing impression with the
general public that the bicycle is a
thing of the past is erroneous. to say
the least. 1t is very evident that the
bicycle fad" has passed. It must also
be admitted that with it's exit the
bicycle business suffered temporary
backset, from which it may take sew
eral years to fully recover. But that
the bicycle will ever remain as con-
veyance Of general utility Is estab-
lished beyond a doubt.
Last year the business probably
reached the low water mark, yet the
total receipts Of the bicycle trust ag-
gregated in round numbers $25, 000,-
900. The general outlook for the
coming season is such as to warrant
a conservative estimate of an increase
Of $10,000,O0O. Taking the local sit
uation as barometer for the business
of the entire United States it would
indicate that this estimate is most con-
sentative.
In Minneapolis the prospects never
were brighter than they are this
spring. The local dealers have not
been as enthusiastic over the outlook
in the last four or five years as, they
are this season, and they have reasons
to be. In the first place, the manu-
facturers have discontinued the pro-
duction of freak models, feather
weights and lightning-speed wheels,
and have settled down to the manu-
facture of a serviceable, easy riding,
| business machine. This has been an
| important factor in reviving the bust
ness on a more substantial basis than
| ever before. There has already been
many orders placed with local dealers
| for high-grade wheels by people who
| discarded bicycling four or five years
ago, as they thought, for good. But
since the boomers, short skirts and
| hi frao of
men and women have disappeared the
practical features of the bicycle have
I become more emphatic. The bicycle
| has come to stay, and is recognized
as standard article the same as a
sewing machine or watch.
| There is no City in the country so
| favorably adapted to the use of the
bicycle as a general means of per-
sonal conveyance as Minneapolis. The
/ city now has almost fifty-fiVe miles of
bicycle paths, and Chief Conroy has
issued orders to the police department
to keep a sharp lookout for teamsters
and others that in any way damage
them The city now has in the path
fund surplus of s1,171 left over from
last years receipts, which will be used
exclusively for repairing these paths
The Minneapolis Cycle Trade associa-
ton has received assurances that work
will be started on the paths as soon as
II lIle Weather Will pei IllS VI IAiSiA pSI
4 manent Improvement.
This matter within itself is encour-
aging compared with conditions at
the beginning of last season. Last
spring they were confronted with a
deficit from the previous year of over
$4,000 and the city officials positively
4 refused to spend a. dollar in improv-
! ing the paths, until this deficit was
+ made good from the sale Of bicycle
tags.
The records show that during 100:
] there were 1923 tags sold at so cent:
each, making the total receipt:
$9,711.50. Of this amount, $2,224.2s
went to cancel the red ink balance OF
. the citys books; $3,975.44 was ex
: pended in repairing the 51.4s miles o
a old paths, and $2,340.78 was used IL
= building S.56 miles of new paths. II
q summing UP the outlook an enthusi
O asst who is perfectly familiar witt
o the situation locally said:
5 TT is safe to say that this seasol
will finish with a handsome surplu
IS in the path fund. While the city ha
s ordered only $4,000 tags thus fan
d this does not imply that this is al
b that will be necessary. There vii
1t be nearly twice that many tags pur
chased by bicyclists before the sea
son closes
A dealer who overheard the state
ment vouched for the conservative
;. ness, and added:
.I never saw the prospects brighte
for big bicycle business In my. life
IS The price of good wheels has no'
h gotten down within the reach OF ever
4. one and the convenience and savin
l. in both time and money, to say moth
e ling of benefits derived from the out
IL door exercise, has begun to appes
= to the people.
IL .I'll tell you a wheel will pay fo
itself in one season with the savin
I. in car fare and lunches. You ca
10 figure it out for yourself. Car fan
and lunch at noon will cost at lea!
Id 80 cents day, or about IS per montl
er Now, you can take the price of
d, wheel and divide it by eight and yo
i'll can see how long it will take to pa
he for a wheel.
IN THAT bicycle Is a convenient
none can deny. For instance, ye