Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1937-07-30
HERE and
THERE

the bicycle. First because it has
never gone anywhere, and second,
because this modern instrument of
transportation is so useful, so con-
venient, so cheap, so easily cared
for, that even the automobile, while
it has lessened its use, cannot alto
gether displace it.
Like most of the modern con-
veniences that have become the
eOmmOnplaces of our lives, as the
telephone, electric light, telegraph,
motion pictures, motor cars and
many others, the origin of the BIZ
cycle cannot be traced to any one
source. For a hundred and fifty
years the idea has been in the mind
of man. Slowly it has developed,
little by little, through trial and er-
rOr. Inventive genius has i'm
proved it from its crude beginning,
as pictured on a stained glass win
dow IN a church in Buckingham
shire, highland, in the 18th century,
to the modern safety" of today.
The first machines modelled after
this picture were but caricatures
of the present day bicycle with its
sturdy scientifically constructed
body that permits travel at the
rate of 10 or IL miles per hour and
with the least expenditure of en-
ergy.
| Yet they were popular in their
time and were taken up by royalty,
even though there were but two
wheels connected by a cross bar
upon which the rider sat and pro-
PEELED himself by pushing his feet
against the ground.
Improvement came in 1916 and
though the new models were still
propelled by the feet in contact
with the ground they were much
better than the originals.
A further refinement two years
later added to the popularity of
the "Hobby-Horse" as it was
called. It's price was high-about
$4,000 and because poor folks
could not buy it, it was called the
"Dandy-Horse." 1t was introduced
into London and even got as far as
America but as it could travel but
little, if any faster than a man
could walk, it soon came to the end
of its popularity.
Some Is years passed before
there was any further development
and then came the first real BIZ
cycle-as compared with the pres
ent day machine. It was invented
by Scotchman, Kirkpatrick Nc
MILAN who took the Dandy
Horse" added crank pedals, driving
rods, a comfortable seat, arm rests,
handle bars, etc., and built a BIZ
cycle that had a vogue of many
years. His machine was further
improved, a few years later by
Calvin Dazen and these two men
are credited as the pioneers of BIZ
cycle building.
A long step forward was taken
In 1865 in the invention of rotary
cranks by Pierre Lallement, a
Frenchman, who began to make
and to sell the bicycle for the first
time in a commercial way. LalIe-
ment disposed of his patents to
Michaud who introduced the ma
chine into England.
Reawakened interest in the ma
chine induced many firms to center
into its manufacture and the BUSH
ness continued to grow and expand.
About this time the Coventry
Sewing Machine Co. that had be-
gun the business in a rather large
way, received an order for 500 of
the Michaud type bicycles for its
Paris agent. Before these could be
disposed of war between France
and Prussia broke out, stopping the
sale. The company was forced to
find a market in England for the
machines it could not sell in France
and so England became, as it still
is, the largest maker and exporter
of the bicycle.
New ideas came rapidly to the
front as more firms took up the
business of making and selling the
machines. From these were pro-
dueed the tall Ordinary" It de-
yelOped greater speed and comfort
by increasing the size of the front
wheel and reducing that of the
rear wheel. This has always been
the objective of bicycle building.
This type was maintained for twen-
ty years during which period it
gained favor throughout the world.
The Ordinary" gave great advan-
tage to tall men and naturally in
ventive genius sought a way to
equalize these advantages for short