The Cycle Industry
Contents
- Traces the bicycle's origins from the 1868 Coventry velocipede through the evolution of the high-wheel ordinary.
- Describes how the tricycle emerged to address the dangers of the high bicycle and its subsequent decline.
- Examines the tandem bicycle's appeal and mechanics despite its limited popularity compared to single machines.
- Reviews the challenges early manufacturers faced sourcing and developing suitable steels, tubes, and components.
- Traces the manufacturing process from raw materials through each production stage to finished bicycle delivery.
- Compares the diverse factory approaches used by different cycle manufacturers to produce complete machines.
- Chronicles the pneumatic tyre's invention by Dunlop and how it transformed the entire cycle industry.
- Surveys the development of variable gearing systems and their contribution to popularising cycle touring.
- Reviews attempts to spring bicycle frames for rider comfort before and after the advent of pneumatic tyres.
- Explores how racing successes shaped manufacturers' reputations and drove commercial competition.
- Examines the 1890s boom in cycle manufacturing, its speculative excesses, and its lasting impact on the trade.
- Assesses the state of British roads and the cycling movement's campaign for better road surfaces.
- Debates the significance of machine weight and the engineering compromises between lightness and durability.
- Compares British and Continental cycle designs and describes the European market for British machines.
- Describes the deployment of bicycles by military forces and other specialist uses in wartime service.
- Provides a detailed tour of a cycle factory, from frame building and machining through to finishing and assembly.
- Catalogues the wide range of lamps, bags, bells, and other accessories supplied with or alongside bicycles.
- Celebrates long-distance record journeys that demonstrated the bicycle's endurance and advertised the industry.
- Traces the motor cycle's development from motorised bicycles and tricycles to the modern petrol-engine machine.
- Speculates on the cycle industry's prospects amid competition from motor vehicles and changing public tastes.