John Dodge's fixie cruiser from 1898

Detroit has some amazing bicycling history. Those early cyclists led the Good Roads movement, founded MDOT, and were instrumental in creating the automotive industry and motorspots.

We’re fortunate that we have the opportunity to see some of this history up close.

Detroit Historic Museum

We’ve mentioned in the past how the Museum has a replica of the famous Huber and Metzger Bicycle Shop in the basement.

But, there’s more bike history in their collection according to their curator:

We try to get everything out from time to time. We have the medals and Wheelman trophy in our Velocity exhibit now through August. There also is a 1899 F.J. Martz & Co., Detroit-made bicycle in the exhibit. I had hoped to use the Whipple, but not enough room – the perennial problem.

Some of the medals and trophy were won by Ernest Moross. Moross raced on the velodrome, was a “longtime associate of the first American auto racing superstar, Barney Oldfield… [and] obtained distinction as the first Contest Director for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway“.

The “Whipple” being referred to is a “watercolor promoting the League of American Wheelmen. Shows a woman cycle riders on good road contrasted with wagon on poor road.” It was painted by Detroit artist Seth Whipple (1855-1901), who is perhaps more famous for his maritime paintings.

But perhaps what we’d like to see most is their Evans and Dodge Bicycle. It was John Dodge’s bike from when his company built it in 1898 until 1905. It’s an aluminum frame fixie with some chrome/nickel plated parts, and black wheels with a “large gold stripe around the center.” It looks like he pushed a big gear too. Unfortunately it’s not currently on display.

The Henry Ford

The League of American Bicyclists sent the following request out to its members:

Today we had an interesting request that we thought that you all would be able to help answer. The Henry Ford museum is researching images for a new exhibit on the automobile in American life for the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Mich. Part of their story describes alternative choices to the automobile, past and present. They are looking for a portrait of Horatio Earle, who was instrumental in the early League of American Wheelmen, as well as a force in the Good Roads Movement in the early 20^th century. If you have one the archive could use, they prefer a 300 dpi tiff digital file. Please e-mail Brynn Raupagh at brynnr@sbcglobal.net.

We contacted Brynn about contributing. He said he was “buried with responses!” and got a photo from MDOT — which Horatio Earle founded.

We’re looking forward to seeing this new exhibit.

And if you decide to go, don’t forgot to visit Orville and Wilbur’s original Wright Cycle Shop just next door in Greenfield Village. Henry Ford moved their bike shop from Dayton to Greenfield Village in 1937.

Thanks to The Night Train, we saw an excellent photo on Shorpy of the Metzger Bicycle Shop in 1912.

Lot’s of fixies and phonographs — and sundries!

We’d written about Metzger before and how he began selling and manufacturing automobiles as well as  creating auto shows, including Detroit’s.

We thought when he’d sold his interest in the Huber and Metzger Bicycle Shop in 1895 that he got out of the two-wheeled world. That was not the case.

Metzger opened his own bicycle shop which remained in operation, albeit in different locations, at least through the early 1920s. That shop also sold more than just bicycles this 1912 advertisement shows.

Where is 351 Woodward at the corner of  High Street?

High Street was replaced with I-75. 351 Woodward (now 2337 Woodward) is roughly the parking lot just north of Hockeytown.

By 1920, the bicycle shop had moved further north to 2947 Woodward near Charlotte — where the U.S. Social Forum cyclists camped this year.

John Shire's velocipede at the Smithsonian in 1914

The 1877 Detroit Business Directory lists Corktown resident John Shire as a carriage maker located at 151 Larned (near St. Antoine.)

The next year he’s listed as a bicycle manufacturer — the only one listed in Detroit.

He remained the sole bicycle, then velocipede manufacturer through 1892. In 1881 he moved his business to what is now 1518 18th Street then 1940 23rd Street just two years later. There is new infill housing at the first address. The second address is residential as well.

One of Shire’s bikes from 1879 is in the Smithsonian Institute’s collection. They describe the bike as follows:

The forked frame and the front-wheel fork are both made of wood with iron reinforcements. The front-wheel fork pivots at the front of the frame, straight wooden handlebars surmounting it. Also serving as a pivot point for the front fork is the upper end of a nearly vertical wooden brace, the lower end of which is connected by iron bars to the lower extremity of the frame. Both the wheels have wooden hubs, spokes, and felloes, with thin metal tires. Each wheel has 14 spokes staggered in the hub. The diameter of the front wheel is 38 inches and of the rear, 28 3/4 inches. Wooden crank arms, having a 5-inch throw but not adjustable as to their working length, are attached to the front axle. Spool-shaped wooden pedals are mounted at the ends of the arms. Oil cups are mounted at each end of the two axles. A wide wooden mudguard is affixed above the rear wheel. The saddle is made of wood, canvas, and leather. There is no brake. The finish on this velocipede is black with both gold and red striping. The mudguard bears a large piece of gold-leaf scrollwork similar to that found on Concord coaches and other horse-drawn commercial vehicles, and the front fork bears gold-leaf scrollwork that is more delicate.

Wood wheels and metal tires meant this early bike was truly a bone-shaker. It had a modest 38 gear inches.

Shire showed his machine at the 1879 Michigan State Fair. Oddly enough it was shown in the Farm Implements division.

Shire also received a patent in 1879 for the bike’s hammock-style saddle. This design certainly would have cushioned the ride from Detroit’s rough road surfaces, which were often paved with cedar or brick.

Shire also received a patent earlier in 1876 for a sleigh design.

Was Shire the first bicycle/velocipede manufacturer in Detroit? We’re not sure. There were at least three other velocipede patents issued to Detroiters before Shire.

• 1869: James Rankin patented a three-wheeled velocipede with reciprocating pedals. In 1870, Rankin was listed as a brass founder. By 1875, he was no longer in Detroit.
• 1869: Daniel Atherton patented a three-wheeled, two-person velocipede. One person had hand cranks while the other pedaled. Atherton was a train conductor and later a brakeman. He wasn’t listed as a Detroit resident in 1879.
• 1875: Frederic Seagrave patented a three-wheeled velocipede. Seagrave was listed as a salesman in 1875, but no longer listed by 1879.

While these contraptions look interesting, we can’t find any evidence that they went into production.

We do know that unlike Shire’s velocipede, these three are not in the Smithsonian.

Special thanks to Mikeg for helping us translate pre-1920s Detroit addresses to their modern equivalents.

We stumbled on this interesting U.S. patent by Detroiter James H. Talbot back in 1899 for a Bicycle Trolley-car.

My invention relates to means for mounting a bicycle in a suitable frame or car suspended from an overhead trolley wire or trail, whereby the bicycle when operated by a rider becomes the motor for propelling the car along the wire.

The design allows riders to use their own bicycle within the frame.

Why not just ride on the roads? Given the bad road conditions of the time, was this an alternative to the Good Roads movement?

Or was this a way to get across the Detroit River? (Wouldn’t that be an interesting trip!)

We didn’t find any evidence on-line that this invention was ever built. There was a similar Trolley Cycle patent from 1894.

We do know a little bit about Talbot. In 1895 he was an eastsider living on Field Street just south of Kercheval. He was the secretary and treasurer for the Talbot Paving Company as well as the Universal Electric Construction Company.

And we know he was a dreamer.

So, let’s  fast forward to today. If there isn’t enough road width on Woodward to add the M1 Rail and bike lanes…

Detroit cyclist Horatio “Good Roads” Earle ran for Michigan Senate in November of 1900. With his win, he went to Lansing and created the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).

By the way, the Good Roads of Earle’s time are the Complete Streets of today. In 1900, there were very few motorized vehicles on the road, no stop signs, no traffic signals, no crosswalks. Everyday was a Ciclovia. If a road were paved, it was a Complete Street.

This is an excerpt from The Autobiography of “By Gum” Earle:

My fourth effort was in 1900 as a candidate for state senator from the Third District in Michigan, and I won, which gave me a chance to officially promote the good roads cause in which I was so interested. Every paper in Detroit opposed my nomination, and when they lost out, they said the doughnut won, but I went to Lansing, and by gum, Michigan has shown the world how to build good roads.

A good deal of my success in the campaign was due to the efforts in my behalf made by the “Detroit Wheelmen.” One of the most effective pieces of campaign literature was the one which follows, recalling the laws and privileges secured for the bicyclists, who were at that time in the hey-day of their strength and influence.

PONDER A MINUTE

Baggage law for you,
Dry strip for you,
Bicycle shelter for you,
Bicycle ordinance for you,
Hotel discount for you,
Path protection law for you,
Toll knocked out for you,
Equal rights with horse for you,
No tags on wheels for you,
No lamps on wheels for you,
No bells on wheels for you.

Chief Consul Horatio S. Earle has been one who has worked without a cent of pay for these things. Will you get out and vote, and get others to vote for him for state senator, Third District, next Tuesday? Give your answer at the ballot box.

League of American Wheelmen Committee

This list echoes the one made my Edward Hines when he solicited bicyclists to join the Michigan Division of the L.A.W. Hine’s list provides more details on each item.

Yes, nearly 110 years later we are fighting the same battles. We fought mandatory bicycle registration (“tags on wheels”) and are working on getting roll-on bicycle service with AMTRAK  and the M1 Rail (“baggage law”).

And of course we’re still fighting for Good Roads.