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Bicycles: Icons of Innovation and Mobility

From the 1880s to the 1910s, Americans took to the wheel, sparking a nationwide bicycle craze. In the era before automobiles, bicycles were a means of affordable personal mobility. This nationwide cycling craze allowed Americans to explore new places and experience newfound independence. Learn more about bicycles and their impact on American culture at the National Museum of American History.


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Bicycle Shop Sign

1889 Overman Bicycle

Cyclist

Lillian Gish

Bicycle Race

Bicycle design by John Vassos

Aero bike designed by John Vassos

Western Union Messenger (Norfolk, Virginia), from the project The Negro in Virginia

Untitled, from the project The Most Crowded Block

Going South

Reinhardt Bicycle, 1935

1935 Simplex Servi-Cycle Motorbike

[Western Union messenger Raymond Taylor of San Antonio, Texas, with bicycle, holding a loving cup]

"A Bicycle Built for Two"

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