Ritchie's figure has to be treated with care. The comment is writthen by a British cyclist regarding American balloon tire machines, which, though stylistically aimed mainly at the 10-16 year old maket, were adult machines in scale and could hardly be claimed to be 'toys' in the sense of a kiddies bike. Balloon tire machines were ridiculed in the UK and Ritchie's statement is tinged with this cultural position, particularly in that it was first aired in 1975 before they became collectible and had become recognised as the basis for the mountain bike. I am not American, but from what I have seen, these machines were used like any other for commuting to school, doing paper rounds, messaging and short distance transport generaly, as such they did no more or less than most European adult machines. They were not intended for long distance touring, but, like any heavy roadster, are fine for a few miles and what one loses in efficiency one gains in sheer style. The problem for writers such as Ritchie was that they wrote from a somewhat didactic view 'cycling' being defined by European touring and racing practice, rather than 'cycling' as merely a means of locomotion using a bicycle or tricycle. This is not to knock 'King of the Road', it was by far the best general history of cycling for many years and is still a key reference book in any cycling library, but, at forty years old it is showing its age - making it, if anything, even more interesting.
Nicholas Oddy
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From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list on behalf of Peter R.H. Wood
Sent: Mon 12/11/2012 10:27
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Bikes become toys[Scanned-Clean]
Reading "King of the Road" from the Mcenter, it says that in the US by 1941 "85% of the bicycles produced in the U.S. at this time were toys for children" p8. Not being a historian, I thought that the UK decline of the bike was mostly post-WW2. Am I wrong?
So quantitatively, can anyone suggest an article or review of worldwide bike trends which compares different countries over time? Especially the key turning points, and their relative timing (invention, mass popularity, saturation, decline, resurgence [where applicable]"
And qualitatively, are there seen to be any particular differences caused by so much of the mid-century US road network being built for cars "first time" as greenfield urban sprawl and/or the nation-building interstate project, and redevelopment of the existing inner cities involved contested land clearance. Whereas in Europe the specifically-designed-for-cars road network was built relatively later, and much more tied up with narratives of post-war recovery and imperial decline?
Pete
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