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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