 1896 print ad | |
| Industry | Bicycle manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Chicago Sewing Machine Company |
| Founded | 1892 in Chicago, U.S. |
| Founder | John William Kiser |
| Defunct | 1899 |
| Successor | Bicycle Trust |
| Headquarters | 42 Halsted Street, Chicago |
| Products | Bicycles |
Number of employees | 1200 (1896) |
Monarch Cycle Manufacturing Company (1892-1899) was a bicycle manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. By 1896 the company became one of the largest manufacturers of bicycles in the world.
The company was founded in 1892 by John William Kiser. [1] In 1892, the year the company began, there were 35 employees and the company made 150 bicycles. By 1896 there were 1200 Monarch cycle employees, and they were producing 50,000 bicycles. The company sold bicycles worldwide. [2]
Monarch Cycle produced a chain-less bicycle with a patented two-piece crankshaft. [3]
To promote the company, they sponsored safety bicycle contests for their trick rider Lee Richardson. [4] [5]
In 1899 the company was sold to the Bicycle Trust. [6] The American Bicycle Company only lasted a few years (from 1899-1903). Historians have not determined why the company failed but they have several theories. One idea was that the company was poorly organized, and another theory is that the various manufacturers involved in the company had different objectives. After the breakup the many different companies went back to competing. [7]
Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor was an African-American professional cyclist. Even by modern cycling standards, Taylor could be considered the greatest American sprinter of all time.
Albert Augustus Pope was a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in the Union Army. He was an importer, promoter, and manufacturer of bicycles, and a manufacturer of automobiles.
Humber Limited was a British manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles, and cars incorporated and listed on the stock exchange in 1887. It took the name "Humber & Co Limited" because of the high reputation of the products of one of the constituent businesses that had belonged to Thomas Humber. A financial reconstruction in 1899 transferred its business to Humber Limited.
The Austral Wheel Race is the oldest track bicycle race in the world still existing, stretching back to 1887. It is owned and run by AusCycling Victoria. The Austral race is Australia’s greatest track cycling event. It is held in Melbourne, riders assigned handicaps according to ability over a series of heats. The finals are run over 2000m.
Sterling Bicycle Co. was a 19th-century American bicycle company first based in Chicago, Illinois before relocating to Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Good Roads Movement occurred in the United States between the late 1870s and the 1920s. It was the rural dimension of the Progressive movement. A key player was the United States Post Office Department. Once a commitment was made for Rural Free Delivery of the mail, the Post Office had to determine which local roads were suitable and which were not. Farmers living on officially unusable roads now had motivation to get them upgraded. Advocates for improved roads turned local agitation into a national political movement. It started as a coalition between farmers' organizations groups and bicyclists' organizations, such as the League of American Wheelmen. The goal was state and federal spending to improve rural roads. By 1910, automobile lobbies such as the American Automobile Association joined the campaign, coordinated by the National Good Roads Association.
Pope Manufacturing Company was founded by Albert Augustus Pope around 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts, US and incorporated in Hartford, Connecticut in 1877. Manufacturing of bicycles began in 1878 in Hartford at the Weed Sewing Machine Company factory. Pope manufactured bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles. From 1905 to 1913, Pope gradually consolidated manufacturing to the Westfield Mass plant. The main offices remained in Hartford. It ceased automobile production in 1915 and ceased motorcycle production in 1918. The company subsequently underwent a variety of changes in form, name and product lines through the intervening years. To this day, bicycles continue to be sold under the Columbia brand.
American Bicycle Company (1899-1903) was an American bicycle company (Trust) led by Albert Augustus Pope. The company was formed to consolidate the manufacturers of bicycles and bicycle parts. In the 1890s the advancements in bicycle design led to unprecedented demand for the new Safety bicycles. The "American Bicycle Company" trust only lasted for three years.
The history of the motorcycle begins in the second half of the 19th century. Motorcycles are descended from the "safety bicycle," a bicycle with front and rear wheels of the same size and a pedal crank mechanism to drive the rear wheel. Despite some early landmarks in its development, the motorcycle lacks a rigid pedigree that can be traced back to a single idea or machine. Instead, the idea seems to have occurred to numerous engineers and inventors around Europe at around the same time.
Humber is an English brand of bicycle. Thomas Humber made himself a velocipede in 1868. From that time he built a substantial business in manufacturing tricycles and bicycles while continuously improving their design and construction. His products were so well-made and well-designed they were known as "the aristocrat among bicycles".
The Gladiator Cycle Company, Clément-Gladiator, was a French manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles and cars based in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, Seine.
Overman Wheel Company was an early bicycle manufacturing company in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts from 1882 to 1900. It was known for bicycles of higher quality and lower weight than other bicycles of its time. Despite a nationwide bicycle craze in the late 1800s, the company was undercut by lower-priced competition, nearly went bankrupt in 1897, and never recovered from an 1899 fire. The company was sold in 1900.
Arthur Calvin Newby was an American businessman and pioneer of the bicycle and automotive industries in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was best known as one of the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Western Wheel Works was a Chicago bicycle company started by Adolph Schoeninger in 1866. It was one of the largest bicycle makers in the world. In 1899 it joined a trust which controlled 95 percent of the bicycle manufacturing market.
Indiana Bicycle Company was a bicycle and automobile company in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The company made carriages, bicycles and electric vehicles under the name Waverley Cycles. By 1896 the company was producing 350 bicycles every ten hours.
John William Kiser was a 19th-century industrialist who owned the Monarch Cycle Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois. His company became one of the largest bicycle manufacturers in the world.
Stover Bicycle Manufacturing Company was a bicycle manufacturer in Freeport, Illinois founded by D.C. Stover. The company produced 20,000 bicycles a year in 1897.
D.C. Stover was a 19th-century industrialist who was known for founding the Stover Wind Engine Company, the Stover Manufacturing and Engine Company, the Stover Bicycle Manufacturing Company and the Stover Engine Works. He was considered to be one of the wealthiest man in Freeport Illinois.
Indianapolis Chain and Stamping Company also known as Diamond is a company based in Indianapolis, Indiana. At one time they supplied bicycle chains for the majority of bicycles produced in the United States.
| General and technical | |
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| Utility and slow recreation | |
| Sports-related cycling and fast-paced recreation | |
| Health, safety and infrastructure |
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| Other | |
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