A History of Bicycling in Illinois: 160 years of booms and busts
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Description
In the 1890s, the bicycle became a sensation that impacted the whole of society. People flocked to races while Progressive Era reformers boosted bicycle-related benefits that ranged from fitness to women’s rights. As American industry exported two-wheelers around the globe, Chicago and Illinois emerged as a center of bicycle manufacturing.
Tracking the bicycle’s up-and-down popularity, Christopher Sweet shows how the bicycle’s varying fortunes affected the industry and the thousands of Illinoisians laboring for iconic brands like Schwinn and Western Wheel Works. He also details forgotten history such as the bicycle's many associations with the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, national and international interest in Illinois bicycle races, and the role of the Illinois bicycle industry in the rise and fall of Midwest manufacturing.
An engaging blend of social and business history, A History of Bicycling in Illinois rediscovers the people, companies, and events that made Chicago and Illinois synonymous with the bicycle.
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ISBN
978-0-252-04698-8
Publication Date
2026
Publisher
University of Illinois Press
City
Champaign
Keywords
bicycle history, history, bicycle manufacturing, Midwest, Illinois
Disciplines
Social History | United States History
Recommended Citation
Sweet, Christopher, "A History of Bicycling in Illinois: 160 years of booms and busts" (2026). IWU Authors Bookshelf. 121.
https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/bookshelf/121