1886 Premier

[PhillB]

My colleague Joe took it for a quick spin while I was not in....
View attachment 925371
He didn't even pump up the tyres
He did though mount it correctly onto the step

(Apologies to anyone who's seen this before - I've put it in here for completeness)

I agree, I would not be able to resist riding it.... (Just need some 30" William Bonkers-Shwalbe tyres!)

 

[bikeworkshop]

 

[bikeworkshop]

$100!!!

4 months wages for a working man

 

[Frankenorange]

$100!!!

inflation calculator says $3357 in todays money

 

[bikeworkshop]

Or 4 months at minimum wage - now £8000

The price of a premium piece.
Then and now

 

[ferrus]

It’s a really beautiful thing.

 

[vtwinvince]

That thing is a work of art.

 

[bikeworkshop]

And of course all bikes were Gravel Bikes back then - tarmac wasn't invented until c1902!

Also, no motorists to get in your way or shout abuse
- the first ICE road vehicle in Britain was 1895

Mind you, 3 million horses

 

[jim haseltine]

One of the arguments in favour of 'horseless' carriages was that they didn't pollute - well, not as much as the horses did. There were concerns at the end of the 19th century that the amount horse manure deposited on city streets exceeded the capacity for disposal.
An article entitled 'Vetture Automobili' published in the Milanese daily newspaper Corriere della Sera in 1896 predicted that increasing numbers of cars would revolutionize habits, with one of the benefits being the disappearance of manure from the streets.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Horses have reason to be suspicious of bicycles.