Orville and Wilbur Wright are generally credited for developing the first practical airplane. However, before their first powered flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, the Wright brothers had a bicycle shop in their hometown of Dayton, Ohio. Their involvement with bicycles not only gave them the financial support to build their first airplanes, but it also provided them with some of the technical skills and knowledge to develop practical airplanes. The Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park (part of the National Park Service) in Dayton includes one of the buildings used by the Wright brothers for their bicycle shop.
According to the display:
“In this shop, the Wrights handcrafted high-quality bicycles in the front showroom. They also developed several innovative bicycle parts including an oil-retaining wheel hub and a coaster brake.”
The Wrights began manufacturing bicycles in 1896. Their first model was the Van Cleve, named after their great-great-grandmother Catherine Benham Van Cleve Thompsons who had settled in Dayton in 1796. The Wrights build 95 Van Cleve bicycles which sold for $50 to $65.
Their second model was the St. Clair, named after Arthur St. Clair, a Revolutionary War Major General. The St. Clair cost less than the Van Cleve and the Wrights manufactured 77 of this model.
Their third model was the Wright Special and they sold only 8 of these bicycles.
The Workshop
Bicycles
According to the display:
“The earliest bicycle, called a Draisine, was invented in 1813 by a German nobleman Karl Friedrich Drais. It was a two-wheeled vehicle that the rider pushed along with his feet. These recreational vehicles remained unchanged until the 1860s, with the invention of the velocipede.
The first velocipedes had pedals mounted directly on the front axle and wheels approximately equal in size. The high wheel, or ‘ordinary’ bicycle, was a variation of the velocipede. Its much larger front wheel made it faster than regular velocipedes but also more difficult to ride.”
In 1887, the “safety” bicycle was introduced into the United States and quickly replaced the “ordinary” bicycle. The “safety” bicycle had two wheels of equal size with a chain-driven read wheel which made it easier, safer, and cheaper to ride.
Posters
Parts and accessories
More Museum Exhibits
Carillon Historical Park: Dayton Cyclery (photo diary)
Ohio Village: Bicycle shop (photo diary)
Museums 101: Neighborhood grocery store (museum tour)
Museums 101: The Maki Homestead Cabin (Photo Diary)
Willamette Heritage Center: Waterpower runs a woolen mill (photo diary)
Museums 101: Home Life (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center (photo diary)
Museums 101: California Transportation (Photo Diary)