Bidspirit auction | Vintage Loring & Keene Chicago

Vintage Loring & Keene Chicago Velocipede - The Loring & Keene 1869 Velocipede is recognized as Chicago’s first locally manufactured bicycle. Built during the height of the brief American ”velocipede mania,” this historic machine represents the literal birth of cycling culture in the Midwest. Loring and Keene were not carriage makers or machinists by trade but a plumber and a gas fitter in Chicago. They pivoted to capitalize on the massive indoor bike riding craze sweeping the city. The bicycle was a direct copy of a popular New York machine designed by Thomas Pickering. It features a heavy iron backbone, wooden cart-style wheels with narrow steel bands for tires, and pedals fixed directly to the front wheel. Because of Chicago's brutal winters, velocipedes, or bike riding, was born in America as an indoor sport during the winter of 1868 and the early spring of 1869 with several Chicago locations having indoor wood riding tracks. While manufacturers fully expected riders to transition to the outdoors by late spring, the design proved completely impractical for the real world. The rigid, razor-thin wagon tires had no traction on unpaved roads, and the heavy iron-and-wood frames instantly sank deep into Chicago's notorious spring mud. Because they could not be effectively ridden outdoors, the entire first-wave American velocipede craze lasted a total of only six to nine months before crashing. Because of this incredibly short production window, surviving authentic examples of these 150+ year old Chicago bicycles are exceptionally rare today. This very velocipede is featured in a Chicago You Tube video found here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi5rsMbiK1I. It is in very nice original condition with original but faded red, white, and blue paint. The wheels are solid with no rot. There is an older repair to the head of the frame (see pics). Comes with a custom wood stand. Measures 45” tall, 70” long. Customer pickup or 3rd party transport only on this item.