Illinois lays claim to one of the great episodes in American cycling history, and historian Christopher Sweet brings that era vividly to life — an era when Chicago proudly billed itself as the “bicycle center of the United States.”
In his new book, A History of Bicycling in Illinois: 160 Years of Booms and Busts, Sweet uncovers the state’s central role in the 1890s bike boom and the ways that movement helped shape modern cycling culture.
Written in an accessible, engaging style, the book reveals how Chicago became the manufacturing hub of the nation’s bicycle industry — a city that produced a quarter of all U.S. bikes and claimed more than 200,000 riders at the height of the boom.
It was also a place where women defied social expectations on two wheels, and where cycling clubs organized one of the country’s first powerful transportation lobbies.
We spoke with Sweet about the decade-long research journey that led to his book, the characters he discovered, and how lessons from our cycling past still resonate for today’s bike advocates pushing for a fairer, greener future.
Active Transportation Alliance: Most people don’t realize the extent of the 1890s bike boom and the central role that Illinois and Chicago played. Can you share a few details that bring this moment in local history into perspective for people?
Christopher Sweet: The bicycle boom of the 1890s was massive. For nearly a decade, bicycling was very much the popular pastime for middle- and upper-class white Americans. Cyclists at the time would have argued that bicycling was for everyone, but the high cost of bicycles and exclusive cycling clubs limited participation to certain demographics.
The following excerpt from my book gives you an idea of the scope of the bicycle boom of the 1890s: “In 1896, the president of the League of American Wheelmen valued the total bicycle economy in the United States at $75 million ($2.7 billion in 2024). … There were around 30,000 bicycle dealers spread across the country. From 1892 to 1896, an astonishing one-third of all patents filed in the United States were related to bicycles, an average of 25,000 per year.”
“Chicago is the bicycle center of the United States,” the Chicago Tribune confidently declared in 1896, backing up the claim with nearly a full page of bicycle-related statistics and stories. The paper estimated that Chicago had 200,000 riders, including 40,000 women and 2,000 children. The Tribune also noted that the city led the country in bicycle manufacturing, producing an estimated 250,000 bicycles annually (25 percent of the total national output). Bicycle manufacturing was quickly becoming one of Chicago’s top industries. I found that from 1869 to 1900 there were 500 different Illinois bicycle brands that produced more than 800 different models!
There are a number of reasons that led to Chicago’s ascendancy in bicycle manufacturing and the creation of bicycle culture. In my book I argue that a fundamental reason was simply one of topography. Chicago, in particular, is quite flat compared to other parts of the country. In the 19th century nearly all bikes were single speeds, so there was no shifting to an easier gear to ride up a hill.
Chicago was also unique in that the city invested heavily in building multiple types of paved streets. In the late 19th century this was a rarity, but it was a godsend for cyclists. Chicago’s industrial manufacturing capabilities during this time period are well-established. Many firms quickly switch from producing other goods (agricultural implements, watches, sewing machines) to bicycles, which were more lucrative.
It didn’t take long before bicycle manufacturing innovations pioneered in Chicago led to dominance in that industry. Schwinn would carry on this legacy throughout most of the 20th century.
The growth of cycling among women is one of the themes of the book. What are some key moments in this story?
In the era of penny farthing/high-wheel bikes, very few women rode because it was considered unwomanly and was truly dangerous. “Safety bicycles” look essentially like our modern bicycles and became popular in the 1890s. This style of bicycle was much more suited to women riders, particularly when “drop-frame” women’s bicycle were invented that made accommodating bulky split skirts or bloomers more manageable.
Automotive pioneer Charles Duryea grew up in Central Illinois. Before moving on to automobiles he secured many bicycle-related patents and was instrumental in designing a safety bicycle frame for women.
Founded in 1879, the Chicago Bicycle Club was one of the first in the nation. In 1890, the Ravenswood Club was formed as one of the first women-only cycling clubs in the country. Bicycle clubs accelerated the growth of bicycle culture and helped to establish bicycling as one of the most popular social activities of the day.
Women bicycle racers also played a role in growing women’s participation in cycling. During the high-wheel era, women’s races were few and far between. During the 1890s, women’s races (particularly indoor velodrome races) became extremely popular spectator sports.
Chicago was home to some of the best female racers in the country including Louise Armaindo, Tillie the Terrible Swede, and Lizzie Glaw. During this time, women established themselves as formidable competitors often besting serious male bicycle racers. In the process they dispelled pseudo-science notions about the fragility of women and fabricated claims about sports and infertility.
Are there lessons for present-day bike advocates that can be gleaned from looking at this history?
One of the threads that I follow throughout the book is the idea that bicycles can create a more equal and just society. This idea was very much in vogue during the bicycle boom of the 1890s.
In 1900, the usually austere and detached US Census report proclaimed, “It is safe to say that few articles ever used by man have created so great a revolution in social conditions as the bicycle.” This idea of an egalitarian society created by bicycles only really applied to middle- and upper-class white males during the 19th and most of the 20th Century.
I trace this egalitarian bicycle history forward to present day, when there are indeed many instances in Chicago of bicycles addressing real social justice and environmental issues. The last chapter and epilogue point to groups like Working Bikes, Blackstone Bicycle Works, World Bicycle Relief, Big Marsh Bike Park, Slow Ride Chicago, and Windy City Bicycle Club as some of the organizations/projects that are realizing the true potential of the bicycle.
Another advocacy lesson from Chicago bicycle history comes in the form of political organizing. In the 1890s a strong and influential bicycle lobby formed in Chicago. The Associated Cycling Clubs of Chicago came together as a voting bloc to whip up votes for candidates who favored issues of interest to bicyclists.
At a time when Chicago’s total population was only around 1 million, the Chicago bicycle lobby claimed to control 10,000 votes. In the 1897 Chicago mayoral election, Carter Henry Harrison IV, himself a cyclist, catered strongly to the bicycle lobby. One of his campaign strategies was to print up a series of postcards featuring himself on a bicycle with the campaign slogan, “Not a champion cyclist, but the cyclists’ champion.”
Whatever his strategies were, they worked. Reporting on the election the New York Journal opined, “There can be no reasonable doubt that the Mayoralty race in Chicago was run principally on 28-inch wheels with pneumatic tires. Carter Harrison was elected by the bicycle vote.”
Please tell us about your background and how you became interested in cycling history. 
I have spent the last 17 years as a librarian at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. After receiving tenure, I successfully proposed a 6-month sabbatical project to begin researching the history of bicycling in Illinois. I originally proposed it as a new scholarly article, but soon realized there was enough material for a book. I worked on the book intermittently for a decade and finished writing during a second sabbatical in 2023.
Growing up in rural Central Illinois, I routinely rode miles back and forth to work and to visit friends. I’m a former mountain bike and cyclocross racer as well as a former professional triathlete. These days I only ride recreationally. I enjoy riding my 1886 penny farthing high-wheel bicycle on rural roads around my home in Lexington, IL. I also do some bikepacking.
Use the code F25UIP for 30 percent off when you buy a copy of A History of Bicycling in Illinois from the publisher. You can also purchase the book from the usual mass market retailers and from Bookshop.org, which benefits local independent bookstores.
Images courtesy of Christopher Sweet.