The Detroit News:

It was no accident of history, no mysterious collision of cosmic forces, that caused the auto industry to take root in the city of Detroit. It was bound to happen here sooner or later.

The reasons? The bicycle, for one.

In the late nineteenth century, the young city of Detroit was already obsessed with wheels. It was home to a myriad of small shops making carriages and bicycles. These shops were filled with tinkerers for whom the simple idea of adding a motor to a wheeled contraption seemed obvious.

Early precursors to the bicycle had emerged in Europe in the first half of the last century, and by the 1890’s bicycling was the craze in Detroit.

Keep Reading…

via fixedgear