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Bike commuting share in the United States is currently less than 1%; but in some cities (college towns, really) it is 10% or higher (source).

Is there a time in US history when bicycle ridership was more prevalent than now? What is the evidence to demonstrate that bicycle ridership was high?

kingledion
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    Are you asking about just bike commuting, or all bicycle riding? Because there are a lot of people who ride for exercise and/or recreation, but not for commuting. For instance, mountain biking &c. (FWIW, I ride fairly regularly, but haven't commuted to work by any means for over a decade, thanks to telecommuting.) – jamesqf Aug 07 '19 at 17:04
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    Try the late 19th/early 20th century. See https://history.stackexchange.com/a/54030/11883 – Denis de Bernardy Aug 07 '19 at 17:10
  • it is well established fact that the Bicycle Clubs of the period 1880 to 1910 successfully lobbied to get roads, both municipal and inter-city, paved for the convenience of commuting and touring cyclists. These clubs were big, and patronized by the wealthiest citizens, in both North America and Western Europe. – Pieter Geerkens Aug 07 '19 at 17:10
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    @jamesqf I'm looking for hard evidence that there was a time in US history when people (as a percentage of the total population) rode bikes than they do now. Commuter data is incomplete, but readily accessible, at least for the present. Perhaps bicycle sales numbers would paint a clear picture? – kingledion Aug 07 '19 at 17:11
  • As noted in my linked answer: "The number of bicycles in production skyrocketed to over a million per year by 1899" That's between a quarter and a third of U.S. domestic automobile production in the 21st Century, for a mucyh larger population. – Pieter Geerkens Aug 07 '19 at 17:13
  • Answer me this: Precisely where do you think the Dunlop Tire Company got the funds to buy and donate a 6 foot high silver trophy for the Ontario Dunlop Trophy Race, in 1894 when registered motor vehicles in the U.S. numbered less than 10,000, if not from selling pneumatic bicycle tires in the hundreds of thousands or even millions? – Pieter Geerkens Aug 07 '19 at 17:27
  • @kingledion: I don't think bicycle sales numbers would really give you a good handle, though, since many people keep bikes for decades. – jamesqf Aug 07 '19 at 22:42
  • @Pieter Geerkens: I would imagine Dunlop tire also made pneumatic tires for horse-drawn wagons & carriages. As far as prizes go, the Tour de France had €2,291,700 in prize money in 2019 (per Google), while bicycle makers & others provide multi-million dollar salaries to top professional team members. And that's something most ordinary bikers like me simply don't care about. – jamesqf Aug 07 '19 at 22:52
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    @PieterGeerkens - In absence of other better objective numbers, I think an answer based around production numbers would be quite serviceable. – T.E.D. Aug 07 '19 at 22:55
  • After Colorado legalized marijuana, the probably highest bicycle ridership in North America became definitely the highest. Oops, you meant numerically, not altitude and attitude.... – C Monsour Aug 10 '19 at 13:02

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Is there a time in US history when bicycle ridership was more prevalent than now?

I haven't tried very hard to dig up hard data, but based on general trends, I suspect probably not. The Wikipedia article on "bike booms" is illuminating here. The 1890s was the first major wave of popularity for bicylcing, but at that it was almost exclusively done for amusement. After that it mostly became a children's activity up to the 1970s. The high popularity of bicycles for adult both for sport and for practical purposes is fairly recent.

Brian Z
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