Safety bicycles and the Henderson Bicycle Co.

Written by Museum Assistant Alice Bosch

 The bicycle boom of the 1890s heavily impacted most of North America, including Huron County. The area saw bicycle production companies, most notably Henderson Bicycle Co., and retailers emerging at the time. Everyone wanted to get their hands on the latest invention of the safety bike, made for everyone to ride both short and long distances.

Before safety bikes were invented, though, there were penny-farthing bikes. These bikes featured one large wheel accompanied by a smaller one, making it look like a penny and farthing side-by-side. But these bikes weren’t for the average person to ride around on, as they were hard to control and even harder to stop. With the innovation of safety bikes, local transport was made easy before cars were invented. You could quickly go across town without having to pull out the horse and carriage or walk a long distance. Safety bicycles were the blueprints for our modern bikes and what made the safety bike possible was its chain-driven rear wheel, allowing the pedals to be closer to the ground for an easier stop. Safety bicycles came in two main frame shapes – men’s and women’s. The main difference between men’s and women’s was the middle bar between the legs, on the men’s bikes there is a bar directly under the seat, while the women’s had the bar placed far lower, as to allow their dresses to fall flat, even though women’s bicycle bloomers where also popularized at this time, somewhat making that design unnecessary.

The craze these bikes created meant there had to be plenty of factories to build all of them. The Henderson Bicycle Co., later renamed Goderich Engine and Bicycle Co. after it was sold, was a bike manufacturing company in Goderich in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The business was specifically known for their Common Sense, Huron, and McCready bicycles. These bicycles were sold both straight out of factory and through other local sports goods retailers, from places like Goderich to Toronto to Winnipeg. Depending on the model, the bikes cost from about $60-$85 which for the time wasn’t cheap and unreasonable, meaning that after everyone had a bike, very few bought another. This caused competing companies to create cheaper costing bikes, made from cheaper materials and of less quality. In the end this left the bicycle boom unprofitable and boring, causing bicycles’ popularity to drop before they can rise again before the invention and widespread of cars.

Today there are many great biking trails in and around Huron County to enjoy, and while bikes are not as popular as they were then they are still a great way to be active and enjoy the outdoors. To learn more about cycling in Huron County, visit Ontario’s West Coast.