A peek into the past

Old Spokes Home in Burlington, Vermont. Photo: Caley Fretz

On the left, circa 1883, the D.H.F Premier sported a 58" drive wheel and double hollow front fork. Photo: Caley Fretz

The view at the top of the stairs. Photo: Caley Fretz

My personal favorite: Old Hickory. Made using layers of laminated bent hickory, with wheels that use spiral twisted "sparkle" spokes that would catch the sunligth and twinkel as the rider cruised past. Even the bottom bracket shell and fork are built of bent wood. The lugs are just fantastic. Photo: Caley Fretz

Absolutely gorgeous. Photo: Caley Fretz

Old Hickory. Photo: Caley Fretz

I believe this is a magnesium lantern. Safety first! Photo: Caley Fretz

Bent wood fork on Old Hickory. Photo: Caley Fretz

The twisted "sparkle" spokes. Photo: Caley Fretz

Two interesting things going on here: first, suspension. Note the mono shock above the seatstays. It also uses a leafspring fork. Second, it uses a very cool drive shaft in place of the right chain stay with a bevel gear at each end. Photo: Caley Fretz

Rear mono-shock. Photo: Caley Fretz

Drive shaft. Pretty cool for 1902. Photo: Caley Fretz

Leaf spring fork. Photo: Caley Fretz

Yep, that's three saddles you see. Photo: Caley Fretz

Skip-tooth, one-sided chains used on the three person bike. Photo: Caley Fretz

An all-metal machine from 1873, this "transitional velocipede" was built by the leading French manufacturer at the time, Co. Parisien. It has a rear mounting step, wire spoked wheels, and rubber tires. From this point onwards all wooden velocipedes were called "Boneshakers" due to their wagon-type wheels. Photo: Caley Fretz

Front wheel. Photo: Caley Fretz

A bit of suspension for the saddle. Photo: Caley Fretz

The Co. Parisien, from 1873. Photo: Caley Fretz

A 54" high wheel by London maker John Issaac Stassen. It was considered state of the art at the time, and was the preferred mount of the London Bicycle Club. Stassen is credited with coining the term "bicycle" in one of his advertisments for velocipedes. Photo: Caley Fretz

The brake moved to the tire on this model. Photo: Caley Fretz

A model similar to this one rode from Bath to London in 8 hours, covering 108 miles, a feat unheard of for 1874.

Photo: Caley Fretz

Levers for pedals. Photo: Caley Fretz

HB Smith Co. 42 Pony Star, 1889. The Star moved the small wheel to the front, and used levers to drive forward. Both levers could be compressed simultaneously for a burst of speed or could be "galloped" like a horse. As as result, the Pony Star won many hill climb competitions. Photo: Caley Fretz

Part of the collection. Photo: Caley Fretz

A bit of information about each machine. Photo: Caley Fretz