
The Wright Brothers and the Bicycle Business
10 artifacts in this set
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Wright Cycle Shop, Original Site, Dayton, Ohio, circa 1910
Photographic print
The Wright brothers moved their bicycle business to five different Dayton, Ohio, locations from 1892 to 1908. They occupied this building, at 1127 West Third Street, from 1897 to 1908. It was here that the brothers conducted their first serious aviation experiments, and built their gliders and the 1903 Wright Flyer -- the first successful heavier-than-air powered aircraft.
Lathe, Used by the Wright Brothers, circa 1895
Lathe
The Wright brothers' bicycle shop contained several large power tools primarily used for making and repairing bikes. Some were also used to build their early gliders and airplanes. The shop building did not have electricity, so the Putnam lathe, Crescent band saw and Barnes drill press were powered by overhead belts and shafts connected to a single-cylinder gas engine.
Wright Cycle Shop
Store
Wilbur and Orville Wright operated their Dayton, Ohio, bicycle business out of this building from 1897 to 1908. The brothers sold and repaired bikes, and even produced models under their own brands. It was also in this shop that the Wright brothers built their earliest flying machines, including the 1903 Flyer that became the first successful heavier-than-air, powered, controlled aircraft.
Drill Press, Used by the Wright Brothers, circa 1895
Drill Press
The Wright brothers' bicycle shop contained several large power tools primarily used for making and repairing bikes. Some were also used to build their early gliders and airplanes. The shop building did not have electricity, so the Putnam lathe, Crescent band saw and Barnes drill press were powered by overhead belts and shafts connected to a single-cylinder gas engine.
Van Cleve Bicycle, Made by the Wright Brothers circa 1896
Bicycle
Wilbur and Orville Wright opened their first bicycle shop in 1892 and started building their own cycles -- under the "Van Cleve" and "St. Clair" brands -- in 1896. "Safety" bicycles like this, with both wheels the same size, replaced high-wheeler bikes in the early 1890s. Easier to ride, the popular chain-driven safeties launched a bicycling craze in the United States.
Catalog for Van Cleve Bicycles, Wright Cycle Company, 1900
Trade catalog
The Wright brothers opened their first bicycle shop in 1892, and started building their own cycles under the Van Cleve and St. Clair brand names in 1896. The design and machining skills they gained from their bicycles -- as well as the modest profits -- enabled the brothers' later efforts to build the first successful heavier-than-air, powered aircraft in 1903.
Bicycle Spokes, Used by the Wright Brothers, Dayton, Ohio, circa 1900
Bicycle Spoke
The Wright brothers opened their first bicycle shop in 1892, and started building their own cycles under the Van Cleve and St. Clair brand names in 1896. The design and machining skills they gained from their bicycles -- as well as the modest profits -- enabled the brothers' later efforts to build the first successful heavier-than-air, powered aircraft in 1903.
St. Clair Bicycle Made by the Wright Brothers, 1897-1901
Bicycle
After their 1901 glider didn't perform as expected, Wilbur and Orville Wright modified a bicycle to test the data used to shape their wings. Riding the bike generated a breeze that simulated the air pressure against a wing in flight. Although this St. Clair bicycle was built by the Wrights, it is not the actual bike used in their experiments.
Orville Wright and Edwin H. Sines in Wright Cycle Shop, Dayton, Ohio, 1897
Photographic print
Orville Wright, at right, works alongside friend and former schoolmate Edwin H. Sines in the Wright brothers' Dayton, Ohio, bicycle shop. The Wrights' experiences building printing presses and bicycles sharpened their skills in precision machining. These talents were invaluable in their later work to build the first successful heavier-than-air, powered aircraft in 1903.
Band Saw, Used by the Wright Brothers, circa 1899
Band Saw
The Wright brothers' bicycle shop contained several large power tools primarily used for making and repairing bikes. Some were also used to build their early gliders and airplanes. The shop building did not have electricity, so the Putnam lathe, Crescent band saw and Barnes drill press were powered by overhead belts and shafts connected to a single-cylinder gas engine.