Indiana Bicycle Company was a bicycle and automobile company in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
, United States. The company made carriages, bicycles and electric vehicles under the name Waverley Cycles. By 1896 the company was producing 350 bicycles every ten hours.
History
Bicycles
In 1885 Charles F. Smith started the Indiana Bicycle company.
The Indiana Bicycle company consisted of 8 buildings which produced tools, a forging shop for manufacturing sprockets and cranks, and other buildings for the assembly and manufacture of bicycle parts. In 1896 the company employed 1071 people and turned out 350 bicycles every ten hours.
In 1895 the company produced three different bicycles: the ''Scorcher'', the ''Belle'', the ''Ladies Special Diamond''.
The company produced in excess of 50,000 bicycles a year.
American Bicycle Company (1899-1903)
In 1899 the company joined a
trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
which was set up to control the bicycle market in the United States. Forty-two factories were part of the trust; the major barrier to organizing it was the manufacturer of rubber tires. It was decided that tires would be purchased from the "Rubber King",
Charles R. Flint.
The trust which formed under the name
American Bicycle Company
American Bicycle Company (1899-1903) was an American bicycle company (Trust) led by Albert Augustus Pope. The company was formed to consolidate the manufacturers of bicycles and bicycle parts. In the 1890s the advancements in bicycle design led ...
only lasted a few years. Historians have not determined why the company failed but they have several theories. One idea was that the company was poorly organized, and another theory is that the various manufacturers involved in the company had different objectives. After the breakup the many different companies went back to competing.
Automobiles
The company manufactured carriages, cars and bicycles. From 1897-1916 the Waverley company produced electric cars which looked like carriages.
In 1913 the ''Silent Waverley Front-Drive Four'' was priced at $2900 dollars
which would equate to $81,419.11 dollars in 2021.
Gallery
File:1897 Indiana Bicycle Company Waverley cycles from the Naugatuck Daily News.png, 1897 Waverley cycles
File:1896 Indiana Bicycle Company Waverley Cycles Advertisement.png, 1896 Waverley ad
Indiana Bicycle Company, manufacturers of the Waverley - DPLA - 6e7a8dc73bb7af04dc7a1740b6e6f664 (page 27).jpg, 1895 Waverley women's bike
File:1913 Waverley Electric Automobile.png, 1913 Waverley electric car
References
External links
1896 Waverley Catalog1901 Waverley Electric car
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indiana Bicycle Company
History of cycling
Cycle manufacturers of the United States
History of cycling in the United States
Manufacturing companies based in Indianapolis
Motor vehicle manufacturers
Companies based in Indiana