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Start of 1891 High Wheel Championship.
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An image of men sitting on all metal high wheeled bicycles are at the starting line. There are spectators in the foreground.

Credit: Courtesy Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia

Introduced in the early 1870s, all metal high wheel bicycles were significant improvements over their predecessors. Unwieldy and dangerous by modern standards, they had a single speed and solid rubber tires. Soon after their introduction, young men were racing them in both Europe and the United States.

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