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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Cycling, skateboarding, rollerblading > Cycling
The bicycle has long been a part of American culture but few would
describe it as an essential element of American identity in the
same way that it is fundamental to European and Asian cultures.
Instead, American culture has had a more turbulent relationship
with the bicycle. First introduced in the United States in the
1830s, the bicycle reached its height of popularity in the 1890s as
it evolved to become a popular form of locomotion for adults. Two
decades later, ridership in the United States collapsed. As
automobile consumption grew, bicycles were seen as backward and
unbecoming-particularly for the white middle class. Turpin
chronicles the story of how the bicycle's image changed
dramatically, shedding light on how American consumer patterns are
shaped over time. Turpin identifies the creation and development of
childhood consumerism as a key factor in the bicycle's evolution.
In an attempt to resurrect dwindling sales, sports marketers
reimagined the bicycle as a child's toy. By the 1950s, it had been
firmly established as a symbol of boyhood adolescence, further
accelerating the declining number of adult consumers. Tracing the
ways in which cycling suffered such a loss in popularity among
adults is fundamental to understanding why the United States would
be considered a ""car"" culture from the 1950s to today. As a lens
for viewing American history, the story of the bicycle deepens our
understanding of our national culture and the forces that influence
it.
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