Sylph (bicycle brand) explained

Sylph was a brand of bicycle designed by Charles Duryea in the late 1800s.^[1] They were initially manufactured by Ames Manufacturing Company, in Chicopee, Massachusetts, starting in 1890, and then by Rouse and Hazard, in Peoria, Illinois, from 1892 to 1898.^[2]

Notoriety

• One Sylph model had a smaller wheel in front and handlebars mounted below the seat that came up on either side of it.^[1]
• A photograph of a "Duryea Sylph springframe safety bicycle" was used by David V. Herlihy for his 'Bicycle, The History'.^[3]
• Rouse and Hazard manufactured 200,000 Sylph bicycles between 1894 and 1898^[4]
• The Sylph brand won "top honors" at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.^[2]
• The Sylph model A incorporated a spring suspension it the frame.^[5]

References

1. Book: Ratay , Richard . Don't Make Me Pull Over! An Informal History of the Family Road Trip. July 3, 2018. 16. Schribner.
2. Web site: Cycling's roots run deep at Illinois Cycle & Fitness. August 27, 2013. Journal Star. May 27, 2020.
3. Book: Herlihy , David V. . David V. Herlihy. Bicycle, The History. registration. Yale University Press. 2004. 0-300-10418-9.
4. Web site: Peoria's Early Cycling History. Chris. Sweet. SlideShare. January 12, 2016. May 27, 2020.
5. Web site: Iron Age, Volume 48, Issue 1, The Sylph Cycle . August 27, 1891. May 27, 2020.