Nostalgic Items- Things Worth Saving: One Speed Bikes With Coaster Brakes

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Have you ever thought about the things in our society no longer popular or around anymore? Thanks to an old 1989 Life magazine I found in my basement, I've discovered many things in our culture that have become obsolete, different, or near extinct. Due to advancements in technology we have replaced and pushed aside many of these nostalgic items of our past. So today's nostalgic item is bicycles, specifically the one speed bikes with coaster (foot) brakes. From the tricycle of the 1820's to 1850's to the high wheel bicycle of the 1870's to the more traditional safety bicycles developed in the 1890's manufacturers and inventors were always improving their product. By the turn of the century the bicycle craze was on and influenced the bicycle industry to make better, verstaile, and more efficient bikes for the public. I can remember when I got my first 10-speed bike. It was like a status symbol! It was the cool bike to have at the time. It looked different from the traditional one speed bikes, was easier to pedal uphill, could go faster than the old version bikes, and had hand brakes, and neat handlebars. The one drawback, they cost a lot more, but it was on every neighborhood kid's birthday or Christmas list in my town. Now the one-speed bike has not vanished but morphed over time. It is still alive just different in many of today's models. You can still find them in mountain, track, hybrid and road bikes. What type of bicycle did you own as a kid? And for some of us still riding bikes... as adults? Source for bike history: Wikipedia Photo: Gearpatrol.com