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TOC – The Original Cushion

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fordsnake

I live for the CABE
Its interesting to view the plethora of transformations the bicycle has gone through to smooth out the rocky roads of the 1800s and the earlier 1900’s. A time when most American roads were dirt and muddy, connecting to the paved cobbled streets of the major cities. The smooth asphalt roads didn’t come about until the auto age.

There was surge of ideas from inventors for the bike to navigate and maneuver the jarring roads; from cushioned and pneumatic tires, to spring and suspension saddles.

One of the earliest suspensions was an idea from Charles L. Travis, patented July 21, 1896. This device was merely a compressed spring behind the seat post.

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Mr. Travis continued to perfect his design...and a few months later he had employed compressed air with his spring mechanism.

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The Travis monoshock patent was quickly acquired by the Hygienic Wheel Company. The cushion was featured on several high-grade bikes.

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One of the earliest adopter and an advocate of the cushion bike was George Pierce, he was an evangelist for the manufacturer Hygienic Wheel Co., and praised them whenever asked.
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Another unique design patent from C.L. Travis was the sandwich leaf spring behind the bottom bracket…it coupled the bracket and the rear fork stay allowing the frame to forgive when riding bumpy roads.

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The Travis shock absorber and sandwich spring was acquired by the Hygienic Wheel Company.

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The Hygienic Wheel Co., combination of both spring designs was showcased on several high-grade bikes. This Miami Cycle, Flying Merkel featured both designs.


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The Hygienic Wheel Co. was the largest manufacturer of the cushion suspension, they supplied nearly all of the bike makers.
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There were a few copycats that attempted to slice a piece of the pie, infringing on the Travis design.

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The Hygienic Wheel Company eventually became the leader and at the forefront of cushion bikes.

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Hygienic’s biggest competitor was the Regas Co. owned and operated by J.H.Sager, the founder of the Sager gears, saddles and suspensions (Regas is Sager spelled backwards)

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Sager was fascinated by the spring suspension and developed many patent designs for the bicycles, motorcycle and the automobile.

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In Nov.25 1902, Sager was granted a patent for a clever idea called the “Hinge” a pivot bracket, this reduced the rigidity of the steel frame and allowed the bike more flexibility over the road.

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Fauber began producing the Sager Hinge Bracket.

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James H. Sager had a penchant for spring suspensions…but no where can I find a patent for a Sager mono-shock behind the seat post?
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Note this Sager Gear mono-shock has no Patent number...it reads Patent Pending! Which leads me to conjecture that perhaps Sager ripped off the Hygienic patent?

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Then I discovered this tidbit, that in 1903 Sager was no longer in business.

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Look who Sager sells his name and patents to!mono-shock

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From the above article, Sager Gear sells the kit & caboodle to George Pierce. It appears that Pierce had a controlling interest in the operation of Hygienic, hence him turning over the Sager deal to Hygienic. Remember George Pierce was enamored with the cushion spring. He was one of the first bike manufacturer to offer the cushion shock and purchased exclusively from Hygienic. George was very business savvy, so is it conceivable that Pierce buys Sager, the name and the patents, so that he could control and monopolized the cushion arena...he allowes Hygienic to continue offering the cushioned shock...but he (Pierce) manufactures and introduces the Sager mono-shock, because Sager was an optimal company and had become synonymous with bicycle fittings, i.e., gears and saddles! This way his competition would unknowingly buy product from Hygienic, thinking they're buying a Sager. And of course Pierce not to be outdone, stamped the Pierce name on the cushion shocks for his bikes. Note the photo below it's a Pierce Hygienic cushion with patents #'s, looks exactly like the Sager that has no patents
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Of course the conclusion of whether Pierce produced Sager is only conjecture...it's a brilliant business strategy, and I wouldn't put it pass these bicycle moguls, if it did occur? If anyone has any information that contradicts my speculation please share...I'm still investigating it. :confused:;)
 
You! Have way too much free time...... Thanks for doing all the research! Very cool info.
 
I haven't forgot about the front end...it just takes time to pull it together. I should have a compilation this weekend.
 
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