Wheelie bike speedometers, windshields, hand grip streamers, headlights, taller sissy bars, axle spinners, and back rests such as shown on this bicycle: The Raleigh Chopper was the best selling children's bicycle in the UK. The wheelie bike fad drove bicycle sales to over 4 million units in the US, and accounted for 75% of total US bicycle sales in 1968, but it also helped contribute to the impression in the US that bicycles are merely children's toys. Dangerous features, such as shifters mounted on the top tube, were banned in the US in 1974. The wheelie bike fad even attracted the attention
Bike Week (Bicycle Week) choose cycling as a chief means of transportation for the week. Introduced in the 19th century, the bicycle has a host of innovators and inventors. Though specifics of its origin may be hazy, the concept of bicycling as a mode of transportation surely originated in Europe. In 1923, the first preliminary Bike Week was held in the UK and a tradition was born. The annual event is nearly a century old and is religiously observed in Europe and more recently in North America. While the dates of a respective city's Bike Week may differ, conceptually, the event remains the same.