Rambler (bicycle)
{{Refimprove|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox brand
| name = Rambler
| image = 1891gormullyjefferyad.jpg
| caption = 1891 Rambler advertisement
| producttype = Bicycle
| producedby = {{Ubl|Gormully & Jeffery (1878-1900)|American Bicycle Company (from 1900)}}
| country = United States
| introduced = 1878
| related = Rambler automobile
}}
Rambler was an American bicycle brand manufactured by the Gormully & Jeffery Manufacturing Company (G&J) in Chicago from 1878 to 1900 and subsequently by the American Bicycle Company.
History
The Rambler brand was created in 1878 by Thomas B. Jeffery, who co-founded G&J in Chicago with R. Philip Gormully. At the time, low prices often took precedence over quality but in manufacturing the Rambler, G&J used several more costly techniques, such as using brass-brazed joints instead of more common non-brazed welds, which improved the quality of the bicycle.
In 1897, Jeffery built his first Rambler automobile, a simple single cylinder car with bicycle wheels and a forerunner of the 1901 Rambler Model A.Flammang, James M. (1999). 100 Years of the American Auto Millennium Edition. United States:Publications International, Ltd.
Jeffery sold his stake in the successful bicycle company in 1900 to the American Bicycle Company to focus on automobiles after favorable responses to his exhibition of a $900 runabout at auto shows.{{Cite web |title=Gormully & Jeffery Mfg. Co. |url=https://chicagology.com/cycling/gormullyjeffery/ |access-date=March 29, 2022 |website=Chicagology |language=en-US}} At the time, G&J was the second-largest bicycle manufacturer in the US.{{Cite web |last=Hoglund |first=Laura |last2=Molony |first2=Senan |last3=Tavares |first3=Judith |date=July 25, 2011 |title=Mr. Charles Thomas Jeffery |url=https://www.rmslusitania.info/people/saloon/charles-jeffery/ |access-date=March 29, 2022 |website=Lusitania Resource |language=en-US}}
Manufacturing
The Rambler's body featured flared metal tubing for extra strength at the joints, which were brazed by immersion in molten brass. These techniques continued even after Gormully & Jeffery and Rambler became brands of the American Bicycle Company.
References
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{{American bicycle manufacturers}}
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Category:Cycle manufacturers of the United States
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