Overman Wheel Company

Albert Overman started the Overman Wheel Company in 1882 in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts with an investment of $62,000. Overman were the first American manufacturers of the safety bicycle. In 1888 the company began making its own bicycles, with a staff of about thirty men. At its height, the factory employed about 1,400 men in five buildings. The factory produced 80,000 bicycles per year, the only bicycle factory at the time which made the entire bicycle. ==Victor Bicycle==

The flagship product of the Overman Company was the Victor Bicycle. The Victor Bicycle made extensive use of interchangeable parts, an innovation which allowed the owner to make minor repairs, without bringing the bicycle to a professional mechanic. It was correspondingly priced at the high end of the market. The Overman factory made the complete bicycle, including tires, saddles, rims, etc. By 1895, eight models of the Victor were offered; five heights for men, two heights for women, and a racer which was available in five different heights. The 1895 Victoria Ladies' Bicycle sold for US$100. The Overman Wheel Company was a pioneer in using testing equipment to measure things like bicycle power output and tire elasticity. This gave Victor bicycles a significant weight advantage over competitors of the time. The Overman factory complex was made up of three buildings, and was located in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. It was considered the "most complete bicycle plant in the United States." The company had offices in Boston, New York, Detroit, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon. ==Decline==

Overman had contracted with the Spalding sports equipment company as their sole bicycle distributor. By May 1899, the company was desperately trying to regain market share by slashing bicycle prices down to $40. Overman sold his bicycle business to the Stevens Arms & Tool Co. of Chicopee Falls, MA in 1900. ==Overman Automobile Company==

As early as 1899, Overman was turning his attention to automobiles. In 1901 Overman reorganized as the Overman Automobile Company, which sold a vehicle called the Victor Steam Carriage. Sales were not very high, and Andrew L. Riker designed an 8-hp 2-cylinder gasoline car, and a 16-hp 4-cylinder car which he partnered with Overman Automobile Company to produce. Overman merged with the Locomobile Company of America in 1904 and the cars became Locomobile's fist gasoline automobiles.. ==Albert H. Overman==

Albert H. Overman was born in Fulton County, Illinois, on March 21, 1850. ==References==