Rambler (bicycle company)
The Rambler was an American bicycle brand manufactured by the Gormully & Jeffery Mfg. Co., in Chicago from 1878 to 1900. This bicycle brand was created by Thomas B. Jeffery and was the predecessor to Jeffery's Rambler automobile.
In 1897 Jeffery built his first automobile, it was a simple single cylinder car with bicycle wheels. It was a forerunner of the 1901 Rambler Model A.
In 1900 Thomas B. Jeffery sold his successful bicycle company to focus on Rambler automobiles after the exhibition of a $900 Runabout at auto shows got favorable responses.
The Rambler was still a proud piece of machinery when low prices took precedence over high quality. Its 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 names of the American Bicycle Company, or Bicycle Trust, which was not known for the best manufacturing techniques in all of its lines.
