Eugene Sloane - Author and Bike Commuting Pioneer

Eugene Sloane - Author and Bicycle Commuting Pioneer

Eugene A. Sloane (1916 - 2008) is probably best remembered as the author of "The Complete Book of Bicycling," a book published at the start of the 1970s bike boom, that continued to be written in revised editions for the next 25 years. But he was also a bike commuter at a time when riding a bike to work was considered weird, and practiced by very few people. Sloane started out riding a three-speed in 1959 at age 43 when he saw a kid on a bike beating him downtown. He soon graduated to a light ten-speed bicycle from Europe when the existence of those bikes was little known in the United States.

I decided to create this page as a tribute to Eugene Sloane after getting a number of 8x10 photographs of him on eBay. Gene made many media appearances in the 1970s on TV, radio, and newspaper to discuss cycling. The newspapers would often take B&W photos to accompany their articles and then file them away. What's cool about the photos is they include a yellowed clipping of the original newspaper piece glued to the back of the photo. So in the pictures below, my description is accompanied by the text of the newspaper article or photo caption in italics. And if you're familiar with 8x10 B&W glossy photos, you know they are high resolution - a lot of detail can be picked up under a magnifying glass. For this page I've scanned these at 1200dpi, so click or tap on the date to have the image fill your browser window, then click again (or pinch out) to view it at that crazy 1200 dpi resolution where something like a derailleur on a bike will look big on screen. Since 2008 there have only been two rather low-quality pictures of Eugene Sloane on the Internet, but that will soon change when the search engines crawl this page.

So why an appreciation page for Eugene Sloane? Well, as a kid growing up in Appalachia, he had a major influence on the bike person I am today. There was no Internet back in those days, and the nearest bike shop was a long ways away. So I got a later edition of Sloane's "The Complete Book of Bicycling" and used the step-by-step procedures to fix the hand-me-down Raleigh 3-speed I was then riding. And from that book I learned all about 10-speeds and soon went up to one of those. I eventually had to put a long seatpost on that 10-speed to still fit the frame at the 109% inseam measurement Sloane recommends. Gene Sloane was good at giving specific advice on what you needed and where to get it. I still have the Silva Huntsman he recommended, mail ordered from the supplier he also recommended. And to the present day I take that compass along on tours as a backup to my GPS unit.

This page is accompanied by a Eugene Sloane Bibliography Page showing the covers of all twelve books he published. The Popular Mechanics Bike Articles Index has links to all the articles Gene wrote for that magazine as their bicycle editor.

Eugene Sloane Air Engineering February 21, 1962: Eugene Sloane Editor of "Air Engineering"

When Eugene Sloane took up bicycling in his 40s, he was editor of the publication "Air Engineering" in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Back in the 1960s air pollution from automobiles was a serious issue as pollution controls on exhaust were lacking. It was during this period that Sloane saw a kid going faster on a bike than his traffic-bound car and decided to take up bike commuting.

Newspaper Photo Caption:
Lansing, Feb. 20 - Editor to Testify
Eugene Sloane, editor of the publication "Air Engineering," will testify tomorrow before the Constitutional Convention Committee on emerging problems with air pollution in the Detroit area.

Eugene Sloane on Porch February 16, 1964: Eugene Sloane 1960s Bike Commuter

On a snowy Detroit morning Eugene Sloane departs his house for the 12-mile ride to work. This was 1964, so Gene's decision to commute by bike on a 24-mile round trip was practically unique. Enough so that the "Detroit Free Press" did an article about him complete with this photo and the one just below. Note the sensible attire - "skinny" pants to avoid chain snag, mittens to keep the fingers warmer than gloves, and a jacket with different insulation on the arms and core. Mr. Sloane is also wearing a crash helmet long before bicycle-specific helmets were available. In this case it's a lightweight motorcycle helmet that also helps retain head warmth.

Newspaper Article Introduction:
Detroit's most unusual commuter has triumphed over the agonies of urban transportation with a bicycle, crash helmet and oxygen mask. Magazine editor Eugene A. Sloane daily cycles the 24-mile round trip between his home at 294 Ridgemont, Grosse Pointe Farms, and his office at 450 W. Fort. "It's faster than the bus," he contends. It is also a great deal less expensive, and the health benefits can't be matched, he says.

Eugene Sloane in Basement Workshop February 17, 1964: Eugene Sloane's Bike Overhaul in His Basement Workshop

Here Sloane is working on his 19-pound Frejus imported from Italy. Click or tap on the date and you can examine that bike in detail thanks to the 1200dpi scan of the 8x10 photograph. Note the rolled-up tubular tire under the leather seat. Sloane was an expert at unstitching those tires and repairing them. The bike has rather massive incadescent lights on the front and rear. Bike lighting has come a long way since then! Notice that he has attached a translucent cone to that rear light to provide side visibility.

Newspaper Photo Caption:
Cyclist Eugene A. Sloane gives "commuter bike" annual overhaul.

Eugene Sloane Bicycle Riding on Michigan Avenue November 24, 1970: Eugene Sloane Bike Commuting in Downtown Chicago

In 1970 Eugene Sloane had moved from Detroit to Chicago, and the 1970s 10-speed bike boom had begun. Sloane had just published "The Complete Book of Bicycling," the first of many books about bicycle riding to appear in the 1970s. Here he is riding on Michigan Avenue near his downtown office building. The color photo below shows what that same spot on Michigan Ave. looks like fifty years later. The planters are a nice addition, but Michigan Ave. looks no more bike friendly than it did in 1970. There is movement to make the city more friendly for bicycle riding.

Newspaper Article:
Practicing What He Preaches
Chicago: Eugene A. Sloane moves down Michigan Ave. during a recent morning trip to his office. On weekends, Sloane goes on bicycle trips with his wife and three children. They cover as much as 100 miles on one trip. Sloane also takes his bike along on business trips, even when he flies. In a sense he practices what he preaches for he is the author of the recently published "The Complete Book of Bicycling."

Eugene Sloane New Complete Book of Bicycling January 1, 1974: Eugene Sloane in 1974 Book Promotional Photo

In 1974 Eugene Sloane had written the revised edition of his book "The New Complete Book of Bicycling," and he posed for a photo to be included in the book and on its dust jacket. There were actually two photos, one with helmet and one without. The helmet photo (below) was ultimately used when the book was published. I'm guessing the publisher wanted to use the more "presentable" photo without helmet, but Sloane insisted on the somewhat dorky picture with the hockey helmet, as that's what he really looked like when riding. Note that the original photo caption references the bike as a "Titan," but that bike is not the Teledyne Titan Gene was riding in 1974. It is actually a Raleigh Competition that came with Huret Jubilee derailleurs. The next two pictures down this page show the actual Titan he rode with its titanium frame.

Newspaper Photo Caption:
Biker-author Eugene A. Sloane, who wrote "The New Complete Book of Bicycling," pauses on his trusty Titan.

Eugene Sloane on Sidewalk with Teledyne Titan Bike July 15, 1974: Eugene Sloane Back in Detroit

Sloane returned to Detroit in 1974 for an interview with the "Detroit Free Press" on the 10th anniversary of their original article about him. Here he is riding the Teledyne Titan, the first production bicycle with a titanium frame. They were still learning how to make titanium frames at that time, and many of these Titans ultimately developed structural failures due to too much frame flex. But nothing was known about that in 1974.

Newspaper Article:
Eugene Sloane back in Detroit: A kid on a bike changed his life
A kid on a bike made Eugene Sloane rich. Sloane made a quarter of a million dollars in two years with "The Complete Book of Bicycling" published in 1970 (Simon and Schuster). And there is more to come since the revised 544-page edition "The New Complete Book of Bicycling," hit the book stores a month ago. When Sloane was editor of Detroit's now defunct "Air Engineering" magazine 10 years ago, he made his way downtown from his Grosse Pointe Farms home in a proper four-door-stop-at-every-red-light vehicle.

"And there was this kid on a rusty old bike who kept beating me." Sloane said during a visit to his former hometown. "It kept irritating me, not only because he got some place faster, but he was also slim and healthy, and I was fat and flabby."

So he started biking to work. Sloane moved quickly from a three-speed to a 10-speed and to the realization that "there was no book out on bicycling." So he wrote one, and for a year, his was the only one.

Today that kid is probably punching out fenders in an auto plant, while Sloane's money rolls on in.

"I make $20,000 a year just fiddling around consulting," he said. That's not to mention the money from the first book, the money from the revised edition, and all the other little prestige jobs he expects to reap as a recipient of a government grant to research bicycle safety programs for elementary schools. He also writes a monthly column.

Eugene Sloane High Visibility Outfit with Teledyne Titan Bike July 30, 1974: Eugene Sloane in High Visibility Attire

In this picture Eugene Sloane is promoting safe riding with an improvised high visibility outfit and a rearview mirror. The publisher likely wanted a photo sans hockey helmet (the Bell Biker helmet was still a year away). Look at the 1200dpi scan of this photo and you can see that Gene has a Silva Huntsman Compass cleverly threaded between his brake lever cables to discourage theft. I got a Silva Huntsman myself based on his recommendation. Sloane included a different picture of himself in this same outfit on page 192 of "The All New Complete Book of Bicycling," although he doesn't identify himself in the book. The caption for this photo is a bit ironic, as some of those Teledyne Titan bikes did later suffer structural failures while being ridden.

Newspaper Photo Caption:
Bicycle expert Eugene A Sloane says there is no such thing as an unsafe bicycle, only an unsafe rider.

Eugene Sloane Portrait with Rear View Mirror August 20, 1974: Portrait of Eugene Sloane in 1974

Looking behind himself with the mirror mounted on his eyeglasses. The caption on this photo is a little off, as Gene Sloane was born in 1916.

Newspaper Photo Caption:
Peering lopsidedly around the miniature rearview mirror hooked to the left side of his eye glasses, Eugene Sloane leaned his 10-speed bicycle against the pillar and said Monday, "You're never too old to start pedaling." Sloane, author of "The New Complete Book of Bicycling," began riding in 1959 at the age of 40.

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