Students have been a ready market for
secondhand wheels since the invention of the motor
car, but this ad from the 1899 BU Hub wasn't for a
Toyota or a Dodge. Bicycle stores made up a good
part of the advertising in early Boston University
yearbooks, and their wares were hardly cheap. We'd
guess that adjusting for the price index, a BU
student forking out $75 for a chainless bike in
1899 -- when tuition was a little more than $100 --
would be much harder hit than a student buying a
new car today.
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