Here's a link to a story of one of the pioneers of the bicycle industry. It is someone I'd never before heard of and might have been a contemporary of the Wright Bros, or more likely a predecessor.

John William Kiser - Wikipedia
Monarch Cycle Manufacturing Company - Wikipedia

Check out the links below the articles, they are more fascinating than the articles, themselves.

One link is to a googlebooks edition of Cycling in Chicago by Chris McAuliffe. Chicago = Schwinn and Paramount, no? Must read more when I have time.