
Schickel Big 5
Years: 1913 – 1915
Schickel built compact, affordable motorcycles in the 1910s, often with clever packaging that kept weight down and maintenance accessible. The company experimented with controls, carburetion, and belt drives at a time when the industry was still finding its standards. Schickel bikes served small-town Americans who needed simple, economical transport and who lacked access to big-city service networks. As consolidation and automotive growth reshaped the market, Schickel disappeared, but its survivors illustrate early American ingenuity: machines that made mobility possible for people far from rail lines and streetcars. Historically, Schickel stands for the practical end of the veteran era—utility first, invention as needed, and construction that invited owners to become their own mechanics.