Dr. Doolittle was convinced that the bicycle had won a permanent Place on city roads, not only for "the revellers in idleness and luxury, but also those who toil daily for their wants." He believed this trend would continue as bicycle prices dropped and roads improved, suggesting that the "practical, every-day utility of this vehicle has become ... patent to all."

Saturday Night's Sheppard suggested that bicycles were not a fad but had prompted permanent changes similar to other major changes such as the conversion from steam to electricity. Indeed, he suggested that the bicycle was spurring an egalitarian and democratic tendency in society. "If milord and milady ride bicycles followed by a valet and maid on wheels, no one will know which is the aristocrat and which the servant?"

— Wheeling Through Toronto by Albert Koehl (Page 43)