It appears special clothes made especially for cycling is not a recent trend.
American photographer and historian Lewis Hine used his camera as a tool for social reform, shooting thousands of photos of working children to document their hardship and abuse between 1908 and 1924.
Children as young as ten worked as bicycle messengers in several cities. Hine’s concern for these boys seems to be their long working hours and their exposure to prostitution and gambling. “The Reservation” referenced in some of the descriptions below was an early 20th Century colloquialism for the red light district.
From the U.S. Library of Congress. Original photo shot on December 9, 1907 by E.E. Mangold in South Bend, Indiana