The pre-bicycle bicycle was a fad in the early 1800s.

They were called velocipedes and manufacturing had gotten to the point where a two-wheeled vehicle capable of supporting a man could be built but the gears and chains needed to connect cranks and pedals to wheels were difficult or impossible to make.

So guys would straddle the velocipede and push themselves up and down the street, showing off.

Velocipedes predate pedal-powered bicycles by about 50 years and are powered by strides instead of pedaling.

Buster Keaton's 1923 movie "Our Hospitality" was set in 1830s. It features a velocipede.

Here's one in the Smithsonian: http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_264.html

They were a huge fad in the early 1800s and there were indoor arenas built, like roller skating rinks, where people could gather and push themselves around in a group. There were schools set up to teach riders how to push themselves around. Laws were passed to ban them in some locations because of the risk of accidents for both the riders and passers-by. (no brakes)

They were popular with more style-conscious gentlemen, which led to them being derisively labeled "Dandy horses".

Velocipedes fell out of fashion before the first true bicycles appeared, but they paved the way for the crank-powered machines that would become a fad among the upper class in the mid-to-late 1800s.

Other fads included the fashion trends that swept in waves across the country but I don't know much about those. The line "stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni" in Yankee Doodle was referencing the unsophisticated attempts by Americans to emulate the faddish fashions of the late 1700s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaroni_(fashion)

Here's some info on the early development and use of the velocipede in England: http://books.google.com/books?id=J9gzAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA360&ots=9IZX1Rx7K0&dq=A%20machine%20denominated%20the%20Pedestrian%20Hobby-horse..&pg=PA360#v=onepage&q&f=false

edit: Here's a reference of New York banning velocipedes from the streets in 1819: http://books.google.com/books?id=NAIM6OZNywAC&lpg=PA60&ots=Y3YOhP9mXM&dq=new%20york%201819%20velocipede%20ordinance&pg=PA60#v=onepage&q=new%20york%201819%20velocipede%20ordinance&f=false

and here's a book with information about velocipede use in the early 1800s in other cities in the United States, including a brief description of a "Velocipede rink" and its reception in other cities: http://books.google.com/books?id=VDlaT0KxJfAC&lpg=PA418&ots=SMVWAzXzjg&dq=%22velocipede%22%20%221819%22%20%22new%20york%22&pg=PA43#v=onepage&q&f=false

one more: http://books.google.com/books?id=uS9LAAAAYAAJ&dq=velocipede&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q&f=false

The link goes to the section about the velocipede's 1819 introduction in New York City.

I love how elsewhere this book declares the 1819 version of the velocipede as "quaint but good for the times" 40 years later.

I realize the 1850's-60's aren't exactly early 1800's. But this is a fun trend in my opinion and I might as well share it.

Beards were hugely trendy during the civil war era. And I mean really, really trendy. Pictures were just starting to become more accessible during this time, and most people when asked to imagine a civil war soldier will probably think of a scraggly dude sporting a beard in a black and white photo (I have no idea if pictures had anything to do with this trend). And I assure you, the beard was not just because shaving was a luxury. It is fairly common knowledge that a lot of veterans of the Civil War wore beards. But I doubt many people really think about it very much, or realize exactly how popular they really were during the civil war era.

For instance, just look through newspapers from the time and you'll find countless ads for men's beard care and styling products, far outnumbering any other ads (I would give links but the ones I have on hand are from subscription based databases).

Beards were also popular across class lines. And pretty much every President who sported facial hair during their presidency was alive during this period (Lincoln, Hayes, Arthur, Taft, Grant, Garfield, Cleveland, Harrison, Roosevelt). Not everyone did the full general Burnside, but beards were hugely popular (and I suspect socially important) at that time in America.

And here is a link to a non-academic gallery of some of the more famous beards from that time.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2104419/The-greatest-beards-moustaches-Civil-War.html

Apologies that this post wasn't as academic or in depth as it probably should be on this thread.

Were there any sort of popular toys for affluent children at this time? Dolls, tops, jacks, yo-yos, anything of that sort? And if so, were there any companies that grew large by selling these products?

Would you consider religiosity a fad? Because that was the time of the Second Great Awakening; http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/nevanrev.htm