Originally Posted by
Phil_gretz
I understand that you meant this as humor, but...
You'll have to cite references for a statement like that. This would likely have been the rare exception rather than the rule.
More likely that for a "fancy dress party", attendees were brought in closed carriages or coaches drawn by horses. Even frontier folk in America used wagons for basic transport unless speed was the primary need. For anything "fancy" (the operative word), then better clothing would be worn.
For the OP, the operative principle is to honor the host and hostess. Would your arrival by bike, and any distraction that this might bring to the guests, be dishonoring to the hosts? If so, reconsider your plan. If not, enjoy yourself, but be presentable so as to not to be seen as disrespectful of the occasion or of others. Check your motives.
I did mean it as humor. I thought about several other ways to extend the joke too, like that couples and families need a carriage, but
single men are more likely to arrive on
horseback a bike. Or that classy people are more likely to have driven while poorer are more likely to
walk. Or that making a splash might be the actual goal, and that it is ok goal to have, as long as it's not rude to the host, as you say. But you won't know if it's successful until it's too late.
The real answer to the original question is, "No one will even notice or care unless you tell them."