I am not qualified to rank the riders of the past but it would seem to me that the responses so far are all within a narrow time window. I certainly would consider Major Taylor and Arthur Zimmerman to be among those recognized.
Of course you used modern terms to describe the types of cycling you were interested in so I guess it is fair that he hi-wheel crowd might be an afterthought but no excuses for Major Taylor.
Ray Homiski
Elizabeth, NJ