There are many people (and even countries) who have claimed the invention of the bicycle, but the reality is that no one person can be credited. It took a combined effort over several centuries to get us from “running machines” to bicycles as we know them today. A bicycle can generally be defined as a road vehicle with two wheels placed in line one behind the other, set in motion by means of two foot-operated pedals. But in the past, the bicycle worked differently. What is her history?
The bicycle, the invention of the past and the future
Invented in 19th-century Europe, bicycles now number over a billion, providing the primary means of transportation in many regions. They are also very popular as a form of recreation and have been adapted for use in many other areas of human activity such as toys, fitness, military applications, courier services and the sport of cycling .
Germany is taking an important step in the development of green transport, intending to build the first bicycle highway on its territory. Recently, the first section of the road, measuring 5 kilometers, was opened to the public. When completed, the highway will be 100 kilometers long.
The word bicycle first appeared in English print in The Daily News in 1868 to describe “Bysicles and trysicles” on the “Champs Elysées et Bois de Boulogne”. The word was first used in 1847 in a French publication to describe an unidentified two-wheeled vehicle, possibly a carriage.
The history of the first bicycle
As it turns out, this wildly popular invention has a history full of controversy. While stories about who invented the bicycle often conflict, one thing is certain: the first bicycles were nothing like the ones you see on the street today.
The first known iterations of a human-powered wheeled vehicle were created long before the bicycle became a practical form of transportation.
1817 – Draisienne (Dandy Horse)
To understand how we arrived at the design of the bike, we have to start with the Draisienne or “running machine”. Made entirely of wood, there were no pedals or gears, just two wheels and a seat. Using a steerable front wheel, they were used to speed up travel, but disappeared as quickly as they appeared due to numerous accidents. Extremely heavy and difficult to drive, people often lost control at corners on busy pedestrian streets.
1820s – Tricycles and quadricycles
Although these were still far from the typical two-wheeled bicycle design, they introduced the use of pedals or cranks to propel the vehicle forward. Both tricycles and quadricycles were extremely heavy and had high rolling resistance.
1863 – Velocipede (Boneshaker)
The velocipede, also known as the “bone jerker”, was invented in France and was somewhat similar in design to the Draisienne. Reverting back to two wheels, the velocipede had pedals on the front wheel and a brake consisting of a metal lever and a wooden pad pressing on the rear wheel. True to its name, this “bike” was extremely uncomfortable with its wooden wheel and iron tires on rough cobbled streets.
1870 – Penny Farthing (High Wheeler)
The Penny Farthing was the first model made entirely of metal and was much more pleasant to drive with the large front wheel making it more comfortable, easier to navigate and more efficient. The pedals were still attached to the front wheel, but because it was so much bigger, each rotation took you further.
The problem was with the balancing to stay on the vehicle with the tall wheels. Even the smallest unexpected bump in the road could cause the rider to lose their balance and crash headfirst into the street.
1880 – Safety bicycle (diamond or rover frame)
Englishman John Kemp Starkely came up with the first commercially successful safety bicycle (called the Rover), but it was not necessarily entirely his design. There were a few similar models using transmission, but the Rover was the breaking point for cycling as we know it.
With the introduction of metal strong and light enough to make a chain and sprockets, this allowed for smaller wheel sizes. This marked a change in bicycles from a dangerous toy to an efficient means of transportation available to the general public.
1888 – The pneumatic tire
The invention of the pneumatic (air-filled) tire not only made bicycles much more comfortable to ride, but also safer. Scottish doctor John Boyd Dunlap first came up with this idea.
1900 to today
Although materials have changed a lot, with lightweight bikes made from titanium or carbon fiber, the design has undergone only minor adjustments over the last century. Perhaps the biggest of these was the development of the derailleur and gearing. Up until this point in the 1930s, the rear wheel had a pinion on each side of the hub and had to be removed and flipped over each time the rider wanted to change gears.