History
Wooden
draisine (around 1820), the first two-wheeler and as such the archetype of the bicycle
Being the first human means of transport to make use of the two-wheeler principle, the draizine (or
Laufmaschine, "walking machine"), invented by the German
Baron Karl von Drais, is regarded as the forerunner of the modern bicycle. It was introduced by Drais to the public in
Mannheim in summer 1817 and in Paris in 1818.
[3] Its rider sat astride a wooden frame supported by two in-line wheels and pushed the vehicle along with his/her feet while steering the front wheel.
Michaux' son on velocipede 1868
Thomas McCall in 1869 on his velocipede
In the early 1860s, Frenchmen
Pierre Michaux and
Pierre Lallement took bicycle design in a new direction by adding a mechanical
crank drive with pedals on an enlarged front wheel (the
velocipede). Another French inventor by the name of Douglas Grasso had a failed prototype of Pierre Lallement's bicycle several years earlier. Several inventions followed using rear wheel drive, the best known being the rod-driven velocipede by Scotsman
Thomas McCall in 1869. The French creation, made of iron and wood, developed into the "
penny-farthing" (historically known as an "ordinary bicycle", a
retronym, since there was then no other kind).
[4] It featured a tubular steel frame on which were mounted wire-spoked wheels with solid rubber tires. These bicycles were difficult to ride due to their very high seat and poor
weight distribution. In 1868 a Michaux cycle was brought to
Coventry,
England by Rowley Turner, sales agent of the Coventry Sewing Machine Company (which soon became the Coventry Machinist Company). His uncle, Josiah Turner, together with business partner
James Starley used this as a basis for the 'Coventry Model' in what became Britain's first cycle factory.
[5]
Bicycle in
Plymouth, England at the start of the 20th century
The
dwarf ordinary addressed some of these faults by reducing the front wheel diameter and setting the seat further back. This necessitated the addition of gearing, effected in a variety of ways, to efficiently use the power available. However, having to both pedal and steer via the front wheel remained a problem.
J. K. Starley (nephew of
James Starley), J. H. Lawson, and Shergold solved this problem by introducing the
chain drive (originated by the unsuccessful "bicyclette" of Englishman Henry Lawson),
[6] connecting the frame-mounted cranks to the rear wheel. These models were known as
dwarf safeties, or
safety bicycles, for their lower seat height and better weight distribution. (Although without pneumatic tires the ride of the smaller wheeled bicycle would be much rougher than that of the larger wheeled variety.) Starley's 1885 Rover, manufactured in
Coventry,
England,
[7] is usually described as the first recognizably modern bicycle. Soon, the
seat tube was added, creating the double-triangle
diamond frame of the modern bike.
Further innovations increased comfort and ushered in a second
bicycle craze, the 1890s'
Golden Age of Bicycles. In 1888, Scotsman
John Boyd Dunlop introduced the first practical
pneumatic tire, which soon became universal. Soon after, the rear
freewheel was developed, enabling the rider to coast. This refinement led to the 1890s invention
[8] of
coaster brakes.
Derailleur gears and hand-operated
cable-pull brakes were also developed during these years, but were only slowly adopted by casual riders. By the turn of the century,
cycling clubs flourished on both sides of the Atlantic, and touring and racing became widely popular.
Bicycles and horse buggies were the two mainstays of private transportation just prior to the automobile, and the grading of smooth roads in the late 19th century was stimulated by the widespread advertising, production, and use of these devices.
Source : Wikipedia
