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First Bike
This first bike was very un-modern, it had no pedals, no brakes, and no handlebars. You rode on this bike by pushing with your feet. -
First Rubber Factory
The first rubber factory was very influential because it allowed the bike tires to be made of rubber instead of iron and wood. -
Primitive Handlebars
The first bikes did not feature a handlebar, a safety concern that made bikes harder to steer. The handlebar allowed bikes to be more maneuverable and ultimately helped lead to their success. -
Tricycles and Multiple Wheeled Cycles
Although these can't really classify as bicycles, these human powered vehicles had pedals and multiple wheels of the same size, both of which would later be integrated into bikes. The downfall of these was brought by their excessive weight. -
Kirkpatrick MacMillan invents the Bicycle Pedal
A Irish blacksmith by the name of Kirkpatrick MacMillan had an idea to create pedals for his bike instead of just scooting around like a scooter. His invention involved pedals that where connected to the back wheel by metal rods. He handcrafted his wheels using iron. -
"Boneshaker" Bikes Created
Two french brothers created a bicycle that had its pedals attached to the front wheel, not unlike a tricycle. The design involved a wooden frame, and wooden wheels with an iron rim. -
First Bicycle Race
The first ever bicycle race was held in Paris. The winner of the race was a Briton on a bike that had a wooden frame and iron tires. -
High-wheeler bikes
By the 1870's early high wheeler bikes were becoming popular in the world of cycling. These bikes where made completely out of metal, after large advances in metal working. The bikes also had front wheel pedals. Unlike their predecessors they had solid rubber tires, which cushioned out the ride a bit. -
Bikes Help Liberate Women
In the 1880's and 1890's bikes allowed women to have a degree of freedom that was before unprecedented. Susan B. Anthony was a huge advocate for bikes, she thought that they had "done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world." These bikes allowed the women to travel to their work during the industrial age. -
Steel Manufacturing
As technologies quickly advanced, the price of steel dropped and the quality escalated. Between 1880 and 1900 the amount of steel produced in the US increased 10 fold, a result of the industrial revolution. Steel would be the main material for bike frames for over 100 years, and even today lower end bikes are made from it. -
"Safety Bicycle" Invented
The safety bicycle were a gigantic advancement for bikes. Instead of the uneven wheel sizes, this bike had wheels that where equal. The bike also had ruber tires with inflateable tubes inside that are still used today. Along with these two improvements, the safety bicycle also was the first to feature a chain and sprocket drivetrain. -
Bicycles Make a Change in Womens' Fashion
The shape of bikes in the 1880's was not any different for men as it was for women, both had a high top, so it was very difficult for a woman to bike in an ankle length skirt. Because of this, many women chose to switch to Bloomers, which at the time were shocking. -
Elmer Ambrose Sperry Invents the Disk Brake
Although the first disk brakes were designed for cars, and it would be well over half a century before people really thought about putting a disk brake on a bike, Sperry's disk brake is the father of all disk brakes. The brakes of today's mountain bikes are incredibly light and efficient, compared to the brakes of the time, but his brakes still influenced the bike industry. -
Derailleur invented
Sometime between 1900 and 1910 French bicyclists came up with this way to shift gears on their bikes. Derailleurs are still used in bikes today, although they are much more advanced. The derailleur allowed an advance from single speed bikes to multi-speed bikes, which are more energy efficient and more popular today. -
German War Bikes
Bikes were used by the Germans during WWI to quickly move troops and supplies over long distances with relative inexpensiveness. These bikes had to be very durable, not unlike mountain bikes, -
Bike Boom in the United States
In between 1960 and 1970 the sales of bikes in the United States nearly doubled. This led to larger productions of bikes in the US in factories that would not have been possible if not for the Industrial Revolution. -
Joe Breeze
Joe Breeze is credited for the first mountain bike that was built specifically for riding bikes on a mountain. -
First Suspension Fork Invented
The suspension fork was and continues to be a tremendous advancement in mountain biking. The first model of suspension fork featured 1" of suspension, whereas my bike has 4" of travel, which is about standard. Downhill and freeride bikes today often have 8" of suspension, but the first fork was still a massive improvement over a rigid fork. -
First International Cycling Mountain Bike Race
After the invention of the mountain bike, there were many low key races and races that were not as well recognized as road bike races. In 1991, the UCI (one of the largest biking organizations in the world) had its first official mountain bike race. With a race comes competitiveness, and this pushed companies to make better bikes. -
I Ride My Bike.
I rode my bike to school to school today, a result of centuries of technologies.
