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Jan 1, 1418
First Human Powered Land Vehicle
Giovanni Fontana was the first to build a land vehicle powered by humans. It had 4 wheels and an endless rope connecting gears to wheels. -
Celerifere
Comte De Sicrac was credited with creating the Celerifere but it is now considered a hoax. It had no steering, horizontal wooden bar with 2 equal sized wheels, and propulsion by running -
Draisienne
Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun created the Draisienne as a response to starvation and horse slaughtering and to provide a less expensive and low maintenance form of transportation. It was also called the running machine, velocipede, hobby horse, or dandy horse. It was a wooden machine with had a steerable front wheel and was propelled by pushing off with the feet. -
Pneumatic Tires
Pneumatic tires carried the load and absorbed shocks by the compressed air in the tire casing and were used as early as 1845. It wasn't until the 1880s when John Dunlop obtained a patent for the pneumatic bicycle tires as they provide more comfort and pneumatic tires were being used This isn't the actual machine or bicycle, it is just a part of the system that was used on later bikes. -
Boneshaker
Boneshaker or velocipede is the first bike with pedals as it was more energy efficient compared to propulsion by running. It had a stiff iron frame, wooden wheels surrounded by iron tires. It got its name from the uncomfortable ride. -
Lawson's Bike / Chain Driven Bike
Lawson’s bike was a chain driven bike created for more efficiency but it take off as much as it was heavier and costed more compared to other safety bikes. -
Penny-Farthing
Penny-Farthing or Ordinary is a bike with a larger front wheel and small back wheel and the Victorian invention of the tensioned spokes that hold the wheels together. It was created for speed. The penny-farthing had no gearing system which meant that one rotation of the pedals produced one turn of the wheel so one small turn made a larger rotation. It was also more comfortable but it then showed to be dangerous as it wasn't as balanced. -
Adult Tricycle
In the 1880s, while most men rode the Ordinary, the adult tricycle was made for ladies in long skirts and corsets or more dignified men such as doctors or clergies. They had 3 wheels and were more balanced. They also had rack and pinion steering, differential and band brakes which are used in modern automobiles. -
Safety Bike
Around 1885 - The safety bike began to gain popularity and was created to improve safety compared to the ordinary. The chain drive was on a large chainring and a small rear sprocket for more speed and allowed smaller wheels. This created more balance compared to the penny-farthing and the rider could touch the ground. Safety bikes and bikes using chains include Mccammon (1884), Whippet (notable for its use of springs to suspend the frame - 1885), Rover (1885 ish), etc. -
Whippet Safety Bike
The Whippet Safety Bike is notable for its use of springs to suspend the frame and it would insulate the rider from the roughness of the terrain. Whippet safety bikes were also had 2-speed derailleur gears. -
Derailleur System
The derailleur system was introduced to the Tour de France, allowing riders to change gears and speeds without having to remove wheels. Gears were used before but become more known from Tour de France. Derailleur gears are a transmission system commonly used on bicycles, consisting of a chain, sprockets of different sizes, and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another. This works because the size of one gear changes how many times the other gear rotates. -
Present
1900s - Now, Bicycles are a mean of transportation, recreation, and leisure for all ages. They are categorized in many ways such as function, number of riders, design, gearing or means of propulsion, etc. The common types that we use now include, road or racing bikes (bikes that are typically used for pavement or racing tracks), mountain bikes (a bike with a slightly thicker wheel and for going off road), BMX bikes (a smaller bike used for stunts and tricks), etc. -
Design
Over time, we have kept the basic designs from before for most bikes but we have changed the materials. There are also newer designs such as Elliptigo (elliptical and bike mix), electric bikes (has a motor for propulsion), folding bikes (folds into compact form), Nulla bike (A bicycle made with lighter and stronger material and is very light and fast) and more. -
Summary
This machine used for recreational activities and leisure now, bicycles first appeared in the 1800s to serve as an affordable and practical alternative to help people move around without using horses and were known under many different names. Early bicycles resemble what they look like now by sharing a two-wheel design, but the rest is mostly different. -
Summary
Before, wood formed the frames the first bikes lacked pedals until around 1860s which allowed people to move around more efficiently. Bikes in the 1860s/1870s had many different designs but most of them lacked springs and the design led to more uncomfortable or dangerous rides. Bikes in the 1880s/1890s were made for both male and female and became more comfortable and started to resemble bicycles now. Kids bicycles were introduced in the 1920s, allowing families to ride together and for fun.
