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The First Bike
The first bike ever created was not what we would generally think of when we hear the word bike. It was not powered by pedals, and did not have a chainring or cassete. Instead, it was the basic frame of a bike with added wheels. Entirley made out of wood, people would move it by walking. It was branded as the, "Swiftwalker," by its European inventor, as an aid to walking long distances quickly. -
First Pedal Powered Bike
The first ever padal-able bike was created by a scottish blacksmith by the name of Kirkpatrick Macmillan. It was in almost every way the exact same as the previous, 'swiftwalker', bicyle but was powered by pedals instead, and as such, the rder did not have to walk. The bike was said to be able to propel rider 8 mph for 140 miles. -
The Penny Farthing
While previous bikes had been very oncomfortable, and were often reffered to as, "Boneshaker[s]," in 1870, the Coventry Sowing Machine Company of England created the Penny Farthing, or "High Wheeler," which consited of one large front wheel and one smaller rear wheel. The tires were made out of rubber, which signiigantly increased the rideability, as previous bike shad been made entirely out of wood. Although prone to accidents, it quickly became popular within European countries. -
The begining of modern bicycles
In 1874, H.J. Lawson created the bicycle that inspired every bicylce from then on. The main feature that this bike incorperated was a chainring and cassete. This means that whenever you pressed down on the pedal the chainring would turn around the cassete which would turn the back wheel of the bike. It is often speculated that this design was inspired by the pulley system. Although much more stable than the high-wheeler, its low pedals often gave riders muddy feet. -
J.B. Dunlap
In 1888, J.B. Dunlap added air-filled tires to bikes, making them much more comdortable as they had a built-in shock absorbtion and also faster, as the tires did not have as much friction as they turned on rodes. -
Beggining of the recreational bicycle
The beggining of a movement that popularised bikes was begun by Etain O'Carrol, the author of, "Cycling Britain," who wrote that bikes had finally become an easy to use, efficient, mode of transportation. -
Cycling Early Races and Olympics
While the first recorded bike race was held in 1868, it wasn't until 1896, when the summer olympics officially adopted cyclign as an event, that the sport truly began. This began the cycling sport industry, and can still be seen in races every year, as well as the olympics. -
Tour de France
In 1903, the iconic and currently world-renowned race, know as The Tour de France, was established as publicity in order t promote the newspaper the L'Auto. Although the race was frought with cheating it continued, and to this day, the annual event attracts millions of viewers and competitiors. -
Lugano Charter
In the year 1996, the UCI set forward a set of rules and rugluations designed to level the playing field abd universalize the sport of cycling. This has led to a much more cohesive, and modern sport. -
Todays Recreational Cycling Communtity
Today, the cycling communtity has expanded from just a few hundred riders, to millions. These days, people use bikes in order to do everything from sport racing to cycling to anf from work. For many people it is their main, and/or only form of transportation. As the world becomes more enviormentaly friendly, organazations such a the Bike Project have begun to pay for people to hop on a ike and commute to work. Local bike shops are considered to be hip, and attract many customers.
