History of the Bicycle

13 History of the Bicycle Today's bicycles are light, fast, and comfortable. As we travel around on bicycles, we might not be aware of the long history of this amazing little machine. No one can say for sure when the bicycle was invented. What we do know is that early scooter-like bikes were invented in France in the late 1700s. These early bicycles did not look much like bicycles at all. Sure, they had two wheels, but that was all they had in common with the modern bike. They were propelled forward in much the same way that a scooter is today. One leg ran along the ground, while the other leg rested on a platform between the two wheels. The rider ran beside the bike to build up speed, then jumped on and coasted for a while. This primitive bicycle enjoyed short-lived popularity as it was not practical for transportation in any place other than well-maintained roads.

By the middle of the 1800s, improvements were made to the early bicycles. A treadmill for moving the bicycle forward was added, allowing the rider to keep both feet on the bicycle at all times. Since the bicycle was made of wood, and later of metal tires, riding on the rough roads of the day was extremely uncomfortable. The next advancement was the addition of pedals to provide more efficient propulsion. The pedals were attached directly to the front wheel. You can imagine how difficult this bicycle was to ride. In the late 1870s, a huge front wheel was used and the seat was moved forward so that the rider could sit directly over the front wheel and pedals. However, riding these bicycles was dangerous because the rider sat up high over a huge front wheel. Imagine falling off one of those bicycles! In 1885, the first successful “ safety" bicycle was designed. It addressed safety issues by reducing the size of the front wheel. The seat of this bike was positioned further back towards the middle of the bike, and a basic gearing system was added. The new design also added the steering bars over the front wheel and a drive chain to attach the pedals to the rear wheel. With this, the safety bicycle was born. The rest, as they say, is history!