HISTORY OF BICYCLING

HISTORY OF BICYCLING
Historia de la bicicleta
Dejiny cyklistiky
1791 CELERIPEDE (Velocipede) by
Comte de Sivrac (Paris, France)
• Children toy in the
form of a wooden
horse
• Propelled by feet,
steering by leaning
1817 DRAISIENNE (HOBBY HORSE) by
baron Karl Drais von Sauerbronn (Germany)
• To get around the
royal gardens faster
• Invented steering
• two same-size in-line
wheels, propelled by
pushing your feet
against the ground
• Made entirely of wood
and iron
1839 Kirkpatrick MacMillan
(Scottish blacksmith)
• First bicycle with
pedals (lever-driven)
• Weight 25 kg
• 225.8 km trip to
Glasgow (average
speed 8 mph)
1860’ Tricycle for ladies
• Women did not feel safe
and comfortable on 2 wheel
bicycle
• Tricycle did not tip, more
elegant ride
• Less provocative, more
decent
1861 Pierre Michaux (Parisian
manufacturer of horse carriages,
France)
• Invented cranks and fitted
it on the front wheel
• world's first massproduced riding machine
• Known as the velocipede
(“fast foot”) or
Boneshaker on
cobblestone roads (made
out of wood and metal)
1870s High wheel bicycles
Why big wheel?
List design
disadvantages!
•
•
•
•
Made out of steel
Solid rubber tires
Great popularity
Cost average six
months pay
Why big wheel?
Disadvantages.
• The larger the wheel –
the farther you could
travel with one
rotation of pedals –
traveled faster
• Bigger diameter wheel
– more comfortable –
less bumpy when
going over holes
• Rider sat high above
the center of gravity,
machine easily rotated
forward on its front
axle
1885 ROVER SAFETY BICYCLE by
John Kamp Starley (England)
• Prototype of the
modern day bicycle
• improvement of
metallurgy sparked the
next innovation –
chain and sprockets –
gear ratios
• Hard rubber tires
More improvements
• 1888 Pneumatic tires
(John Boyd Dunlop)
• 1895 Derailleur
• 1896 bike cost –
average worker 3
months pay
• 1909 less than 1
month pay
In 1896 Susan B.
Anthony said
that "the bicycle
has done more for
the emancipation
of women than
anything else in
the world."
1970’ Mountain Bicycling
Marin County California
• Group of riders bike
off road in mountains
(cyclocross)
• Need for more durable
bikes
• Balloon tires, drum
brakes, motorcycle
components imported
• Late 70’ national
coverage – mail order
business
• Components
manufactures offer
specialty mountain
bike parts - reduced
weight by 3kg (6
pounds)
• By 1985 sales of MB
surpass road bikes
1990’ frame design changes
Due to new materials
• carbon fiber
• Titanium
• Aluminum
• Disk wheels
• Greg Lemond aero
bars