The Historical Timeline of Bicycles and Cycling

Cycling instructors appeared out of the woodwork, guaranteeing excellence in as little as

twelve lessons.

1817 – Baron Karl von Drais produced his Laufmaschine

(running machine), also called the Draisienne or the mechanical horse.

– Answer to the shortage of horses– made from wood, had a padded saddle and was

steerable and powered by the rider’s feet pushing it along the ground

1818 - The hobby horse – an English coach maker, Dennis Johnson, improved

on Drais’ model, calling it the velocipede, the hobby horse or the swift walker

– patented his invention and marketed it well and by 1819

– Short-lived fashion• difficult to ride on the roads, with their uneven surfaces• £2 fine for riding on the pavement

1839 – TRUE OR FALSE?

– Scotsman, Kirkpatrick MacMillan, is supposed to have invented a machine which was powered by a foot treadle which meant that, for the first time, feet were off the ground

THE 1860s– debate as to who invented the velocipede or

bone-shaker, as it was affectionately called

1862– German, Karl Kech, claimed he was the first

person to attach pedals to the hobby horse

1866– First patent was given to Frenchman Pierre

Lallement

THE 1860s – The bone shaker

• The steel wheels and the rigid design made it extremely uncomfortable to ride on the cobbled streets of the day

• Indoor riding schools were set up in many big cities, so that people could ride on a smooth surface

• It is uncertain whether Pierre Michaux saw Lallement’s bone-shaker when Lallement exhibited it in 1864 or whether Lallement worked for Pierre Michaux

• Whichever way it went, Michaux appears to have started manufacturing these machines

THE 1860s – The bone shaker

THE 1860s

– The first cycle race was held in Paris in 1868 and was won by Englishman James Moore.

– In 1869 - in an attempt to soften the ride• rubber was glued to the wheels and the saddle was

moved so the rider sat over the pedals.• making the handlebars wider and higher• a side saddle velocipede was made for the ladies of

the day.

THE 1870

• James Starley– The high wheeled bike/The penny farthing/The

spider/The Aerial • Has an exceptionally large front wheel meant an

increase in speed and a more comfortable ride but you did need to have acrobatic abilities to mount it in the first place

– 1874, he built an ordinary for ladies to ride side saddle. However, ladies tended to prefer the tricycle

• It was James Starley’s nephew who engineered the ‘Rover’ which had wheels the same size, an easily steerable front wheel and a chain drive which improved by speed and comfort

• Ball bearings were introduced by 1880 at the latest and in 1902 three speed gears came into being.

• James Dunlop’s invention of the pneumatic tyre allowed a much smoother ride on all surfaces and there was a great improvement in the efficacy of brakes.

THE 1880s AND 1890s

THE 1880s AND 1890s

• Frank Shorland– 1896, organised the first London to Brighton race

and completed it on a Penny Farthing.– the following year, he decided to race on a safety

bicycle against all the other Penny Farthings. He won hands down.

1884 – AROUND THE WORLD ON A BIKE

• On 22nd April 1884, 29 year old English born Thomas Stevens left San Francisco on his black-enamelled Columbia 50 inch Standard Penny Farthing with his mind set on being the first person to circumnavigate the world on a bicycle

• Stevens’ journey ended in Yokohama on 17th December 1886.

• Authored the book: “Around the World on a Bicycle“.

• The Victorian Lady– Women’s movements were severely restricted by the

heavy skirts and corsets which were the order of the day and definitely weren’t conducive to riding a bike.

• Amelia Bloomer– She was at the forefront of the women’s emancipation

movement in the States and was totally against the corset and the heavy skirts women had to wear

– The knickerbockers which those brave women wore when cycling soon became known as ‘bloomers’.

WOMEN AND CYCLING

• With the advent of the motorcar and extended railways, bicycle manufacture declined and in the five years from 1900 to 1905, the industry in the States shrank from 312 to 101 manufacturers

• Today it is a massive multimillion dollar industry, attracting people from all over the world.

1900s

To properly close this discussion, here’s a video clip showcasing vintage cyclists and cycling:

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