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What are the origins of the bicycle or who invented the bicycle?
To date, we do not have a correct answer to this question. The fact is that the bicycle, in modern understanding, was preceded by a set of inventions, having its design elements. For the first time, the bicycle, in the whole form, was shown in drawings by the great inventor Leonardo da Vinci. Actually, improvisations of the bicycle were started from the beginning of the 19th century. However, the structure with wheels, intended for the independent movement by a person, had already been mentioned in XV century. The Mayningenskaya chronicle of 1447 talks about a movable device, which was brought into motion by a driver. In 1761, cart rider Michael Casler "covered" 2 km from Braunsdorf (a district of Magdeburg) in the settlement of Bedru (present name being "Braunsbedra"). His vehicle had two wooden wheels, upholstered with steel rings, which were connected by a small bench for seating. Its weight was approximately 125 kg.
The path to the modern bicycle was laid only in 1817 by Ludwig Drais (Karl Friedrich Christian Ludwig Fraygerr Drais from Zauerbronna, 1785 - 1851). On his 2.4m length bicycle with 30" wheels, he introduced an innovation-driven front wheel. On this bicycle, Drais could travel a distance from Leipzig to Dresden (111 kilometres) in 7 hours.
In 1860, Pierre Michaux, a carriage maker from Paris, fitted two pedals on the front wheel while repairing an old bicycle. Just two years later, such machines were manufactured on a large scale under the name of “bicycle”. The brothers Pierre and Ernest started mass production and manufactured up to 400 bicycles per year.
The invention of Michaux was finally approved as a bicycle. In 1869, bicycle races were conducted on the roads of France. New improvisations began to appear. If, bicycles were manufactured earlier predominantly from wood, then in the following 10 years, the wheels were dressed with solid rubber and tubes were used for frames and hollow forks.
In 1870, an Englishman Hilman started selling the first fully metallic bicycles with high wheels. The size of the front wheel, as a rule, constituted 54" (modern wheels - 27 inches, exactly two times smaller).
The invention of a relatively safe bicycle with two wheels of the same size and a small diameter was the most important step in the development of bicycle technology.
In the 1870s, G.Baits from Kroyden of England created the first bicycle with a rear wheel drive, called the "Flying Dutchman". His drive with pulleys and cords were replaced with a chain drive by H.Lawson in his "Bicyclette", patented in 1879.
Around 1885, J.Starley and W.Sutton, released the safe bicycle called the "Rover" with two wheels of 760 mm diameters and a rear chain drive – the first low bicycle with a chain drive. It approximately weighed 20 kg.
Around the same time, C. Linley and J.Biggs released a safe bicycle called the "Whippet" with an approximately rhomboid-shaped frame, which then became the most widespread, fixed position of seat, pedals and handle. Two springs were provided in the frame to absorb road impacts.
In 1888, Dunlop invented and released tires for sale, which were filled with air (pneumatic tire). From then on, the real flourishing of two-wheeled bicycles was witnessed. Since the early 1890s, several companies started the manufacture of bicycles with rhomboid-shaped frames, consisting of two triangles. Pneumatic tires and roller chains were fitted for all the bicycles. The appearance of a bicycle was almost created. First the aluminium frame was made in the 1890s. In 1896, William Reilly patented a two-speed planetary hub, which was manufactured by the British company "Sturmey-Archer" in two and three-speed versions. But, the planetary hubs received widespread recognition only in the 1950s. The external gear shift was invented in 1899, which is very different from present day gear shift. In 1915, folding bicycles by Bianchi with telescopic tail feathers, leaf springs around frame and a spring fork were procured for reinforcing the Italian army. Actually, it was the first full-suspension bicycle. At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, about one million bicycles were used around the world. The first competition of cyclists took place in Paris in 1868. The first world record for one English mile (1660 m) for a high bicycle (2 min 55 sec) was set in 1875. The first unofficial world record for a long race (1 hr -25.508 km) was set in 1876. In this format, the official record was set in 1893 by Frenchman Desgrange for 32.325 miles. In 1893, the 591 km distance was covered in 32 hr 22 min during the Vienna - Berlin road races. |
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