Bicycle History
by Teresa McEachern
Although one of Leonardo Da Vinci's students made plans for a
bicycle in the 1490's, it was never built
because it was considered a ridiculous way
to get around. The first bicycle was
invented in 1816 by Baron von Drais of
Germany to help him get around the royal
gardens faster. It was two wheels in a
wooden frame, with the front one steerable.
There were no pedals. You just pushed the
ground with your feet to get around. It
worked great on pathways, but not much else.
It was known as the 'Draissines'. In 1865
there was the addition of pedals to the
front wheel. This bicycle was called the
velocipede, meaning "fast foot", but most
people called it the Boneshaker because
riding over the cobblestones with the metal
tires, well, shook your bones! Riding this
bike became a fad and arenas similar to
roller rinks sprang up in the big cities. In
1868 the first bicycle race took place with
a bike that had solid rubber tires and ball
bearings that were a new invention which
made the bicycle go faster. Over the next
decades many changes would take place,
adding gears, making rubber tires, improving
the frame. By the 1890s everyone was riding
bicycles, including women. It is said that
the bicycle is accredited with doing away
with bustles and corsets so the women could
ride, as well as improving the streets which
made the advent of the automobile much
easier. But, with the invention of the car,
bicycles remained relatively the same until
the 1967 when the banana seat came out,
followed by mountain bikes & BMX bikes in
the 1980s for performance. To see
examples of the bicycles mentioned, visit
the
Bicycle Museum of America website, where
they have pictures of historic bikes on
rotation.
About the Author Teresa McEachern founded
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