The 5 evolutions of the bicycle

This article is intended for all the curious, passionate and amateurs of bicycle. This article, is to be read when you are connected on our website in order to enrich your culture on the history of the bicycle and its evolution in time. Being passionate of research, history and cycling daily, I think I am qualified on the subject to write an article!

1. A bicycle without pedals

The first bicycle called "the draisienne" was invented by the German Karl Drais Von Sauerbronn in 1817. Two wheels are connected by a wooden frame on which a seat is installed. The front wheel is controllable by a "dirigible", the future handlebars. The draisienne advances by giving impulses with the feet on the ground as if one ran sitting. The draisienne was a great success in Paris and London at that time.
Today the draisienne still exists, especially for children who learn to master their balance on a draisienne in order to pass on a bicycle with pedals.

2. The first pedals on the bike

In 1861, the Frenchman Pierre Michaux and his son had the idea of attaching pedals directly to the front wheel of the bicycle. The front wheel becomes a drive wheel. They fitted the pedal with a small weight so that it always remained horizontal. They add brakes on the wheels to brake safely.

3. The speed of the Big Bi

In 1870 the Grand Bi was born. This bike has the particularity to have a large front wheel, with a diameter of 1m50, which places the cyclist at a height of 2m50 high.
The driving front wheel allows to gain speed and the rear wheel smaller in size allows to maintain the balance. However this spectacular and fast bike is very unstable and causes many accidents on the roads.

4. The modern bicycle or the safety bicycle

In 1884, the bicycle chain was invented by John Kemp Starley. The bicycle has wheels of reasonable size. One does not need any more a giant wheel to go faster. It is called "safety bicycle" because the cyclist is safer than the Big Bi.
In 1888, John Boyd Dunlop invented the pneumatic tire. The bicycle became more efficient and more comfortable. However, this system is not practical because in case of a puncture, changing the tire is a long and delicate operation.
It is thus in 1891 that Édouard Michelin imagines a "removable tire". 45 minutes are enough to dismount or remount the tire.

5. The appearance of the mountain bike (MTB)

It was in 1980, in California that the first mountain bikes appeared. The first mountain bike was invented by Joe Breeze. The mountain bike is equipped with wide and notched tires, suspensions and an even more powerful braking system.

Conclusion

If you want to learn more, you can check our other posts about bicycles, such as "5 useful accessories for your bicycle", or "5 reasons to use your bicycle to commute" !

**************************************************************

Statistics

Word count: 494

Error count: 14

Error density: 3%