| A History of the Bicycle
We are all familiar with the most famous bicycle makers of all time, the Wright Brothers. They invented and sold their own brand, the excellent Van Cleve (an original Van Cleve advertisement is shown at left).
On the other hand, the Wright Brothers used their bicycle business to seed another, one that involved several appointments at Kitty Hawk.
It is an interesting historical footnote, one of the serious challenges to the Wright's claim that their Flyer 1 was the first usable manned aircraft was the absence of wheels, one feature that bicycle makers hardly ever eliminate. (Photo below - Flyer 1 historical landmark). Other challenges included the Flyer 1's need for a headwind and catapult in order to take to the air.Kitty Hawk Flyer
No matter, wheels were eventually added, and the Wrights were credited with inventing the original manned aircraft.
Orville and Wilbur won out primarily because of their invention of the three axis control, which allowed for the first time the pilot to control the craft while in the air, an important feature if one wishes to fly, say, from New York to Paris aboard a Boeing 767.
However, airplanes and three axis controls will be for another time.
In this article, we want to speak of the Wrights' "seed" business, bicycles, all of which had wheels from the very beginning.
The Laufmaschine - Early Bicycle ExampleBicycles have come a long way.
The first bicycle on record was invented by Baron Karl von Drais in 1818. The vehicle did not include pedals. The Baron called his invention Laufmaschine, or running machine (an illustration of the Laufmaschine can be seen at left). It was the first double wheeled, human powered, steerable form of transportation.
The Baron's brainchild became a fad throughout Europe and the United States, with the Laufmaschine encouraging many people to take up engineering and mechanics, inventing their own prototypes.
Laufmaschine being a bit of a mouthful, most of the machines that followed the Laufmaschine's introduction were called velocipedes (picture below) - linguistically not terribly much better - meaning simply "fast feet."
Thus was born the first bicycle (technically velocipede) related civic problem.The Velocipede Bicycle
Most riders of velocipedes, wishing to avoid the horse litter on the roads (for obvious reasons), preferred to ride their machines on the sidewalks, thus creating many unfortunate run-ins with pedestrians, pedestrians inevitably being visited in hospital rooms.
As a result, several cities banned the vehicles. Not a great start.
Early TricycleThe history between 1820 and 1850 or so is a bit muddled, but what is clear is, by 1850, the two-wheeled velocipede had been eclipsed by the three- and four-wheeled versions of the Laufmaschine.
These were called the tricycle (photo at left) and quadricycle (right) respectively.Quadricycle - Early Auto
Lots of experimentation with methods of powering the vehicles ensued, including pedals and hand cranks.
Eventually though, because of the weight added by the extra wheels and heavier frames of the three- and four-wheeled models, people once again began preferring the two-wheeled vehicles.
History tells us that it wasn't until just before the American Civil War that the first pedal-powered two-wheeled bicycles we are familiar with arrived on the scene in a big way.
Vintage Bone Shaker BicycleOne of the first of them was nicknamed "the bone shaker"(picture at left). This particular vehicle featured a wooden frame and wooden wheels. The wheels had iron frames as tires. Now imagine taking such a vehicle out for a nice ride on cobblestones. You get the idea. (Advice: Make an appointment with a chiropractor before your first ride. Also, make certain you have someone standing by to carry you to the adjustment.)
Now we are ready for the real business of bicycle inventing.
A few years after the American Civil War, one James Starley, a British inventor, introduced the vehicle that eventually earned him the title "father of the bicycle industry."
the Penny-Farthing BicycleStarley's bicycle was called the Penny-Farthing (see photo, right) because it looked like a British penny and farthing (the coins) in diagram. The front wheel was larger than the back wheel. Rubber tires were introduced for a smoother ride. With this design, much greater speeds were also possible.
Since 1980, new materials have opened the door to new designs with extremely lightweight frames, much stronger pedals and more effective braking systems.
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