The Evolution of the Bicycle

It is very interesting that now, you can easily order a custom mountain bike to fit your riding needs. But what is more interesting is to look back at the humble beginnings of bicycle, a time wherein inventions such as the bicycle were treated as giant step in transportation innovation. Let us look back into the history of the bicycle and see how it has evolved after almost two centuries of existence.

Although there are claims that the concept of the bicycle has existed even before the 1800's, these claims are still unverifiable therefore this time line will start on 1817, the year when the Draisienne or velocipede was invented.

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Draisienne (1817)

The first verifiable roots of the modern bicycle was when Baron von Drais invented the the running machine called velocipede or Draisienne (pictured above). The vehicle was mostly made of wood and was propelled by pushing the feet against the ground.

Bone Shaker (1863)

This innovation came about with the idea of attaching a pedal on the bicycle. The pedal was attached on the front wheel making it a single speed bicycle with fixed gear.

High Wheelers (1870)

The first among bicycle ancestors to be predominantly made up of metal, the high wheelers are known to be more comfortable than its predecessors. The front wheel, where the pedals are still attached, were dramatically increased in size. Inventors realize that the larger the front wheel is, the farther the bicycle travels with a single pedal rotation.

Safety Bikes (1890)

With the improvement in metallurgy and manufacturing techniques, safety bikes were made of stronger and better materials compared to its predecessors. The tires went back into being same sized. Bicycle chains were now used by this time.

Internal Hub Gears (1903)

Sturmey Archer invented the internal hub gears which were used globally by 1930 to 1950s.

Cable Shifted Derailleurs (1938)

Cable Shifted Derailleurs were introduced by Simplex.

Mountain Bike Prototypes (1977)

The earliest designs of mountain bikes were attributed to Joe Breeze, Otis Guy, Gary Fisher, and Craig Mitchell. Prototypes were first developed in Marin Co, California.

Performance Innovations (1990's to present)

Innovations made to the bicycle from the 1990's were targeted towards better performance rather than major alterations with the vehicle itself. Integrated brake/gear levers were introduced by Shimano in 1990; PowerDisc, the first mass-produced hydraulic disc brake system by Sachs was introduced in 1994; 30 speed bicycles with 10 cog rear cluster were introduced by Campagnolo. These were a few of the recent innovations that were made to the modern bicycle.

Notable source:

www.ibike.org

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