homeHistory of cycling
From its invention in 1817 through to the modern day, the bicycle has had a huge impact on world history, helping to emancipate women, broaden the gene pool (people could travel further, you see), and pave the roads. It was also two bicycle mechanics who were the first to fly in powered aircraft and without the bicycle industry the car industry wouldn't have developed so fast. A brief history of the bicycleThis is a rapid run-down of the development of the bicycle from 1817 to the present day. |
| Evolution of the bicycle This is an extremely good timeline and history of the bicycle. It explodes a number of myths about the earliest bicycles. it's also excellent on the idea that pretty much everything we think of as 'new' and 'innovative' in bicycle design today, was probably patented by 1870! |
| Nice pix of historic bikes The info isn't quite right but the line drawings are useful. |
| First 100 years of cycling This is the starting point for an excellent history of cycling from the Canada Science and Technology Museum. The site has lots of wonderful graphics of old trade catalogues and sepia-tinted prints of bicycles. The museum's library is stuffed with European, US and Canadian cycle journals from the earliest days of cycling. |
| History of the 'velo car' Read about the forgotten history of the racing recumbent. In 1934 the Union Cycliste Internationale banned recumbents from racing against standard bikes. Becasue recumbents were dangerous in a bunch or because they were faster? Make your own mind up... |
| Impact of cycling on society From ball-bearings to Bloomers, bicycles have had a major impact on society, including the deepening of the gene pool, the emancipation of women and laying the groundwork for the creation of cars and aeroplanes... |
| Bicycle patents blog Bob Shaver is a patent attorney from Idaho in the US. He clearly takes his work home with him because this blog is all about technology patents. The permalink given here takes you through to all his postings on bicycle technology, including the first suspension bikes (think 1890s, not 1990s), the first clincher tyres and a history of Schrader valves. |
| Bike invented because of horse-food price hike? In 1818, the Comte de Ségur wrote about "peculiar carriages intended to abolish the luxury of horses and to lower the price of oats and hay." The Draisine was developed by German Karl Drais in 1817. It was a velocipede - a running machine - and this article from New Scientist argues that the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia led to the machine's creation. The volcanic event which killed 92 000 people led to crop failures around the world, pushing up prices for basics, such as oats. Horses became more expensive to operate, hence the need for a human-powered replacement... |
| Daniel Rebour's tech drawings Daniel Rebour was a French illustrator who documented the post WWII development of bicycles and their parts. This wiki is a collection of Rebour's drawings and show that, sometimes, there's nothing new under the sun... |
| Replica antique bicycles The Old Bicycle Company is a supplier of "new, reproduction and replacement spares, parts and accessories for vintage and antique bicycles." |
| Colour ads from early 20th century These evocative adverts from British and American bicycle magazines are in full and glorious Technicolour! |
| History of the pedal An oddly fascinating timeline of pedal innovations from 1855 to the modern day. it's the pet project of Richard Bryne, founder of the Speedplay pedal system. |
| Saddles down the years... This link has a motley collection of recent and historical saddles. The 'hard to find' column is especially thought-provoking. |
| B+W bicycle adverts from 1920s on This is a random selection of early 20th century adverts for bicycles and bicycle parts. |
| From Pope to whale-oil lamps: the bicycle patent war This is the last part of an absorbing, three part account of a legal battle that was waged in America at the end of the 19th century. At stake was the future of bicycle building in the US. To start from the beginning click on the part 1 link in the first paragraph. |
| Cycle paths: a history Cycle paths were first constructed in the 1890s for the convenience of cyclists, later they were built to convenience motorists. Here's a quote from the first Dutch Roads Congress, 1920: "The construction of bicycle paths along the larger roads relieves traffic along these roads of an extremely bothersome element: the cyclist." |
| Cycling in literature A review of how literary greats - and literary pipsqueaks - have treated cycling. Favourable treatments by HG Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle and jerome K Jerome (written at the end of the heyday of 'posh' cycling); didn't last, and we're now left with scattered, erratic classics and the ramblings of writers who think cyclists are 'road-lice.' The article is by the author of 'Effective Cycling', John Forester. Surname seem familiar? John Forester is the first son of C.S. Forester, author of the Hornblower novels. |
| Veteran-Cycle Club This is a club that promotes the riding and conservation of old bicycles and tricycles. This is also the place for the exchange of information on the history of cycles and cycling. |
| Mona Lisa painter did not 'invent' the bicycle Leonardo da Vinci sketched many things in his time, but the bicycle was not one of them. The bicycle-like sketch still often attributed to Da Vinci was "discovered" in 1974 during the restoration of Vinci's Codex Atlanticus. Scholars have known the sketch to be a forgery since the mid-1990s. There's an interesting history of the hoax at this link. |
| 4th Grader's essay on Major Taylor Marshall Walter 'Major' Taylor was the first black athlete to break into the big time. He dominated the early cycle racing scene in America at the end of the 19th Century. This essay (forget the first date) describes Major Taylor's huge - but now largely forgotten - achievements |
