The bicycle revolution: From wooden balance bikes to modern mobility!

The bicycle revolution: From wooden balance bikes to modern mobility!

The bicycle, now a popular and climate-neutral means of transport, was invented over 200 years ago. Karl Freiherr von Drais, born in Karlsruhe, presented the first idea for a bicycle in 1817, which became known as a “Draisine”. This first form of bicycle was a wooden balance bike with two wheels and a frame that had no pedals. Riders moved feet first to move forward. ka-news.de reports that Drais received his patent in 1818, which standardized the “walking machine,” thereby introducing the first successful human-powered, steerable means of transportation.

The handcar quickly gained attention, although it only enjoyed a brief period of popularity between 1818 and 1820 before being eclipsed by other forms of transportation. In England the handcar was also known as the “hobby horse” or “dandy horse”. Further developments followed in the following decades, with Pierre Michaux further developing the balance bike in the 1860s by introducing pedals and rotating cranks. However, these bikes were heavy, weighing up to 50 kg and had a large front wheel.

Technological advances

The technical progress of the bicycle began to gain momentum in the 1870s. James Starley developed the penny-farthing, known as the penny-farthing, with a large front wheel and a small rear wheel. This model was not only fast but also risky to drive. At the end of the 1870s, Henry Lawson introduced the safety low wheel, which came closest to the modern bicycle and was equipped with wheels of the same size. fahrrad.de reiterates that the safety bicycle fundamentally changed bicycle design.

Important milestones in bicycle development included the rear wheel chain drive, introduced in 1869, and the pneumatic tire, invented by John Boyd Dunlop in 1888. Mass production of bicycles began at the beginning of the 20th century. The 1920s brought the bicycle dynamo, and the first geared bicycles were introduced in the 1890s.

The development of racing

The first bicycle races took place with handcars, with the first race with crank bikes taking place in Paris in 1869. In this competition from Paris to Rouen, only 34 of the 120 participants reached the finish line. James Moore won this first cycling race in the world and received prize money of 1,000 gold francs. In the period from 1890 to 1950, however, bicycle culture lost importance in favor of the automobile; At the same time, in China the bicycle was promoted as the main means of transport.

In recent decades the popularity of bicycles has increased again. The "bicycle boom" in the United States between 1960 and 1990 led to trekking and mountain bikes becoming popular, while modern developments such as e-bikes and bike-sharing programs continue to make cycling easier.

Overall, the long history of the bicycle, from the handcar to today's e-mountain bikes, shows the continuous development and adaptation to the needs of users and the environment.