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1886 Swift Safety Bicycle. Vehicles that have two wheels and require balancing by the rider date back to the early 19th century. The first means of transport making use of two wheels arranged consecutively, and thus the archetype of the bicycle, was the German draisine dating back to 1817.
In the early 1860s the first true bicycle was created in Paris, France, by attaching rotary cranks and pedals to the front wheel hub of a dandy-horse. The Olivier brothers recognized the commercial potential of this invention, and set up a partnership with blacksmith and bicycle maker Pierre Michaux, using Michaux's name, already famous among enthusiasts of the new sport, for the company.
1890s – Bike boom sweeps Europe and America with hundreds of bicycle manufacturers in the biggest bicycle craze to date; 1890 - The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, [31] [note 1] and the first major railway to use electric traction; 1893 - Recumbent bicycles invented.
Bicycle Racer posed at Salt Palace wood track, Salt Lake City, 1911 The first documented cycling race was a 1,200 metre race held on May 31, 1868, at the Park of Saint-Cloud , Paris . It was won by expatriate Englishman James Moore who rode a bicycle with solid rubber tires . [ 3 ]
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century in Europe. By the early 21st century there were more ...
1946 – The initial iteration of the VéloSoleX motorized bicycle is introduced to the French Public. 1948 – The Trojan Minimotor begins production in Britain and becomes immediately popular. 1949 – The Mobylette is introduced in France. Its concept was "a bicycle with a nice permanent back wind". This pattern gave its name to the French ...
In addition, the large wheel gave a smoother ride, [22] important before the invention of pneumatic tires. [23] An attribute of the penny-farthing is that the rider sits above the front axle. When the wheel strikes rocks and ruts, or under hard braking, the rider can be pitched forward off the bicycle head-first.
It fell out of favor after the summer of 1869 and was replaced in 1870 with the type of bicycle called "ordinary", "high-wheel", or "penny-farthing". Few original boneshakers exist today, most having been melted for scrap metal during World War I. [ 3 ] Those that do surface from time to time command high prices, typically up to about $5,000 US.