The First Bicycles
I'm just going to say it, I love road cycling! It is fantastic cardiovascular exercise, great for the heart, lungs, and staying fit. It burns a lot of calories and avoids the jarring impact of running. Which is great for someone who in their early twenties snapped their ACL being stupid and required multiple knee surgeries (but we won't talk about that).
There are drawbacks, of course. Cycling is very much seasonal, especially if, like me, you are averse to riding in the cold or rain (I admit, I'm a big baby when it comes to both). Bicycles also require maintenance and can be very expensive. Competitive triathletes and cyclists can spend upwards of $20,000 USD on their gallant steeds! My own Giant full-carbon road bicycle retails for around $3,000 USD. Thankfully, there are plenty of economic options available for the casual hobbyist who's not training for an Ironman. One can find a decent cruiser bike for less than $200 USD.
With my trusty steed, who I named Shadowfax after Gandalf's horse in Lord of the Rings
Across Europe, cycling is a preferred mode of transportation for many. Whenever in London, I marvel at all the Barclays bicycles, which you can rent and return to their racks. Many ride for utility cycling, i.e. transport rather than leisure. It is quite common to see people in business attire pedalling to and from their places of work. Even if that's all one rides for, it's burning calories, working the heart and lungs, while not adding to air pollution. And you don't have to struggle finding places to park! We've tried something similar where I live with the Boise Greenbike, with sadly only limited success. Unfortunately, most American cities and communities are not very bike friendly, especially when compared to places like the U.K. and Europe. It is but one of many contributing factors why in the U.S. inactivity and obesity rates are at 60% and 38% respectively, with an additional 32% considered overweight. By comparison, the U.K. is the most overweight country in Europe, yet its inactivity and obesity rates are 32% and 27%. In Denmark, whose cities have extensive cycling networks where one does not have to worry about getting smacked by idiot drivers (a risk I undertake every time I jump on Shadowfax), obesity is 16%.
A Barclays Cycle Hire in London
Bike lanes in Copenhagen, lauded as 'The World's Most Bike-Friendly City'
(from visitcopenhagen.com)
But whether you ride for sport, leisure, or utility, where did all this begin? What prompted the invention of two-wheeled, human powered transport? The answer is rather macabre.
The invention of the bicycle followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars. By the time of Napoleon's final defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington in June 1815, hundreds-of-thousands of horses had perished during decades of war. At Waterloo, estimates are that 75% of the 45,000 horses on both sides were either killed or injured.
The world had scarcely caught its breath when the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, which actually occurred a couple months prior to Waterloo, led to drastic climate changes even as far away as Europe and the Americas. The following year was dubbed the Year Without a Summer, with the drop in temperature causing global crop failures. In Europe, where years of war and poor harvests had already strained resources, two years of famine and violent unrest followed. The already depleted horse populations were diminished even further as they either starved, or were slaughtered to provide meat and leather.
A German nobleman, Baron Karl von Drais, saw the need for horseless transportation. In 1817 he invented a two-wheeled vehicle with a saddle and handlebars. There were no pedals; one simply walked or ran while sitting on the saddle. Drais dubbed it the Laufmaschine, or running machine in English. A common nickname was the hobby-horse. A more derogatory term was dandy horse as it was thought only foppish 'dandies' rode them. The wheels were solid with iron rims and no suspension. It still proved effective, with riders able to travel at twice the speed of walking or running.
Karl von Drais and the earliest advert for his 'made to measure' Laufmaschine, 1817
It was not long before other inventors began following suit. British coachmaker, Denis Johnson, made improvements to Drais' prototype. Using a curved wooden or metal frame allowed for larger wheels, a smoother ride, and reduction in weight. The new model was officially dubbed the velocipede, though terms like swift walker, pedestrian accelerator, and the aforementioned hobby-horse, remained common. Honestly, of all the nicknames given to the velocipede, I'm surprised no one called it a 'Johnson'...
An 1819 depiction of Johnson's earliest velocipedes
In an era long before it was conceivable that women should wear trousers or (gasp!) shorts, Johnson developed a drop-frame version to accommodate women's long skirts. This model was dubbed Johnson's Ladies' Walking Machine.
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An 1819 advert for Johnson's Ladies' Walking Machine and a surviving early model
As innovative as Drais' and Johnson's inventions were, the hobby-horse did not reach widespread appeal for many years. Indeed, its popularity amongst the foppish 'dandies' able to purchase one waned within a year. Because riders were essentially running in their dress shoes and boots (the first running shoes were not invented until 1895), they wore the soles out very quickly. Plus, all the complaints by pedestrians of riders using the paved sidewalks led to the imposition of a £2 fine (approx. £225 in 2023 currency) for riding on sidewalks.
The need for human powered transport did not end, however. There was still a critical shortage of horses across Europe, and its population never fully recovered. To put in perspective, there were 14 million horses across Europe in 1800. Today, that population is between 3 and 4 million. The solution to not wearing out one's shoes, while increasing speed, was the creation of the pedal crank. Early attempts included use of a treadle, with a pair of rods connecting from the pedals to the rear wheel. There are disputes as to who invented this and when. A likely apocryphal story is that it was first created by a Scottish blacksmith in 1839; however, the first documented production came thirty years later by a Scottish cartwright named Thomas McCall. One moved their feet in a gliding motion, rather than circular. Interestingly, the modern elliptical bicycles use a similar range of motion, only with the rider standing instead of seated. I've never tried one, but would love to hear from any who have.
The earliest first pedalled bicycle came several years later. In 1853 the Tretkurbelfahrrad was designed by Philipp Moritz Fischer, a Bavarian inventor. This was a very simple design, especially when compared to the treadle bicycle. The pedals were mounted to the front wheel, in what became the most common means of propulsion for about the next thirty years. However, according to the Vehicle Museum Suhl, the first pedal bicycle was actually built by Heinrich Mylius in 1845.
The Heinrich Mylius bicycle, built in 1845, displayed at the Vehicle Museum Suhl
Regardless of who first came up with the idea, by the 1860s, bicycling gained significant popularity, owing in no small part to the advent of pedalled cycles. They were far cheaper and easier to maintain than a horse. Plus, like when compared to modern forms of transportation, you didn't have to deal with "exhaust waste". Despite these benefits, the term 'bone-shaker' became a common parlance. Consisting of a wrought iron frame, with iron-rimmed wooden wheels, and weighing around sixty pounds (approx. 27.3 kilograms) they were extremely uncomfortable to ride. One substituted worn shoe soles of the hobby horse for a sore bottom! Road quality played a large role in this as well. By the end of the century, it was cyclists, and not motorists, who pressed for properly paved roads on both sides of the Atlantic.
Perhaps most famous of all early bicycles is the iconic high-wheeled Penny Farthing. Because chains and gears were not a thing yet, the best way to increase speed was to have your drive wheel much larger than the rear. Hence the extreme disparity in size. It was also the first bike to use rubber tires, albeit these were at the time solid (Note: Solid rubber tires still exist. And while not quite as comfortable as pneumatic, I actually use them on Shadowfax because I got sick of constantly getting flats, no matter what else I tried...seriously, I tried everything from Gatorskins, to Tannus inserts, and still constantly got flats like every other week).
They were also considerably lighter, at 40 pounds (approx 18.1 kg) weighing a third less than the bone-shaker. It was more comfortable and a lot faster, with riders able to average around 12 miles per hour (the world record being 22.09 set in 1886). However, they were notoriously unsafe. The most obvious reason being how high up the rider was. Sudden stops were not easy, and one could not simply lean over and place a foot down like on previous or modern bicycles. Despite its litany of safety issues, the penny farthing remained popular for over twenty years and is still considered iconic today. You can actually purchase modern variants, if so inclined.
A penny farthing, circa 1880
A Whippet Bicycle, circa 1885
Widespread usage of the bicycle necessitated a change in women's fashion with invention of the bicycle suit. Athletic shorts were still about five decades away and may have been considered scandalous for either men or women to wear at the time! Even the women's bicycle suit was considered a touch risque, as evidenced by the below cartoon from Punch Magazine in 1895.
A variant of women's riding attire from an advert in an 1897 issue of The Graphic
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Next Week: A Brief History of the Dumbbell
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