There is a version that the first bicycle was invented by Leonardo da Vinci. However, it is controversial. Also, I did not find one hundred percent confirmation of the version that this vehicle was invented by the peasant Artamonov.
It is believed that the bicycle was not invented immediately. Its development went through several stages.
In 1817, the German professor Carl von Dresz designed a scooter-like design. This device consisted of two wheels and was called a "walking machine" by its author. Somewhat later, Drez honored this scooter with a trolley. In 1818, Baron von Drez patented his creation.
When the scooter was visited in the UK, this design was nicknamed the "dandy horse". In 1839-1840. in a small town in the south of Scotland, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a blacksmith by profession, improved this walking machine by adding a saddle and pedals to it. This device was in many ways similar to a modern bicycle. It was necessary to push the pedals so that they rotate the rear wheel, while the front wheel can be turned using the steering wheel.
For unknown reasons, the invention of the blacksmith Macmillan remained in the shadows, and he was soon forgotten.
In 1862, the French master Pierre Lalman decided to add pedals to the "dandy horse" (while Pierre was not aware of the invention of Kirkpatrick Macmillan). And in 1863 Lalman realized his idea. His product is considered by many to be the world's first bicycle, and Pierre himself, respectively, the first inventor of this type of transport.
When and where was the first bicycle invented?
The year of the invention of the first bicycle can be considered 1817, when the “walking machine” was created, and 1840, and 1862. However, there is another important date that is associated with the invention of the bicycle, namely 1866, when the Lalman bicycle was patented.
Since then, this vehicle has improved every year. The materials from which the bicycle is made, and its design, as well as the ratios and diameters of wheel sizes, have also changed. However, the modern bicycle differs slightly from Lalman's design.
So, if we assume that the very first bicycle was invented by Pierre Lalman, then France will be the birthplace of this vehicle. However, the Germans believe that the bicycle was invented in Germany. To some extent this is also true. If there had been no invention by Baron Karl von Dres, Lalman would not have thought of improving it.
But let's not forget about Scotland. The prototype of the bicycle, which was designed by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, differed slightly from Lalman's invention.
Medieval image of a cherub according to the "Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel". 1156
Scooter allegedly from 1791, attributed to the Count de Sivrac (Comte de Sivrac) - falsification of 1891
Information about bicycles and scooters before 1817 is doubtful. So, a drawing of a two-wheeled bicycle with a steering wheel and chain drive, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, or to his student Giacomo Caprotti, is considered by many to be a forgery.
A stained-glass window in the Church of St. Hegidius in the English village of Stoke Poges depicts a human figure on something like a scooter, which N. Pevsner calls "an image of a funny horse made in the 17th century (C17 representation of a hobby horse)".
A scooter allegedly from 1791, attributed to the Count de Sivrac (Comte de Sivrac) is a falsification of 1891, invented by the French journalist Louis Baudry. In fact, there was no Comte de Sivrak, his prototype was Jean Henry Sivrak, who received permission in 1817 to import four-wheeled carriages.
The legend, most likely, is the story of the serf Artamonov, who allegedly designed a bicycle around 1800.
According to this legend, the inventor made a successful run on his bicycle from the Ural village of Verkhoturye to Moscow (about two thousand miles). It was the first bike ride in the world. On this journey, the serf Artamonov was sent by his master, the owner of the factory, who wished to surprise Tsar Alexander I with a "outlandish scooter."
For the invention of the bicycle, Artamonov and all his offspring were granted freedom from serfdom. It is kept in the local history museum of Nizhny Tagil.
As the chemical analysis of iron showed, the bicycle from the Nizhny Tagil museum was made no earlier than 1870. As for Artamonov, he was first mentioned in the book by V. D. Belov “Historical Sketch of the Ural Mining Plants” (published in 1898, St. Petersburg): “During the coronation of Emperor Paul, therefore in 1801, Artamonov ran on a bicycle invented by him, for which, by order of the emperor, he received freedom with all the offspring.
In reality, Paul I was crowned in 1797, and Alexander I was crowned in 1801. Belov does not provide any references to documents confirming his amazing find.
They were not found later. No mention of Artamonov could be found either in the Chamber Fourier ceremonial journals of 1796, 1797 and 1801, or in "the agenda on the occasion of the death of His Imperial Majesty the Sovereign Emperor Pavel Petrovich", or in the description of the coronation of His Imperial Majesty Alexander Pavlovich, nor in " List of all the favors poured out by the late sovereign Paul I on the day of his coronation on April 5, 1797, ”neither in the archives of the office of N.N. "Notes of the Fatherland" P. P. Svinin (1818-1830).
No other documents have been found that would confirm Belov's story. The iron “Artomonov’s bicycle”, which was on display in one of the Ural museums, turned out to be a homemade product of the late 19th century, made according to English models.
The prototype of the legend, perhaps, was the serf inventor E. G. Kuznetsov-Zhepinsky, who really received his freedom (together with his nephew Artamon) in 1801 for his inventions. However, Kuznetsov did not design a bicycle, but a droshky with a verstometer and a musical organ.
Bicycle evolution
Although we perceive the bicycle as a kind of simple and ingenious whole (as evidenced by the saying “invent the wheel”), in reality it was invented in at least three steps.
In 1817, the German professor Baron Karl von Dres from Karlsruhe created the first two-wheeled scooter, which he called the "walking machine". It was equipped with a steering wheel and looked in general like a bicycle without pedals; the frame was wooden. The invention of Drez was named in his honor a railcar, and the word "railcar" has remained in the Russian language to this day. Possible cause invention was that the previous one, 1816 was the "Year without a summer".
Then the Northern Hemisphere suffered the most severe climatic anomaly in history, which catastrophically affected the harvest, caused famine and reduced the number of horses. In 1818, in Baden-Baden, von Dres received the "Großherzogliches Privileg" (then equivalent to a patent) for his invention. Drez's car soon gained popularity in the UK, where it became known as the "dandy horse".
In 1839-1840, the blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan in a small village in the south of Scotland improved Drez's invention by adding pedals and a saddle. It turns out that Macmillan created a bicycle similar to the modern one. Pedals pushed rear wheel, with which they were connected by metal rods by means of connecting rods. The front wheel was turned by the steering wheel, the cyclist sat between the front and rear wheels. Macmillan's bike was ahead of its time and remained little known.
In 1845, the Englishman R. W. Thompson patented an inflatable tire, but it turned out to be technologically imperfect.
In 1862, Pierre Lalman, a 19-year-old baby carriage maker from Nancy, France, saw the Dandy Horse and came up with the idea of equipping it with pedals - on the front wheel. Lalman knew nothing about Macmillan's bike, and his car had to be pedaled, not pushed. In 1863, Lalman moved to Paris, where he made the first bicycle, reminiscent of those that we love.
In 1864, the industrialists from Lyon, the Olivier brothers, appreciated the potential of the Lalman machine and, in collaboration with the carriage engineer Pierre Michaud, began the mass production of "dandy horses" with pedals. Michaud thought of making the frame metal. According to some reports, Michaud came up with the name "bicycle" for the device. After working for Michaud-Olivier a short time, Lalman went to America, where in November 1866 he patented his invention. Obviously, Pierre Lallemand should be considered the actual inventor.
19th century style penny-farthing bicycle
Since the 70s of the XIX century, the “penny-farthing” scheme began to gain popularity. The name describes the proportion of the wheels, for the penny coin was much larger than the farthing. There were pedals on the “penny” hub of the front wheel, and the rider’s saddle was almost directly on top of them. High seat height and center of gravity shifted to front wheel, made such a bike very dangerous. An alternative to them were three-wheeled scooters.
Lalman's bicycle, 1865
In 1867, the inventor Cowper proposed a successful design of a metal wheel with spokes. In 1878, the English inventor Lawson introduced a chain drive into the design of a bicycle.
The first bicycle, similar to those used today, was called Rover - "Wanderer". It was made in 1884 by the English inventor John Kemp Starley and has been in production since 1885. Unlike the "penny farthing", the Rover had a chain drive to the rear wheel, wheels of the same size, and the driver sat between the wheels.
Models of this design are called safe (Safety), and the word Rover in many languages still means a bicycle (Polish Rower, Belarusian Rovar, Ukrainian Rover [Rov'er]). The Rover company became a huge automobile concern and lasted until April 15, 2005, when it was liquidated due to bankruptcy.
In 1888, Scotsman John Boyd Dunlop invented rubber tires. They were technically more advanced than those patented in 1845, and were widely used. After that, the bikes got rid of the nickname "bone shakers". This invention made riding much more convenient, which contributed to their popularization. The 1890s have been called the golden age of the bicycle.
Although the bicycles of the 1890s were in many respects similar to modern ones, they were usually made of rusting steel (stainless steel had not yet been welded) and required laborious maintenance (cleaning, lubricating, washing with gasoline or kerosene) after each ride. The description of "routine cleaning of a bicycle" in an 1895 book is 4 pages long.
In 1898, pedal brakes and a freewheel mechanism were invented that allowed the pedals not to be rotated when the bicycle rolled itself. In the same years, hand brakes were also invented, but they did not immediately find wide application.
The first folding bicycle was made in 1878, the first aluminum bicycles in the 1890s, and the first ligerade (sometimes called a rickambent, a bicycle that can be ridden in lying position) - in 1895 (and in 1914 mass production of ligerades by Peugeot began).
By the beginning of the 20th century, the first gear shifting mechanisms belong. However, they were not perfect. One of the first ways to shift gears used on sports models was to equip the rear wheel with two sprockets - one on each side. To change speed, it was necessary to stop, remove the rear wheel and turn it over, fixing and tightening the chain again.
The planetary gear shifter was invented in 1903 and became popular in the 1930s. The derailleur, in the form in which it is used today on most bicycles, was invented only in 1950 by the famous Italian cyclist and bicycle manufacturer Tullio Campagnolo.
Bicycles continued to improve in the second half of the 20th century. In 1974, mass production of titanium bicycles began, and in 1975, carbon fiber bicycles. In 1983, the bicycle computer was invented. In the early 1990s, index shifting systems became widespread.
During the 20th century, interest in bicycles experienced its peaks and troughs. Starting around 1905, bicycles began to fall out of fashion in many countries, in particular in the United States, due to the development of road transport. The traffic police often treated cyclists as a hindrance to the movement of cars. By 1940, bicycles in North America were considered toys for children. Since the late 1960s, they have become fashionable again in developed countries, thanks to the propaganda healthy lifestyle life and the general awareness of the importance of environmental problems.
In the USSR at the end of the 20th century, the most common bicycle models were (sorted in increasing size): Druzhok, Butterfly, Lyovushka, Champion, Veterok, Olympic, Shkolnik, Eaglet, Cross, Kama, Desna, Salyut, Uralets, Ukraine, Minsk ”, Stork, Ural, Tourist, Sputnik, Start Highway. There were two models with detachable wheels - "Humpbacked Horse" and "Bear" (for children). And there was also a Sura bicycle (about the size of a Ural or a little more) ...
social role
The production of bicycles played a large role in creating the technical base for other modes of transport, primarily cars and aircraft. Many metalworking technologies developed for the production of both bicycle frames and other parts (washers, bearings, gears) were subsequently used in the production of cars and aircraft. Many automobile firms created at the beginning of the 20th century (for example, Rover, Skoda, Morris Motor Company, Opel) started out as bicycle companies. The Wright Brothers also started out as bicycle manufacturers.
Societies of cyclists sought to improve the quality of roads. An example of such an organization is the League of American Wheelmen, which led and funded the Good Roads Movement in the United States in the late 19th century. The improvement in the quality of roads also accelerated the development of automobiles.
Bicycles played a role in the emancipation of women. In particular, thanks to them, women's bloomers came into fashion in the 1890s, which helped free women from corsets and other restrictive clothing. In addition, women have gained unprecedented mobility thanks to bicycles.
So, for example, the famous American suffragette Susan Anthony (1826-1906) said on February 2, 1896 in an interview with the New York World newspaper:
"I think he has done more to emancipate women than anything else put together. He gives women a sense of freedom and independence. My heart fills with joy every time I see a woman on a bicycle ... this is the sight of a free, unoppressed woman."
Bicycles allowed villagers to commute more frequently to neighboring villages and towns, which increased the number of marriages between residents of different settlements. This improved the genetic health of the population through heterosis. They reduced urban congestion by allowing workers and employees to live in the suburbs, relatively far from their place of work.
Postal services in many countries have been using bicycles since the end of the 19th century. So, the British mail (Eng. Royal Mail) has been using them since the 1880s. The total number of cyclist postmen is 37,000 in the UK, 27,500 in Germany, 10,500 in Hungary.
Police in many countries use bicycles to patrol the streets, especially in rural areas.
Bicycle patrols, like bicycle mail, appeared at the end of the 19th century. For example, the police of the English county of Kent bought 20 models in 1896, and by 1904 the number of police bicycle patrols was already 129. The advantages of bicycle patrols are freedom from traffic jams, the ability to patrol in pedestrian areas, the ability to secretly get close to the suspect.
In the UK, bicycles are traditionally used to deliver newspapers. This allows you to hire teenagers who do not yet have a driver's license. In poor countries, they are sometimes used to deliver meals.
Even the automotive industry uses bicycles. At the Mercedes-Benz plant (German: Mercedes-Benz) in Sindelfingen (German: Sindelfingen), Germany, workers move around the plant on them. Each department has its own color bikes.
Bicycles were used in the war. During the Second Boer War (1899–1902), both sides (Great Britain and the South African Republics) used bicycles for reconnaissance and for delivering messages. Special units patrolled railways on bike tires. In the First World War, both sides actively used them in intelligence, to deliver messages, to transport the victims. Japan successfully used bicycles to invade China in 1937 and to invade Singapore via Malaysia in 1941.
Bicycles made it possible to covertly and suddenly transfer thousands of soldiers, taking the enemy by surprise. In addition, they did not require trucks for their transfer, nor scarce fuel. The Allies used paratroopers equipped with folding models in their operations. Bicycles were used by partisans to transport goods during the Vietnam War. In Sweden, bicycle troops existed until 2001, and in Switzerland until 2003. According to some reports, bicycles were used by American special forces during the Afghan campaign.
In the circus, bears and monkeys ride on two-wheeled bicycles, and elephants ride on tricycles. Acrobatic stunts with their use are also extremely popular and varied.
Bicycle racing
Bicycle races began to be held immediately after the invention of bicycles. Early races were held on "penny farthings" and other dangerous bikes, which often resulted in injury. Since the 1890s, multi-day bicycle races have become popular. These include the oldest of the cycling races still taking place, the 1200-kilometer Paris-Brest-Paris race, first held in 1891. This cycling race does not consist of stages: the stopwatch starts at the start and turns off when the athlete has reached the finish line. The cyclist himself decides how much time he spends on sleep. The Tour de France, which has been held since 1903, belongs to the category of grand tours - the most popular and most prestigious of all existing bicycle races.
In addition to multi-day cycling races, there are cycling races on short distances. In the United States, cycling is popular for distances up to 5 km. In the last decade, cross-country cycling has gained popularity. Close to them is cyclocross - racing bicycles, very similar to road racing, over rough terrain. For racing on velodromes, special track models are used, without gear shifting.
Races, in addition, are divided into individual and team. There are a large number of types and disciplines of bicycle racing.
Bicycles currently
Currently, bicycles are most popular in the countries of Northern and Western Europe. The most "cycling" country in Europe is Denmark, the average resident of this country travels 893 kilometers on a bicycle per year.
The Netherlands is next (853 km). In Belgium and Germany, the average resident drives about 300 kilometers a year. The least popular bicycle in the countries of Southern Europe - the average Spaniard travels only 20 kilometers a year.
The current popularity of the bicycle in Europe is the result of government policies, as popularization helps to unload city centers from cars, and also improves people's health.
To promote cycling and cycling tourism the following measures are taken:
- arrangement of paths and other infrastructure;
- measures to facilitate use in combination with public transport(parking, as a rule, covered, and often guarded, at railway stations and bus stations, equipment of passenger trains with special cars for passengers with bicycles, etc.).
In many European cities, you can rent a bike at the train station.
In Copenhagen you can rent for free, and for any period. Such models are forbidden to be used outside Copenhagen under the threat of a fine. Unusual design and coloring do not allow you to pass them off as your own. There is a similar program in Helsinki and in the Basque capital of Vitoria (since 2004). You can rent a bike for free in the Hoge Veluwe park in the Netherlands and elsewhere.
In Amsterdam, which calls itself the bicycle capital of Europe, bicycles can be rented not only at the railway station, but also at rental points, in most special shops, and in many hotels.
There is even a dedicated hotel for cyclists, the Van Ostade Bicycle Hotel. You can rent water models, a tandem bike and even for 8 people. In this city, bicycles are a common means of transportation, much more common than cars. This is partly due to the lack and high cost of parking in Amsterdam and other major cities.
Bicycles born in the USSR
The first Soviet bicycles were released in 1924 by the Kharkov Bicycle Plant in the amount of 2200 pieces; in 1969 the output of bicycles in the USSR amounted to over 4 million.
The Baltik Vairas factory, well known since Soviet times for its good-quality Orlyonok models for teenagers, was founded in 1948. It was then called Siauliai bicycle-motor Vaira factory. During the first 30 years of its existence, Vairas produced more than 7.5 million bikes and about 3 million moped engines.
Later, the plant acquired a new name - Baltik Vairas. And after the collapse of the USSR in 1992-1994, the owners of the German concern Panther bought a controlling stake, and then a large part of the company's shares. So the plant found new owners, who, with typical German pedantry and scrupulousness, began the reconstruction of the enterprise.
"Baltik Vairas" - the plant sells bicycles in the countries of Scandinavia, Italy, Poland, Estonia, Latvia,
Depending on the purpose and design features bicycles are subdivided on road, light-road, teenage, sports, children's and special.
- Road bikes have a strong frame, wide tires, a high steering wheel, weight is about 16 kg;
- Light-road vehicles are distinguished by their lower weight (14 kg), reduced tire section, and are usually equipped with hand brakes.
- Sports are characterized by a lightweight construction (8-11 kg) made of alloy steels and duralumin, a low-down steering wheel, the presence of a speed switch and hand brakes (for road cars) or without brakes and freewheeling (for track cars). Variety sports bikes:
- tandem - two-seat two-wheeled with a double interlocked gear. This design allows the tandem crew to reach speeds of up to 70 km / h.
- the special group includes circus, cargo, three-wheeled (for the elderly), bicycle carriages, etc.
Tow hitches have become widespread, mainly for road models, for transporting goods, as well as bicycles with outboard motors.
USSR for the production of bicycles fourth place in the world.
The domestic market of the country was satisfied by road men's models on 28-inch wheels with brakes. rear hub. In addition to these most popular cars, light-road, women's, teenage, children's and sports cars are produced.
"Schoolboy"
"Gum"
"Gum"
"Relay race"
"Kama"
"Minsk"
"Firework"
"Sport"
"Tourist"
"Ukraine"
I love cycling very much. It's so cool to pick up speed and feel the wind whistle in your ears. Or the distance from home to the stadium, which usually takes half an hour to overcome in a few minutes. And I have always been interested in the question: "What is the history of the creation of a bicycle?" Now I will tell you about it.
It seems that there is no simpler invention in the world. After all, it is not for nothing that the expression “ no need to reinvent the wheel”, that is, to invent something known to everyone. But people for a long time did without them. It is believed that in 1801 the Ural blacksmith Yefim Artamonov built the world's first bicycle with wheels, pedals and handlebars. From the Urals, he came to Moscow and there his bike ended up in the Tsar's museum of rarities and was forgotten. But there are still disputes whether this event actually happened or is it a historical tale.
In 1815 German Baron Carl von Drez came up with a device that he called the "running machine". But this name did not take root and they began to call it "trolley", in honor of the baron. The trolley looked like two wheeled scooter with steering wheel and without pedals, with wooden frame and could develop a good speed for that time.
This invention is a delight! Imagine, at a time when the main transport was a cart drawn by horses, suddenly it becomes possible to move quickly on your own. True, this contraption was set in motion with the help of legs walking along the ground, which is why the riders quickly wore out their boots.
But when in the 60s of the 19th century master Pierre Lalman, making baby strollers, screwed pedals to the front wheel, industrialists became interested in his invention. They began producing a large number of bicycles, and even with a metal frame, which replaced the wooden one. It was from this moment that the history of the bicycle began.
Then bicycle designers decided to increase the front saddle to two meters. The rear was 30 centimeters. Such bicycles were called "spiders". A large number of customer injury forced the creators of this miracle to add a third rear wheel, otherwise it was too dangerous to ride such a bike and fall high. To attract buyers, competitions were arranged on the "spiders". Newspapers of those years wrote: "It takes the strength of an elephant and the agility of a monkey to handle these bikes."
But bicycles really became popular when an Englishman Thomson invented tires s, and the Dunlop veterinarian found what to make them from. He cut off a piece of watering hose and pulled it over the rim. But they did not pump air into the tire, but used water, which made the bike very heavy.
Imagine that all this time the bikes had no brakes. They were invented only at the end of the 19th century. It would be interesting to see how the cyclists stopped?
And at the beginning of the last century appeared the first gearshift mechanism. But to use it, you had to stop, remove the chain, unscrew the rear wheel, turn it over again and put on the chain!
The production of bicycles served push and to build cars and planes. After all, many technologies developed for the production of its parts began to be used in the production of these complex mechanisms. And a number of today's well-known automobile companies began as bicycle ones.
Bicycles became less popular when cars appeared. They were considered one of the main obstacles on the road. But today, bicycles have again become a favorite mode of transport. Firstly, it is good for health, and the environment is not littered, and in city traffic jams they will give odds to anyone.
This is interesting:
First trip around the world cycling 125 years ago was very difficult. It lasted three years, because the bike at that time had a huge front wheel and no tires.
The world speed record for a bicycle is 268 kilometers per hour. But do not be surprised by such a high result: the track was especially prepared, and even in front of the cyclist there was a car that cut through the air flow.
"Don't reinvent the wheel!" - surely you have heard this phrase more than once and even pronounce it yourself. When they say this, they usually want to emphasize the simplicity of the matter, when any deviations only complicate, but in no way speed up its process. But, paradoxically, we know very little about the invention of the bicycle. For example, do you know in what year the bicycle was invented? Most likely no. Who invented the first bicycle? Don't know either? Then our article is for you!
As the famous saying goes, it's never too late to learn. And it's not a shame not to know something, it's a shame not to want to learn something new. Therefore, we will talk about a very simple and very complex device at the same time - a bicycle.
Who first invented the bicycle?
We hasten to immediately debunk one common myth. The bicycle was not invented by Leonardo da Vinci. The famous drawing, which allegedly belongs to the brush of Leonardo, in fact, is not.
Also, the legend that the bicycle was invented by the peasant Artamonov, and that it is still kept in one of the museums of Nizhny Tagil, has not found any confirmation.
In fact, the bicycle, in the modern sense of the word, was not invented immediately. His improvement went through at least 3 stages.
In 1817, German professor Baron Karl von Dresz invented something like a scooter. It consisted of 2 wheels and was called the "Walking Machine" by the author. And later, compatriots called this scooter a trolley (in honor of the inventor Drez). In 1818, Baron Carl von Drez patented his invention. When the scooter became known in the UK, it was nicknamed the "dandy horse". In 1839-1840, in a small town in the south of Scotland, the blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan improved the walking machine by adding pedals and a saddle to it. Macmillan's bicycle was very similar to a modern bicycle. The pedals had to be pushed, they in turn rotated the rear wheel, and the front could be turned using the steering wheel. For reasons unknown to us, Kirkpatrick Macmillan's invention remained little known and was soon forgotten.
In 1862, Pierre Lalman decided to add pedals to the "dandy horse" (Pierre did not know anything about Macmillan's invention). And in 1863 he realized his idea. Many people consider his product to be the world's first bicycle, and Lalman, respectively, the creator of the first bicycle.
Question "Who invented the first bicycle?" invariably gives rise to another, no less interesting “When was it invented?” 1817 can also be considered the year of the invention of the bicycle, the year the "walking machine" was invented, and 1840, and 1862. But there is another date associated with the invention of the bicycle - 1866, when Lalman's bicycle was patented.
Since then, the bike has improved every year. The materials from which the bicycle is made, the design itself, as well as the diameters and ratios of the dimensions of the wheels, have changed. However, the essentially modern bicycle is not much different from Lalman's bicycle.
Where was the bicycle invented?
If we assume that the first bicycle was invented by Pierre Lalman, then France is considered the birthplace of the bicycle. However, the Germans are used to believing that the bicycle was invented in their homeland. In part, this is also true, because if it were not for the invention of Baron Karl von Dres, it would not have occurred to Lalman 
improve it.
But don't forget about Scotland. The prototype of the bicycle, designed by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, in fact, was not much different from the invention of Pierre Lalman.
This expression has firmly entered our lexicon. When they say it, they mean useless work on the creation of something that has long been known to everyone. Expressions of this kind are used in many countries. But, interestingly, the mention of a bicycle is typical only for post-Soviet countries. And why do we have such a love for bicycles?
Since childhood, each of us has dealt with a bicycle in one way or another. Someone with might and main drove around the yard, someone only dreamed of an iron friend, someone asked to ride with friends. In any case, the bicycle has already become an integral part of our lives, something taken for granted. It is even hard to imagine that once there were no two-wheeled vehicles at all, and someone had to reinvent the wheel. In this article, we will dive into the history of the bicycle and find out who to thank for such a useful invention.
Why reinvent the wheel
Each invention is based on the idea of an individual or a group of people, and the idea is based on an objective reason for the need for a new invention. According to many researchers, one of the main objective reasons for the invention of the bicycle was the hungry and cold year of 1816, which entered into world history titled "A Year Without Summer".In April 1815, on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa (which is not far from the modern popular resort island of Bali), there was a powerful eruption of the Tambora volcano, which killed more than 71 thousand inhabitants who inhabited the numerous islands of the region. But the troubles didn't end there. A huge amount of volcanic ash entered the atmosphere and spread through it for several months, which eventually provoked the effect of a volcanic winter in the northern hemisphere in 1816.
Constant floods, many months of abnormal cold, incessant cold showers and even snow in the middle of summer - all this almost completely ruined the crop. The effects of the eruption were felt for several more years. Particularly affected by weather anomalies were Western Europe and North America. As a result, a massive loss of livestock, suffering from malnutrition, began. The number of horses also dropped sharply, which forced us to urgently look for an alternative to this method of transportation.
Building a bike
At the very beginning of 1818, Baron Karl Friedrich Christian Ludwig Drais von Sauerbron from the German city of Karlsruhe patented the first two-wheeled self-propelled vehicle created a year earlier, which served as the prototype of the modern bicycle. The inventor called his brainchild "Laufmaschine", which means "running car". This invention was very similar to a modern bicycle, only without pedals and with a wooden frame. The running car instantly became popular throughout Europe - many English and French carriage manufacturers began to produce a new fashionable vehicle. But since the German word “Laufmaschine” was very hard on the ears of the British and French, running cars began to be produced under the name “Dreesina” (if the name of the inventor Karl Drais is read in the French manner and the suffix -ine is added to it, meaning belonging, then it will turn out Draisine, that is, in Russian speaking, a trolley).
The interest in railcars was so great, and the profits from their sales were such that already at the end of 1818, the British merchant Denis Johnson announced the release of a new, improved model. There was a slight hitch - a new word was needed for the improved handcar in order to distinguish the old model from the significantly revised new one (otherwise it would be like inventing an airship and continuing to call it the old word "aerostat").
However, this awkward pause did not last long - the French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, better known as the discoverer of photography, proposed the word vélocipède "bicycle" almost immediately after the appearance of a new model of railcar.
The French word for "bicycle" is formed from the addition of two Latin words velox "fast" and pedis "legs" (i.e. literally "fast-footed" or "quick-legged"). The appeal to Latin was not accidental - firstly, Latin has always been the language of pundits, and secondly, the French, more than other European nations, loved to indulge in Latin words. However, the authorship of the word "bicycle" is disputed by another Frenchman.
According to the second widespread version, Denis Johnson's improved model was called dandy-horse (i.e. "English dandy horse"). But the word "bicycle" appeared a little later.
How everyone began to pedal
When, in 1863, nineteen-year-old Pierre Lalman, who had previously made a living by making prams, built the first pedaling "dandy horse" in his workshop in Paris, a truly revolutionary breakthrough in the history of the bicycle took place. The following year, the industrialists Olivier brothers from Lyon, highly appreciating the invention of Pierre Lalman, took him to themselves and began the mass production of "dandy horses" with pedals in collaboration with the carriage master Pierre Michaud.
Pierre Michaud was the first to think of replacing the wooden frame of a bicycle with a metal one, and also (according to some sources) decided to change the name “dandy horse”, which was dissonant for the French ear, to the Latin “bicycle”.
Until now, it has not been established for certain who was the first to come up with the name "bicycle" - the Burgundian Joseph Nicephore Niepce (1765-1833) or the Lorraine Pierre Michaud (1813-1883). On the other hand, written sources clearly recorded the first (still timid) attempts to penetrate the word "bicycle" into the Russian language precisely at that time - at the beginning of the second half of the 19th century.
Pierre Lalman, after working for a couple of years with the Olivier brothers, went to America and patented his invention there in November 1866. It is Pierre Lalman who is most often undeservedly considered the inventor of the bicycle, since outwardly his bicycle looks more like its modern descendant than the invention of Karl Dries, undeservedly relegated to the background.
Other vintage bikes
In the history of the bicycle, there are models that have not received much popularity and have practically no effect on the evolution of the vehicle. First of all, this can be attributed to the invention of the Scotsman Thomas McCall in 1830 two wheeler without pedals. The main difference between the model and the trolley is that the development of the front wheel is slightly larger than the rear.
The bicycle of another Scot, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, did not become popular either. In 1839-1840, a blacksmith from a small village improved McCall's invention by adding a saddle to it and. We can say that it was Macmillan who was the first to make a bicycle that has the maximum resemblance to the modern one. The pedals drove the rear wheel, which in turn was connected by connecting rods with metal rods. It was possible to turn the front wheel with a steering wheel, the cyclist was placed between the wheels. It reminds us of a bicycle, doesn't it? But in those years, the invention went unnoticed, because it was far ahead of its time.
In the second half of the 19th century, bicycles with a huge front wheel and a disproportionately small rear wheel, known to all of us from old photographs and engravings, appeared. Such bicycles received a special name - "penny-farthing", given to them by the name of the corresponding English coins - pennies and farthings (a farthing, which cost one fourth of a penny, was much smaller than a penny).
However, these monsters went out of fashion very quickly, as the seat was located at a very high altitude, and the center of gravity in the penny farthing was shifted to the front wheel, which made such bikes quite dangerous.
Birth of the modern wanderers
In 1884, the Englishman John Kemp Starley created a new bicycle model and named it, which means “wanderer”, “tramp” in English. This model became so popular that in some languages the word Rover began to be used to refer to a bicycle in general - as, for example, in Polish (rower), from where it later got into Western Belarusian (rovar) and Western Ukrainian (rovér). And John Kemp Starley, inspired by the success of the new model, a couple of years later founded the Rover Company, which eventually turned into a giant automobile concern and lasted until 2005, when it suddenly went bankrupt.
The first rovers already had a chain drive to the rear wheel, the wheels themselves were the same size, and the cyclist sat between them. This design seemed like a real breakthrough after the dubious penny-farthing, and was called "safe".
Further, the history of the bicycle is only in the improvement of Starley rovers. In 1888, the vehicle was equipped with inflatable rubber tires (the invention of John Boyd Dunlop), which made riding as comfortable and popular as possible. Thus began the golden age of bicycles.
In 1898 they solved the problem of braking. They came into use, and the manual ones that appeared did not immediately find wide application. A freewheel mechanism was also invented, thanks to which the bicycle could roll itself, without pedaling.
In 1878 they made the first folding bicycle, in the 1890s - aluminum. By the beginning of the twentieth century, gear shifting mechanisms appeared. However, those systems were absolutely inconvenient and unpopular. The modern mechanism was invented in 1950 by the Italian cyclist Tullio Campagnolo.
At the end of the twentieth century, special racing and Mountain bikes known to us to this day.
