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The Vintage Bicycle
Remember that first bike. I surely do, I'd wheels, I was mobile, I possibly could go anywhere and did. Transportation was cool. I am certain a lot of you've fond memories of your first bicycle. The first ride was an adventure and great fun.
On this page I wish to provide you with a little history of the vintage bicycle. The bicycle originates along way from the few boards with wheels attached to the mechanical marvel nowadays.
The first bicycle had two wheels with no pedals.
Referred to as Draisienne or Hobbyhorse this machine was presented to the general public in Paris France in 1819. Designed by Baron von Drais, this bicycle was simply a wooden frame with two wheels which the rider sat on and pushed along with his feet while steering the front wheel with a handle bar. The hobbyhorse was duplicated by builders in lots of countries around the world. The best were manufactured in England by Denis Johnson and were knows because the velocipede. Compared to early models these machines were better built and far lighter. Due to poor roads and hard wheels these bicycles were a punishing ride and also the hobbyhorse lost favor using the public throughout the 1820's
At last a better way to really make it go.
1860- A better way to make it go. Before 1860 lots of people thought a rider could not keep their balance very far not having their feet on the floor. This concept was proven wrong by many people new builders of bicycles. Adding pedals to provide forward motion was the solution to make it go and it was found that a rider could balance and steer the machines quite well.
These changes to the velocipede brought new interest to cycling worldwide, however the interest didn't last because these bicycles were much to heavy, tough to steer and slow. The pedals only allowed one revolution of the drive wheel.This design did however give a base for rise in the coming years
Lighter and Faster
In great britan, as interest in the velocipede fell off, the search continued for a lighter and faster bicycle. The search was led through the cycling sportsmen, cycling clubs and the growing bicycle manufacturing industry.
British bicycle builders, by 1870, had built a brand new type of velocipede with a large front wheel made possible by a new method to construct the wheels. The brand new wheels, known as suspension wheels, used wire spokes, and rubber mounted on the edges to make for a much lighter and smoother riding wheel. The rear wheel was made smaller to save weight. Also around this time period the tubular frame began to be used on most models.
The riders of those cycles sat over the front wheel so that you can reach the pedals, which looks a bit scary to me, however the new faster, lighter cycle was created
Now a safer way to cycle
During the later part of the 1870's our prime wheel bike was instrumental in creating a new cycling craze. The drawback to this was many people couldn't ride these tall and difficult to ride machines.
Manufacturers looked to some safer design, and the tricycle was the solution. James Starley was among the first tricycle designers together with his lever operated trike of 1876 and the following year saw his style of the continuous chain around the Coventry Rotary.
Over 350 models of they were open to the British public with a large variety of steering and brake systems as well as other special features such as an improved transmission system.
All of these improvements added to the recognition of cycling in general making the machines much safer for the public to make use of
High wheel design modified for safety.
While making tricycles, bicycle builders were also dealing with the 2 wheel design to enhance safety. Decreasing the center of gravity was one of the ways used to reach their goal. By moving the rider behind the front wheel and adding pedals with levers, the rider was closer to the floor while still being able to get to the pedals from the still large front wheel.
This design along with the tricycles served the market well until the mid 1880's. Again a new design arrives with lots of improvements. From the British this time a design which moved the rider farther back minimizing down. It was made by reducing the size the front wheel. They used a gear and chain system which turned the wheel faster than the pedals to pay for that reduced size of the driven wheel. The bicycle referred to as Kangaroo by Hillman, Herbert and Cooper led many builders to adopt their own version of the design
The Modern Bicycle Arrives
Builders continued improving on the types of the 1850's to bring a safer more comfortable bicycle to market. These improvements became referred to as safety bicycle, featuring a lower and longer profile having a chain-drive towards the rear wheel. This design with both wheels the same size set the rider between them and the pedals underneath the rider. Setting the front forks at an angle enabled the rider to easily get to the handle bars to influence the bike.
As with any new designs they weren't perfect, however many new things were on the way to improve the comfort of the bicycle. The largest single improvement was the pneumatic tire. The bicycle was now a safe and reliable mode of transport.
