Vintage Images Of Old Bicycles

The archetype for the bicycle or the precursor to the bicycle was created by Baron Karl Von Drais, in 1817. Baron Karl Von Drais lived (1785-1851), and he was a German civil servant who worked for the Grand Duke of Baden, in Germany. The original vehicle that he created was called the 'Laufmaschine' (German term for running horse), which was also known by the French term 'Velocipede'. The official common English term for the Velocipede was Draisine, and the common nick names for the Velocipede were Dandy horse and Hobby-horse.

Karl Von Drais patented his design in 1818. The original model was built with two consecutive iron shod wheels, the larger wheel situated at the rear, and the smaller at the front of the vehicle, the Velocipede was constructed with a single awkward looking elongated steering handle, situated at the front centre part of the vehicle, and was designed with a heavy straight wooden framed body, with wheel bearings and brass bushings, a rear-wheel brake, and weighed roughly 22 kg (48 Ib), however, the pedal drive had not yet been invented. The Laufmaschine was the first commercially successful human powered vehicle transport, which utilized the two wheeler principle, and it was powered by the rider propelling the vehicle along, balancing while seated, by pushing from the ground with both feet, in a running motion.

It is believed that Drais's preoccupation with finding an alternative to horse transportation began after the eruption of Mount Tambora, which took place on 10 April, 1815, in Indonesia. Mount Tambora was the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history, emitting a volcanic explosive index (VEI) of a magnitude 7. This event resulted in the so called 'Year without a summer' in 1816, a period of time when many horses had tragically died of starvation, due to a worldwide crop shortage, in 1816. The knock-on effect of Mount Tambora's volcanic eruption resulted in severe climate abnormalities which caused the dramatic decrease in average global temperatures.

Denis Johnson (1760-1833) was a British coach designer, who built an improved model of the Velocipede, which he patented in late 1818, called the 'Pedestrian Curricle'. The improved model included a serpentine shape wooden frame, instead of the original straight shaped frame, an upgrade which allowed the use of larger wheels, without raising the seats on the vehicle.

Kirk Patrick Macmillan lived (1812-1878), was a Scottish Blacksmith, who was allegedly credited with the invention of the first mechanically propelled two-wheel bicycle, in 1839, yet, certain scholars and historians dispute this claim, on account of, there was not enough supporting evidence provided, and especially since Macmillan did not receive the patent.

Philipp Moritz Fischer (1812-1890) was a German inventor, who was also attributed creator of the pedal driven bicycle, and his model was called the 'Tretkurbel Fahrrad' invented in 1853. The French Blacksmith and inventor Ernest Michaux (1842-1882), and French inventor Pierre Lallement (1843 -1891), were individuals allegedly reported to lay claim to the coveted first prize. All of the above mentioned were notable names, any one of which could have been the original inventor of the bicycle pedal and crank. Nevertheless, it was Pierre Lallement, who was finally awarded the patent for the pedal driven bicycle, on 20 November,1866, in the United States.

Following his invention of the Velocipede in 1817, Karl Von Drais had successfully cemented the foundations for the evolution of the bicycle. The additional innovative components of a pedal, in conjunction with a chain and crank, proved to be the official transformation of the Velocipede to the bicycle. The term 'bicycle' is believed was coined in France during the 1860s and 'Penny Farthing' was a term created in that era, to describe a bicycle and tricycle (three wheel vehicles) with a very large front wheel and smaller rear wheel(s).

The exciting era of the three wheelers (tricycles) and four wheelers (quadracycles) began in earnest from the 1850s, with two seaters, three seaters, and even four seater bicycles designed in all shapes and sizes. Initially, it was the upper class that began the craze to cycle. However, with the rapid development of the bicycle, people's safety concerns about the bicycle, during that era, soon vanished. And the first bicycle revolution or 'Golden Age' is said to have started from the 1890s. Many women gladly embraced their new found freedom to trek around their communities, especially without the customary accompaniment of a man. And the gift of the bicycle soon became apparent to all classes, for work, for racing, and for leisure, as it dawned upon the early cyclists, that it was far more economical, convenient, and far fitter to tread upon the pedals of the bicycle, while traveling around town, than to saunter around town while riding upon a horse.