A random list of cycling facts – from the invention of the bike to the fastest time circumnavigating the world.

When Was the Bike Invented?

No one really knows exactly. The Frenchman Ernest Michaux invented a bicycle with pedal and rotary cranks in 1861, but it is doubtful this was actually the first design.

Early precursors to the bicycle include:

1817 – The Running Machine. Invented by the German Baron Karl von Drais, this had no pedals, no chains, but two wheels. It was propelled by pushing  your feet on ground. It was sometimes known as human horse. It was largely a form of entertainment for aristocratic families with their own estate. It never really caught on, but is important for giving idea of bicycle shaped objects.

The Running Machine. Photo by Gun Powder Ma wikipedia

The Velocipede – 1860s. In the early 1860s, two Frenchmen Pierre Michaux and Pierre Lallement put pedals on the front wheel and introduced the velocipede, which looks more like our modern bicycle. It had no chain and was very uncomfortable due to the wooden wheels. The velocipede helped the spread of the bicycle.

The Penny Farthing. A development of the Velocipede, this was faster due to the larger diameter of the front wheel. But, considered dangerous because of its height. Nevertheless Penny Farthings became quite popular and the first cycle races were on these high machines.

1885. The Safety Bike. It was around the 1880s, that the first safety bikes appeared. These are considered the first real bicycles. With their standard two triangle frames, pedals and chain, the basic design has remained unchanged. Starley’s 1885 Rover is considered the first real bicycle model.

When was the Pneumatic tyre

In 1846 Robert William Thomson  patented a pneumatic tyre. But, he was never able to make it a practical reality. In 1888, Scotsman John Dunlop invented the first practical pneumatic tyre, which created a much more enjoyable and comfortable ride. A year later, in 1889, the racing cyclist Willie Hume won 4 races using Dunlop’s tyres in 1889  The bicycle was ready for mass participation and the first puncture repair kit was invented pretty soon after.

Innovations for bicycles which later appeared in motor cars

• Pneumatic Tyres
• Precision ball bearings
• Tension-spoked wheels
• chain-drive,

Motor Engineers who started off producing bicycles

Henry Ford, Wright Brothers. Dunlop tyres, The Rover Cycle Company, Morris Motor Company.

Who were the first group to campaign for better roads?

Cyclists. In the US in the 1890s, it was cyclists who were prominent in the Good roads movement. A magazine Good Roads Magazine was founded in 1892 by cycling advocates. It reached a subscription of 1 million within 3 years. A year later (1893) after Good Roads magazine was founded, Charles Duryea produced the first American gasoline-powered vehicle, and within 20 years cars had replaced bicycles as the most popular users of American roads. But, those early motorists befitted from the campaigning by cycling groups.

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We all know the bicycle is the best invention since stone age man first lit a fire and rolled a wheel down the hill to celebrate. But, those who ride a bicycle are not necessarily as super-cool as they might believe. Cyclists can just be as irritating and annoying as anyone else.

Irritating types of cyclists, could include:

• Any cyclist with a better bike than you.
• Any cyclist who has more bikes that you.
• Any cyclist who overtakes you on a hill and says ‘jolly nice day’ pretending not to be even out of breath, when you know they are on the verge of collapsing when they get round corner.
• Any cyclist who is faster than you.
• Any cyclist who weighs less than you, despite eating more cake.
• Any cyclist who pretends to never do any training, but still manages to do a 200Km sportive in sub 6 hours.
• Anyone who starts an unofficial commuting race when you don’t want to get involved in such a petty unimportant thing.
• Anyone who beats me in an unofficial commuting race.

But, this is a more detailed list.

1. The Winter Racer

It’s the middle of winter and most of your clubmates are happy to settle for some steady winter miles with the odd teashop thrown in. However, the winter racer will turn up on his £3,000 carbon fibre mike (sans mudguards of course) and insist on sprinting for every road sign or these days invisible strava segments. The funny thing about the winter racer is that when the real racing starts in the middle of summer, they tend to evaporate or fail to race very quickly. Winter racers for the times which don’t matter.

2. The Tester who bores everyone rigid.

(Tester = time triallist). Time trialling can have a tendency to encourage a sort of obsessive behaviour. In particular, some testers will take any opportunity to regale you with their long history of their personal bests.

“…I set a 52:03 on the H25/8. Of course, if I’d had a 54 * 11 sprocket I’m sure I would have got a 51….”

In the old days you could settle for listening to pbs and perhaps the advantage of fixed wheel over gears, but these days we have power figures, and even CdA stats to throw in the equation. For every pb, there is now also a power pb. Not only will you hear all the times done, but also how much faster he could have gone, should power and optimal CdA be thrown into the equation.

3. The Urban Warrior

Maybe it is not fair to call these class of people cyclists – but they are certainly guilty of creating a bad image for all the other cyclists.. Urban warriors treat the road as an obstacle course. Red lights and one way signs are only part of the street furniture – something to be admired for their aesthetic beauty rather than being signals of when to stop. The urban warrior will charge along pavements and shout at anyone with the audacity to suggest he might have been in the wrong. The worst thing about the Urban Warrior is that every-time he gets on a bike, he spawns another 100 angry letters to the Daily Mail – ensuring cyclists are viewed with the same disdain usually reserved for slugs in a lettuce patch.

4. Mr Excuses

It was the headwind, sidewind, wrong bike, wrong choice of gears, too hilly, too early in the season, too late in the season, too hot, too cold, old war wound…. No matter what happens, Mr Excuses will always come up with a long list of excuses for why he didn’t do better / ride further. After listening to Mr Excuses, you really feel he could win the Tour de France, if only he wasn’t so cursed with bad luck and unfortunate mishaps. Of course, every racing cyclists is guilty of delving into the world of excuses.

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