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The Vintage Bicycle

Do you remember that first bike. I surely do, I had wheels, I was mobile, I possibly could go anywhere and did. Transportation was cool. I am sure many of you've fond memories of the first bicycle. The very first ride was an adventure and great fun.

In this article I want to provide you with just a little history of the vintage bicycle. The bicycle originates along way from the few boards with wheels connected to the mechanical marvel nowadays.

The first bicycle had two wheels and no pedals.

Referred to as Draisienne or Hobbyhorse this machine was given to the general public in Paris France in 1819. Designed by Baron von Drais, this bicycle was just a wooden frame with two wheels that the rider sat on and pushed along with his feet while steering the leading wheel having a handle bar. The hobbyhorse was duplicated by builders in lots of countries all over the world. Some of the best were manufactured in England by Denis Johnson and were knows as the velocipede. When compared with early models these machines were better built and much lighter. Because of poor roads and difficult wheels these bicycles were a punishing ride and also the hobbyhorse lost favor using the public throughout the 1820's

At last an easy method to really make it go.

1860- An easy method to really make it go. Before 1860 lots of people thought a rider couldn't keep their balance very far not having their feet on the floor. This idea was proven wrong by many people new builders of bicycles. The addition of pedals to provide forward motion was the answer to make it go and it was discovered that a rider could balance and steer the machines very well.

These changes towards the velocipede brought new interest to cycling worldwide, nevertheless the interest didn't last as these bicycles were much to heavy, hard to steer and slow. The pedals only allowed one revolution from the drive wheel.This design did however provide a base for rise in the coming years

Lighter and Faster

In Britain, as popularity of the velocipede fell off, the search continued for any lighter and faster bicycle. The search was led by the cycling sportsmen, cycling clubs and the growing bicycle manufacturing industry.

British bicycle builders, by 1870, had built a new kind of velocipede having a large front wheel made possible with a new way to construct the wheels. The brand new wheels, known as suspension wheels, used wire spokes, and rubber mounted on the rims to make for a significantly lighter and smoother riding wheel. The trunk wheel was made smaller to save weight. Also around this time period the tubular frame began to be utilized of all models.

The riders of those cycles sat within the front wheel so that you can reach the pedals, which looks a little scary to me, but the new faster, lighter cycle was created

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Now a safer way to cycle

During the later area of the 1870's our prime wheel bike was instrumental in developing a new cycling craze. The downside of this was many people could not ride these tall and hard to ride machines.

Manufacturers looked to some safer design, and also the tricycle was the answer. James Starley was one of the first tricycle designers with his lever operated trike of 1876 and the following year saw his style of the continuous chain around the Coventry Rotary.

Over 350 types of these machines were open to the British public having a large number of steering and brake systems as well as other special features for example a better transmission system.

All of these improvements added to the popularity of cycling generally and made the machines much safer for the public to use

High wheel design modified for safety.

While making tricycles, bicycle builders were also dealing with the two wheel design to improve safety. Decreasing the center of gravity was one way accustomed to reach their goal. By moving the rider behind the front wheel and adding pedals with levers, the rider was nearer to the ground while still being in a position to reach the pedals from the still large front wheel.

This design along with the tricycles served the marketplace well until the mid 1880's. Again a new design arrives with many improvements. From the British this time a design which moved the rider farther back and lower down. This was done by reducing the size of the front wheel. They used a gear and chain system which turned the wheel faster than the pedals to pay for the reduced size the driven wheel. The bicycle known as the Kangaroo by Hillman, Herbert and Cooper led many builders to consider their very own version of this design

The current Bicycle Arrives

Builders continued bettering the designs 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 with a chain-drive to the rear wheel. This design with both wheels exactly the same size set the rider between them and also the pedals underneath the rider. Setting the front forks in an angle enabled the rider to easily reach the handle bars to steer the bike.

Just like any new designs they weren't perfect, however many new things were on the way to improve the convenience of the bicycle. The biggest single improvement was the pneumatic tire. The bicycle was now a safe and reliable mode of transport.