What may have caught your attention is the title of my blog. The velocipede was invented in 1817 by a German baron Karl von Drais, who’s known as the father of the steerable, 2 wheeled contraption.
His machine, the “swiftmaker” made in 1817 had no pedals and had the frame of a wooden beam, with iron rims. In the early 1860s, there were multiple French inventors that made prototypes with pedals attached to the front wheel. Before the modern name of the bicycle, it was commonly called “boneshakers, running machine, a hobby horse, and the velocipede.”
As models were evolving there were experiments with different shaped wheels. In the 1870-the 1880s, there were bicycle clubs and races, which sparked the idea of Bicycle touring. An Englishman by the name of Thomas Stevens rode a high-wheeler bike on his journey around the globe. Unfortunately, he never made it to see North America. As I mentioned, the shape of the bike was continuously changing.
In 1885 an English man John Kemp Starley made the “safety bicycle” with the design of equally shaped wheels and a chain drive, which is now the basic template of bikes today. The name of the bicycle comes from the English word bi which is two, and the greek word kuklos which is a wheel.
The bike was invented as a practical investment for the working man to ride to work and to get back home. This was an idea spread across the world and used as independent transportation, and greater flexibility in leisure.
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Hi Khaleah, I really like this post because you give the history of
ReplyDeletehow the bicycle got its name, throughout all the games it was
given through time until it was named the bicycle.
Hii Khaleah! You’re totally right, the title of your post is what drew me in at first. I was so confused at first wondering what your blog could possibly be about! But after reading it, I really enjoyed your piece. I’ve never looked into the evolution of bicycles but your post makes it seem so cool! When bicycles come to mind I always think of Davis since they’re considered a bike town. It’s crazy to me how much they rely on bikes but I’ve learned that they are super-efficient and like you said it was invented as a practical investment. I guess about 70,000 people are bound to thank Karl von Drais for creating the first spark to the development of modern bicycles.
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