Russia invented the bicycle (?)
While the invention of the velocipede in the form of Karl Drais’ laufmaschine is accepted as the first two-wheeled human propelled vehicle, the original invention of the pedal-driven bicycle is a … Continue reading
Cycling Patents of Yesteryear: No. 9 – Rastetter and Siebold’s Child Seat Attachment for Bicyles, 1891
For many of us, our first experience of cycling, likely long forgotten, was not as a rider, but as a passenger, firmly ensconced in a child seat with an unimpeded … Continue reading
Military Cycling: The British Army Chooses a Bicycle
Following the successful manoeuvres of 1887, and the less successful manoeuvres of 1888, the British Army continued to examine the utility of the bicycle for military purposes, and in June … Continue reading
Cycling Patents of Yesteryear: No. 8 – Ulysses F. Henderson’s Bicycle-Handle, 1897
Handlebars, like saddles and pedals, are important components of the bicycle because they are the contact points between the rider and the machine. Poor adjustment or a design that doesn’t … Continue reading
Cycling Shorts: Richter’s Raketenrad
Sometimes pedal power just isn’t enough, which has led to various attempts at adding extra oomph to the relatively low, if efficient, power output achieved with human muscle and chains … Continue reading
Transferable Technology: From the Bicycle to the Aeroplane and the Car
Before Orville and Wilbur Wright gained fame as the first people to make a controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight they owned and ran a bicycle repair, rental and sales … Continue reading
A History of Cycling in n+1 Objects: No 5 – The American Star Bicycle, 1881-1893(?)
Today the basic elements of John Kemp Starley’s Rover Safety Bicycle, introduced in 1885, are the standard form for bicycles but in the late Nineteenth Century the ‘safety’ was just one of … Continue reading
Cycling Patents of Yesteryear: No. 7 – Evan S. Connell Jr’s Bicycle Attached Toy Machine Gun, 1951
After last week’s post on small arms and cyclists this patent from the 1950’s seems an apt one with which to follow. The invention of one Evan S. Connell Jr … Continue reading
Le Tour de France: Stage 14 – Saint-Étienne-Aurillac, 1985
Anyone who rides a bicycle will know that crashing is an occupational hazard. A slick of oil on the road, a wet manhole cover, an unforeseen pothole, a wayward dog, … Continue reading
Cycling Patents of Yesteryear: No. 6 – Ogden Bolton Jr’s Electrical Bicycle, 1895
Sometimes cycling is just too much like hard work. All that pushing of pedals and pumping of legs can wear a body out. So what better than adding a little … Continue reading
Cycling History 