Brief History of the Bicycle

The benefits of cycling are so many and varied it’s a wonder that everyone doesn’t spend some part of every day cycling. Cycling improves health, helps keep weight down, saves the rider money on car costs and is good for the environment.

The original bicycle came into being in the early part of the 19th century. It was called a velocipede, or draisine, named after Karl von Drais, a German who patented the invention in 1818. It had no pedals; the rider simply pushed along with his feet. This was great for going down hill, but not so good for uphill.

The next great leap forward in the bicycle’s evolution came with the introduction of the pedal in the 1860s, this time in France (‘bicycle’ is a French word, by the way). Cycling took off again, culminating with the penny-farthing in the 1870s.

Then finally came the safety bicycle in the 1880s, so-called because the rider sat lower to the ground and could easily stop the bike with his feet. The safety bicycle is the basic model that is still used today.