THE BICYCLE

1817-THE LAUFMASCHINE
Mount Tambora eruption caused a hunger
crisis and people had to sacrifice their
horses to eat. As a result of that, Karl Drais
designed the Laufmaschine as a transport
solution

1864-VELOCIPEDE
Pedals were added in 1864 in Pierre
Michaux's workshop in Paris. These bicycles
were known as improved velocipedes, or
popularly called ‘boneshakers’ for their
rough ride.

1870-PENNY FARTHING
The need for speed spawned the Penny
Farthing in 1870, whose wheel size
determined the ‘gearing’ of the bike. The
longer your leg, the higher the ‘gear’ you
could push and the faster you could go.

1887-PNEUMATIC TYRES
Solid rubber would replace metal, an that
progress began when John Dunlop designed
a pneumatic tyre to be filled with air in 1887.

1930-QUICK-RELEASE
SKEWERS
Italian racing cyclist Tullio Campagnolo
designed the quick-release skewer: a steel
skewer through a hollow axle with a nut at
one end and a cam lever at the other

1930'S-ALUMINIUM
WHEEL RIMS
It was a technological revolution when Mavic
replaced steel frames with his Duralumin
rims in the 30s

1990-STI LEVERS

The arrival of Shimano’s STI (Shimano Total

Integration) system in 1990 heralded one of
the most fundamental changes in race bike
design we have ever seen.

A NEW CENTURY
Far from being replaced by motor vehicles,
bicycles remain vital as a tool to combat the
lifestyle diseases that are making us sick and
sad in larger and larger numbers in the
developed world.
REFERENCES:
History of the bike. (2018, May 28). Bicycle Network.
Portus, S. (2021, June 10). Game changers. BikeRadar.
TECNOLOGÍA: LA BICICLETA. HISTORIA Y EVOLUCIÓN. (n.d.). Natureduca.com.
United Nations. (n.d.). World bicycle day | united nations.