History of the Bicycle

[Sapioit]

I don't have time to search this right now, but I think we should also look for other vehicles which weren't pulled by animals (including humans). Maybe they didn't need bikes because they all had carts, or as we know them today, cars.

 

[JWW427]

The hard part was the pneumatic tire. Getting it right was a real pain.
I do believe everything has been re-invented from ancient times, ao the bike is a green non-polluting invention of amazing potential.

What Is the History of the Current Rubber Tire?

John Dunlop and Charles Goodyear are the two most important figures in the invention of the pneumatic (inflatable) tire.

www.thoughtco.com

Pneumatic Tires
Robert William Thomson (1822–1873) invented the actual first vulcanized rubber pneumatic (inflatable) tire. Thomson patented his pneumatic tire in 1845, and while his invention worked well, but it was too costly to catch on.

 

[JohnNada]

I don't have time to search this right now, but I think we should also look for other vehicles which weren't pulled by animals (including humans). Maybe they didn't need bikes because they all had carts, or as we know them today, cars.

Great point! I know we have a small thread from the archives on an early Recumbent Bicycle or perhaps a wheelchair. There’s also quite a few posts on things like horseless carriages, but those appear to be around closer to the 19th century. I definitely find it hard to believe that we had a recumbent bike for almost 200 years before someone figured out how to build a bicycle.

 

[Sapioit]

The hard part was the pneumatic tire. Getting it right was a real pain.
I do believe everything has been re-invented from ancient times, ao the bike is a green non-polluting invention of amazing potential.
Pneumatic Tires
Robert William Thomson (1822–1873) invented the actual first vulcanized rubber pneumatic (inflatable) tire. Thomson patented his pneumatic tire in 1845, and while his invention worked well, but it was too costly to catch on.

You don't need pneumatic tires. You can simply use suspensions, and you only need one for the seat. If you really want, you could have one for each wheel instead, After all, wood is flexible, so depending on the wood used, the chassis would simply bend when hitting a large bump, and they had cushions for carts, and comfortable rides were only needed on long rides. In fact, having a seat would be a bigger cushion than the cushion itself, since without a seat one is prone to falling off while trying to drive on rough terrain (like a gravel road). I know from experience.

Great point! I know we have a small thread from the archives on an early Recumbent Bicycle or perhaps a wheelchair. There’s also quite a few posts on things like horseless carriages, but those appear to be around closer to the 19th century. I definitely find it hard to believe that we had a recumbent bike for almost 200 years before someone figured out how to build a bicycle.

That trike seems like it could have a reduction gear system, and looks more like a freight/cargo trike, than a wheelchair. Driving it would be very difficult, since it would sway left-and-right by simply trying to move it forward. I mean, it would be better than not moving alone at all, but it looks a lot like those handles were used for changing speeds, or one for changing speeds and one for the clutch, with pedals inside the box.

 

[Myrrinda]

Fun fact: the street where Karl Drais lived is now a red light district. Sorry this doesn't contribute to the thread but I thought I'd mention it, since I was born in Karlsruhe too and lived there till I was four. Edit: the city would be worth a whole thread, maybe if I get to it. Pyramid and everything...

 

[codis]

The hard part was the pneumatic tire. Getting it right was a real pain.
I do believe everything has been re-invented from ancient times, ao the bike is a green non-polluting invention of amazing potential.

That is an important part of the modern incarnation of the bicycle.
IMHO inventions arise not only from necessity, but also from some preconditions.
For sure, crafty medieval carpenters could have made wooden bicycles.
But would a user have had any advantage, compared to a pedestrian or rider ?
No, not without paved roads.

 

[Akanah]

I don´t believe humans needed two thousand years for development a bicycle or other thinks. First I believe the idea of a bicycle came from a plasma-phenomenon and secondly you can detect a quickly development since 1900. Either before 1900 we had all technologies and lost it around 1900 or we have invented all technologies since 1900 and our history is very short. The grandparents (around 75 years) of my friend told last year they had only morse code machines at their adolescence. This was surprising me because I thought they were further in their technologies.

 

[Sapioit]

That is an important part of the modern incarnation of the bicycle.
IMHO inventions arise not only from necessity, but also from some preconditions.
For sure, crafty medieval carpenters could have made wooden bicycles.
But would a user have had any advantage, compared to a pedestrian or rider ?
No, not without paved roads.

Unless they could have made offroad bikes, which might also be more dangerous than walking, especially since on bike you generally tend to move at higher speeds, and you don't have lateral stabilization.

I don´t believe humans needed two thousand years for development a bicycle or other thinks. First I believe the idea of a bicycle came from a plasma-phenomenon and secondly you can detect a quickly development since 1900. Either before 1900 we had all technologies and lost it around 1900 or we have invented all technologies since 1900 and our history is very short. The grandparents (around 75 years) of my friend told last year they had only morse code machines at their adolescence. This was surprising me because I thought they were further in their technologies.

According to the Mandella Effect (or the Retcon Effect, from retroactive continuity), the past is changing, and discoveries and technology are being pushed further back in time, according to the mainstream narative.

 

[codis]

Unless they could have made offroad bikes, which might also be more dangerous than walking, especially since on bike you generally tend to move at higher speeds, and you don't have lateral stabilization.

Try biking offroad with a wooden frame, no suspension, and no pneumatic tires ...

 

[Sapioit]

Unless they could have made offroad bikes, which might also be more dangerous than walking, especially since on bike you generally tend to move at higher speeds, and you don't have lateral stabilization.

Try biking offroad with a wooden frame, no suspension, and no pneumatic tires ...

It depends on how creative you get with making wooden suspensions. I mean, you know how old vehicles use leaf springs? The same could be used by bikes. Even rope-spring is usable like this, if it doesn't get wet, and it can be protected with a casing, to not get wet.

 

[codis]

I mean, look back at the image in the OP's first post.
One could hardly call anything there a suspension.
Or imagine the mentioned medieval carpenter spending days for such leisure items.

My point - the long time between the invention of the wheel and the invention of the bicycle is not due to lacking ingenuity of carpenters and cartwrights.

 

[kd-755]

The op machine.Has the exact same wheels as those found on carts and coaches in that it has the iron tyre shrunk onto the wooden wheel.
The seat is on a curved suspension arm connected to the steering column directly over the front axle and connected to the back axle by another curved suspension arm which connects to the rigid frame just before the frame connects to the axle. The joint of these two is beyond the imaginary perpendicular line from the axle this and the position of the frame shows the designer knew that the weight of the rider would be transferred to the axles and their ride would be cushioned by the suspension arms.

The brake clearly acts upon the iron tyre of the rear wheel to bring it to a stop. This wheel is essentially following the front wheel which is the one being pushed along by the pedalling rider. As there doesn't seem to be a free wheel hub on the front wheel then the rider cannot just stop pedalling as the pedals go round with the wheel. The position of the brake makes perfect sense as the rear wheel is the free wheel so to speak.

The steering column all in either iron or steel seems to feature a spring in it, hard to tell for sure from the photo but given the makers evident knowledge of suspension and the need for it I would wager it is a spring and this to would help with the ride of the bike.

Far from being a piece of shit this bike is an extremely well designed thing that has been extremely well engineered.
Codis has a point about mutual arising, though he doesn't phrase it quite like that. This bike could easily cope with an unmetalled compacted gravel or clay surface given the rider a bouncy to our eyes ride but a safe one. It would be much nosier than a modern bike assuming the iron tyre is all there was.
Given the distance between the tyre and the brake block I would argue solid rubber tyres were not in use when this thing was made.
Cobbled as in totally cobbled streets round here were always uncommon things put down where there was high traffic and more often the cobbles were used at the end of streets where they meet another with compacted gravel/clay forming the length of the street. The reason why seems to me to be common sense. The ground that takes the most hit from some wheeled vehicle getting going no matter what is pushing it along is the street meeting another street junction. The initial push down is massively more powerful than the subsequent pushes to keep the thing rolling along. Paris may have had more cobbled streets but I don't know that they were as universal as it is presumed.

Considering the elegance and grace, lightness of material, sparsity of material in that design and then looking at the monstrous shit that modern bikes have become we really are degrading or perhaps we have been conditioned beyond belief into accepting crap as normality.

 

[zephpilot]

I need to weight-in here as someone who cycles a lot. Bicycles are surpisingly complex. they have collared bearing's, cranks, brakes and gears. Bearings alone require a degree of industry to produce. The other issue is roads. According to the common narrative, modern roads (macadamised+) were developed alongside bicycles and for bicycles.​

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It would be pointless to build a bicycle or 'bicycle shaped object' if it was simply easier to walk or ride a horse. However, as many here suspect, technologies sometimes come and go and people tend to underestimate the ingenuity of the past. Those little e-scooters being very similar to the little Velocopeds of the 1920's comes to mind.​

So, even taking into consideration the complexity of cycling and its infrastructure, I still have a suspicion that something similar to the modern bicycle may have existed at some point in history with civilisations that where capable road builders.​

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(On a side note, I would like to hear some discussion on 19th century road composition, oddly specific, but if you want to understand a civilisation, you have to know what it's walking on.)​

 

[kd-755]

Seems the maker did not date his bicycles.

Source

And looking closely at the massive photographs on that page I would suggest these things never went near a cobbled street in Paris. They seem to have been designed for gentleman of leisure and the financial means to buy and maintain them.

Dating from late 1868 or early 1869, this Michaux Velocipede is in wonderfully original condition. The only non-original parts of the bicycle are one section of rim and one spoke to the front wheel, and the leather cord for the brake has been replaced. Quite a lot of the original black paint is intact showing clearly the details of the decorations and red lining. It has beautifully figured rosewood handles, possibly an optional extra. The spring top oilers, often missing, are present and provide constant lubrication to the front wheel bearings ( see detail below ) Even the original wooden rollers for the brake cord are intact, as is the wooden wedge beneath the saddle and some fragments of the original pigskin for the saddle. The beautiful bronze pedals are counter-weighted to present the pedal in the right position for the riders heel at all times. The machine is in one of the rare smallest sizes, having a 33 inch front wheel. Copied by many, the machines constructed by Michaux & Cie. were rarely matched for quality and elegance of construction

I quite agree with the blog authors assessment.

For me this is the bicycle as sculpture,

Incidentally that blog may have more road information amongst its pages.

 

[Akanah]

I am thinking weird now. I does think all developments and religion symbols consist of suppressed human abilites and have to do with my vision of a kundalini-awakening 2006. A couple of examples: In my Vision I have a twinsoul and I and my twinsoul had a energy-wheel at the belly and at the forehead. The both wheels of the bellys are like the wheels of a bicycle and all 4 wheels of a car are like the wheels of the bellys and the both forehead. The gold or money of this world could be the golden kundalini-energy. Glasses for eye could be only the both wheels of foreheads. And because every wheel on the belly have 4 arms they are a symbol for the swastika and merged together they are the star Istar with 8 arms. And both wheels on belly and both wheels of the foreheads merged together have 12 arms like the 12 apostels or knights of king Arthur. So the world could be the concept of two merged souls. The end of the world could be the seperation of former merged souls. I am still busy with understanding this new Ideas.

 

[Sapioit]

I am thinking weird now. I does think all developments and religion symbols consist of suppressed human abilites and have to do with my vision of a kundalini-awakening 2006. A couple of examples: In my Vision I have a twinsoul and I and my twinsoul had a energy-wheel at the belly and at the forehead. The both wheels of the bellys are like the wheels of a bicycle and all 4 wheels of a car are like the wheels of the bellys and the both forehead. The gold or money of this world could be the golden kundalini-energy. Glasses for eye could be only the both wheels of foreheads. And because every wheel on the belly have 4 arms they are a symbol for the swastika and merged together they are the star Istar with 8 arms. And both wheels on belly and both wheels of the foreheads merged together have 12 arms like the 12 apostels or knights of king Arthur. So the world could be the concept of two merged souls. The end of the world could be the seperation of former merged souls. I am still busy with understanding this new Ideas.

Interesting info, but I don't think it's relevant to this discussion. I personally think that it is significantly offtopic. There are better threads to discuss that in, in my opinion.

 

[Akanah]

I am thinking weird now. I does think all developments and religion symbols consist of suppressed human abilites and have to do with my vision of a kundalini-awakening 2006. A couple of examples: In my Vision I have a twinsoul and I and my twinsoul had a energy-wheel at the belly and at the forehead. The both wheels of the bellys are like the wheels of a bicycle and all 4 wheels of a car are like the wheels of the bellys and the both forehead. The gold or money of this world could be the golden kundalini-energy. Glasses for eye could be only the both wheels of foreheads. And because every wheel on the belly have 4 arms they are a symbol for the swastika and merged together they are the star Istar with 8 arms. And both wheels on belly and both wheels of the foreheads merged together have 12 arms like the 12 apostels or knights of king Arthur. So the world could be the concept of two merged souls. The end of the world could be the seperation of former merged souls. I am still busy with understanding this new Ideas.

Interesting info, but I don't think it's relevant to this discussion. I personally think that it is significantly offtopic. There are better threads to discuss that in, in my opinion.

Sorry, but I can´t always stay at one thread-theme because all things belong together. I even find it laborious all my ideas spreading of many threads. I don´t think it is bad to tell more other informations in one thread for to look outside the box.

 

[Sapioit]

Interesting info, but I don't think it's relevant to this discussion. I personally think that it is significantly offtopic. There are better threads to discuss that in, in my opinion.

Sorry, but I can´t always stay at one thread-theme because all things belong together. I even find it laborious all my ideas spreading of many threads. I don´t think it is bad to tell more other informations in one thread for to look outside the box.

Then it might be a good idea to simply make a thread yourself, in which to connect all those other threads. You can link to those other threads, so others can also see the connections. That way, each thread stays on-topic, because the topic of that thread you make will be connecting other threads.