bicycle

BICYCLE, open,two-wheeled vehicle popular in many countries of the world, and used for pleasure riding, light delivery, racing, and in many areas as a major means of transport. The name, which derives from bis (Lat.,”twice”) and kyklos (Gr.,”circle of wheel”), describes the design – two wheels supported by a tubular steel frame.

HISTORY.
The earliest known prototype, was built by Chevalier de Sivrac in 1790. It was in the form of wooden animals or serpents mounted on two wheels in a line, and was propelled by the rider’s kicking backward against the ground; it had no steering mechanism. The Draisine, invented in 1816 by Baron Karl von Drais, in Germany, was steered by means of a tiller that swung the front wheel. At the same time Nicephore Niepce, a Frenchman, invented a steerable two-wheeler, the Celeripede, which was not as well accepted; Baron von Drais became officially recognized as the “father of the bicycle.”
In 1838 Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a Scorsman, built the firsy bicycle to have pedals, levers, and cranks propelling the rear wheel: it also was equipped with handlebars and a brake. Public prejudice prevented its manufacture, but in 1855, a bicycle with pedals and cranks attached to the front wheels was designed by Pierre Michaux and his son Ernest, in Paris. It was called Velocipede-a name that had first appeared in von Drais’ patents.
The front wheel pedal led to larger front wheels and smaller rear wheels, beginning with the Ariel in 1870 and culminating in the familiar high wheeler of the 1870’s and 1880’s. some models had a small wheel in front and a large one in the rear, which was safer since it prevented pitching forward if it struck an object on the road. Between 1877 and 1879 H. Bate Croydon of England introducted the Flying Dutchman driven by pedals, cranks, and looped ropes on pulleys closely resembling the modern chain drive. Closer yet to the modern bicycle was the Bicyclette (1879) by H. J. Lawson; it exhibited the first sprocket and chain drive, but was laughed out on style as the “crocodile.” There were efforts to popularize chainless drives, but none succeeded. Then in 1885 J. K. Starley, an Englishman, presented his Rover with the first successful chain drive, it was the forerunner of todat’s bicycle.
Many accessories were developed in the 19th century: handlebar bells and bulb horns; brakes; kick stands; cyclometers (for registering mileage); and lamps, first oil, acetylene, then electric. In the 20th century came direction signals, tail lights, mudguards, and chainguards, found mainly on pleasure bicycles. Track racing bicycles are stripped of all nonessentials and weight from 16 to 20 lb. Road racers have brakes and gearshifts; both types use rattrap (nonslip) pedals, toe clips, and footstraps.

VARIANTS.
Although the bicycle is definition a two-wheeler, there are other forms with multiple wheels and seats; tandems for two persons, quintuplets for five persons, sextuplets for six persons, septuplets for seven persons, and the decetuple for ten persons. The only one of the latter ever built is in Henry Ford’s Greenfield Museum in Dearborn, Mich. The unicycle, consisting of one wheel with or without a saddle is used only for novelty or trick riding. The tallest bicycle was a 20-ft.-high tandem built in France and the smallest a 9-in. frame on 12-in, were used in Boer War in 1899. Other variants of the bicycle are the three-wheeled tricycle, the four wheeled quadricycle, and the milticycle, which has six two-wheeled units linked together and accommodates 12 persons.
(Encyclopedia)