In the beginning...

In 1817 a "walking machine" was invented by the Baron von Drais to help him navigate the royal gardens in Paris more quickly. It had two in-line wheels mounted in a wooden frame which was straddled by the rider, but no seat. The front wheel could be turned for steering, and the device was propelled by pushing the feet against the ground. Known popularly as the "hobby horse", or Draisienne (after its inventor), the vehicle achieved only a brief popularity due to its weight and scarcity of suitable smooth paths or roads.

Pedal driven bicycles appeared in the mid-1860s, with the pedals attached directly to the front axle. This design was known as the velocipede, and there were many variants incorporating wheels of different sizes, seats and various accessories. These were also made of wood (and then with metal tires), as metallurgists were not capable of producing metals light enough for bicycle use until the 1870s. The bicycles were made without springs - the ride on the cobblestone roads common at the time must have been unthinkably bruising. The so-called "safety bicycle", with its two equi-sized wheels, became the bicycle design platform that was to underlie most bicycle development.

From here the bicycle family tree becomes more complex. Recumbent bicycles appeared in the early 20th century, as did specialized designs built for racing. As bicycles gave the average family access to inexpensive transportation, "family" model cycles appeared sporting two or more seats, with up to six -seaters in both bicycle and pedal-powered carriage formats being available. Folding bicycles appealed to the traveler and to the military alike.

As the 20th century drew to a close, exotic materials such as fiberglass and epoxy composites were used to create whole new generations of bikes for racing, off-road use, touring and just plain transportation. But you can still build a bike from elementary materials, as shown by the "bike on a beam", with its frame fabricated from a wooden 4x4 post, depicted here.

	This page last updated: March 10, 2004 Original content: Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Museum of American Heritage Trademarks are the property of their owners