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How the Bicycle Took Shape
historical development of an idea or invention
The addition of air-filled rubber tyres a few years later made riding far more comfortable, and within a decade cycling had become a popular pastime for both men and women.
Pedals were added some fifty years later, when French makers fixed them directly to the front wheel. Because one turn of the pedals produced one turn of the wheel, the only way to go faster was to make that wheel bigger.
This problem was solved by the so-called safety bicycle, which had two wheels of equal size and a chain driving the rear wheel. Because the chain allowed gearing, speed no longer depended on wheel size.
The first machine recognisable as a bicycle appeared in Germany in 1817. It had two wheels in line and could be steered, but it had no pedals: riders pushed themselves along with their feet.
The result was the high-wheeler, whose front wheel could be well over a metre across. It was fast but dangerous: a rider sitting so high above the ground could easily be thrown over the handlebars.