The first bicycle in the world appeared. Who invented the very first wooden bicycle in the world and in what year? When was the bicycle invented in its modern form?

Today, when someone is said to be “reinventing the wheel,” it means that the person is engaged in a useless activity, inventing something that has already been invented a long time ago. Who actually invented the bicycle and how? In fact, reinventing the wheel turned out to be not such a simple and quick task, and many people contributed different people. So, this post is about the history of the invention of the bicycle.

The invention of the bicycle has a long history. There is a lot of evidence that wheeled devices driven by human muscular power were created by talented inventors at different times and in different countries. The first evidence of such devices dates back to the time of Alexander the Great. According to ancient sources, back in the 4th century. BC e. The ruler of Syracuse, Dionysius, had a certain “gamaxion” - a cart driven by muscular force. Similar devices are also mentioned in later Roman sources. Self-propelled carts, driven by pedals and levers, were also built in the Middle Ages.

A fairly common misconception is that the first .

In Russia in the 18th century. the creation of “self-running strollers”, quite advanced for their time, is associated with the names of talented inventors Leonty Shamshurenkov and Ivan Kulibin.

self-propelled carriage of Kulibin (1791)

But, oddly enough, for thousands of years such inventions remained only interesting curiosities and never became widespread. Only in the 19th century did the first devices appear and become widespread, which, gradually improving, became the bicycles we know today.

Who exactly built the first device resembling a modern bicycle is not known for certain. There are many versions about this. For example, in Russian archives there is evidence of Efim Artamonov, a serf who invented the bicycle back in 1801 and even rode it from the Urals to Moscow. True, some consider this incident a legend and question it, since very little information about this event has been preserved in written sources. And the first inventor whose name is reliably associated with the appearance of the bicycle is usually called Karl Dresa.

Karl Dres was a forester from Bavaria, and circumstances prompted him to think about inventing a new means of transportation. After 1812, a series of crop failures followed for several years in Europe. Oats for horses became expensive and then Drez came up with a simple two-wheeled device with a steering wheel and a seat, which allowed a person to move faster. The “trolley”—that’s how Drez’s invention was called—did not have pedals, and you had to move on it by pushing off the ground with your feet. However, this method of transportation was noticeably faster than walking. With the help of a handcar it was possible to move at a speed of about 15 km/h.

This is what the first “running machine”, invented by Drez, looked like

In 1817, Drez's invention became popular and soon similar machines began to be produced in different countries. After some time, there were so many handcars that the authorities of some cities began to introduce bans and fines to prevent the owners of these cars from interfering with pedestrians walking on the sidewalks.

Such cars were produced in England

But for a bicycle to become a bicycle, it still had to have pedals. In 1840, the Scotsman Macmillan made an attempt to improve the bicycle. He added pedals that were connected to the rear wheel using levers.

Macmillan and his bicycle

However, MacMillan's invention remained little known and did not spread.

In 1863, French inventor Pierre Lallement proposed another option by installing pedals on the front wheel. In France, there were people who supported the inventor - engineer Pierre Michaud and industrialists the Olivier brothers. Soon new cars, called bicycles, began to be mass-produced.

Pierre Lallement and his bicycle

After this, bicycles continued to improve. Bicycles began to be produced with a metal frame, then to make the structure lighter they began to make it from metal tubes. In 1867, the Englishman Cowler developed the design of a wheel with metal spokes. In the 1870s, a bicycle design commonly called a “spider”, with a huge front wheel and a small rear wheel, became widespread.

Spider bike

The Spiders could be driven quite quickly - at a speed of about 30 km/h, but the ride was unsafe. A small bump could cause a fall, and the fall from the bike was quite high.

In 1878, the English inventor Lawson made the next important improvement - he added a chain drive to the bicycle design. Nowadays, bicycles no longer need a huge front wheel. And in 1888, Scotsman John Dunlop came up with another important part of the modern bicycle - inflatable rubber tires. Thanks to them, riding bicycles, which have become nicknamed “bone shakers,” becomes noticeably more comfortable.

John Starley's Rover bicycle is one of the first similar to modern ones. e

By the end of the 19th century, bicycles became very popular, the number of cyclists worldwide exceeded a million, and regular competitions began to be held. cycling, postmen and the army began to be equipped with bicycles.

Soldiers with folding bicycles (early 20th century)

But the story of the invention of the bicycle did not end there. The bicycle also needed a brake and a freewheel mechanism, good bearings to reduce friction, a gear shift mechanism, and better materials for the frame (the first bicycles rusted easily and had to be lubricated and wiped with gasoline after each ride). All these improvements took decades.

The history of the invention of the famous bicycle is rather vague; each country has its own version of its origin. Nowadays you can find a lot of information on the Internet various options the one who invented the bicycle. Some of these stories were true, while others were more likely fiction.

Who was really first?

It can be said that there are two versions of who the first creator was. One of them claims that the first bicycle was given to the world by our compatriot, a certain serf Artamonov. However, his brainchild was quickly forgotten and received the name - a two-wheeled cart. The second version says that the first in this matter was the inventor Karl von Dres.

In general, the idea of ​​​​moving on wheels using only one’s strength penetrated people’s heads a long time ago. Suffice it to recall the many different strollers, carts, chariots and other things. Similar devices arose in civilized countries almost simultaneously, for example, in France and Germany.

Four-wheeled model by Giovanni Fontana

Back in 1418, Giovanni Fontana designed the first example of a vehicle that was propelled by muscle strength. It was a cart with four wheels with a rope drive to the rear wheels.

For a long time it was believed that Leonardo da Vinci himself could have invented the bicycle.

When his drawings with a sketch of a primitive device, dated 1493, were allegedly found. However, in 1974, scientists proved that the drawings were not made by his hand.

Version about Artamonov's bicycle

Before 1817, all information about self-propelled devices is very doubtful. Most likely, the story of the Ural serf craftsman Efim Artamonov is also just a legend. The story goes that this skillful peasant Artamonov created his bicycle around 1800. After which he rode it on the world's first bicycle ride of 2000 miles from the village of the Tagil plant (now Nizhny Tagil) to Moscow itself. However, a spectral analysis of the iron materials of the bicycle, in the Nizhny Tagil Museum, showed that the sample is a homemade fake of the 2nd half of the 19th century (not earlier than 1870), created according to the English model.

Bicycle by Karl von Drezis

In 1817, the German scientist and baron Karl von Drezis created a two-wheeled scooter, which he patented a year later. He called it “a running machine.”

The scooter had a steering wheel, a wooden frame and no pedals and, in general, was similar to a modern bicycle.

Further development of the bicycle

The Drezis bicycle was improved by one Kirkpatrick Macmillan, a Scottish blacksmith in 1839-40. This modification received a significant upgrade - pedals! But, despite the innovative discovery, his invention was somewhat ahead of its time and when it came to use, his contemporaries did not appreciate it.

Subsequently, the main development of bicycle engineering moves to Western Europe and the USA. At this time, modifications were carried out on the connecting rod system, which was mounted on the front wheel.

In the 60s of the 19th century, bicycles began to be used not only for traveling, but also for racing. The first bicycle competitions took place in 1869. The riders covered a distance of 120 km from Rouen to Paris. First bike ride in Russian Empire took place in July 1983 at the hippodrome in Moscow.

In 1872, the British presented their scooter model, the Ariel. Its main distinguishing feature was its large front wheel. When metal spokes began to be used in wheel construction, they acquired a bizarre shape, which is why they began to be called “spiders.” Some models reached a weight of 35 kg, with a wheel diameter of two meters. Still, such a giant made it possible to travel long distances, for example, from St. Petersburg to Moscow.

In the mid-60s of the 19th century, engineer Cooper proposed a wonderful idea for the design of a metal wheel with spokes. Such a bicycle was invented by the English scientist John Kemp Starley in 1884. This model had a chain on the rear wheel and had identical wheels, between which the driver sat.

Such a bicycle, which had a clear resemblance to modern models, was named Rover, which means “Wanderer”.

In 1898, a freewheel mechanism and pedal brakes were added to the model, which made it possible not to pedal while the bicycle was moving downhill. Hand brakes were also invented around the same time, but they did not become popular.

The introduction of bicycles into the social life of Russians occurred in the 1870s and 80s. This is due to the appearance of that very safe Rover design with identical wheels, which is considered the great-grandfather of the modern bicycle. But cycling tourism in Russia originated in 1882, when seven members of the St. Petersburg Cycling Society went on a 270-verst ride to the Finnish Imatra Falls.

In 1985, domestic industrialists noticed that it was quite difficult for cycling enthusiasts to buy bicycles for themselves, since they had to be brought from outside the Empire, and it was not cheap. Therefore, production was established in Moscow and Riga.

Bicycles in the 20th century

At the beginning of the 20th century, the first speed switching mechanism was created. However, he was far from perfect. Rear wheel sports bike was equipped with sprockets on both sides. When the cyclist wanted to switch to another speed, he stopped, took off rear wheel and turned it over, then fixed it again and pulled the chain back.

In 1903, planetary gear shifting was invented, which only gained popularity in the 1930s. Gear shifting as we know it today was only created in 1950 by the famous Italian cyclist and Tullio Campagnolo.

In the 70s of the 20th century, designers stopped reinventing the wheel and began exclusively improving it. Titanium bicycles went on sale in 1974, and carbon fiber bicycles a year later. With the advent of the computer era, in the 1980s, bicycles began to be equipped with cycling computers. In the 90s, cyclists began to use index speed switching.

Over the past century, bicycle fashion has experienced its peaks and valleys. For example, at the beginning of the century, in many countries, especially in the United States, bicycles became less popular due to the rapid development of the automobile industry. It got to the point that traffic police began to regard cyclists as an obstacle to the movement of cars. In the 40s, Americans bought bicycles for their children as toys.

Only at the end of the turbulent 60s did residents of civilized countries return to cycling again, realizing the importance of environmental problems and trying to healthy image life.

It is difficult to answer the question in what year the first wooden bicycle. And who exactly can be considered the father of the “miracle machine”. After all, the history of the creation of a bicycle is quite diverse. It took more than a dozen years for it to become what we know it now. But it all started back in 1817.

When and by whom was it created

The year preceding this significant event was considered the “year without summer.” Abnormal cold, due to a volcanic eruption, was recorded in the Western Hemisphere in 1816. Almost the entire crop was destroyed. The number of livestock, including horses, has decreased significantly. That's why people tried to find alternative way movement.

Perhaps this is what prompted Karl von Drese to resume work on the bicycle. His first attempt to demonstrate vehicle in 1814 was unsuccessful. And in 1817, this German baron created the first semblance of a bicycle. The design was two-wheeled, had a handlebar holder above the front wheel and consisted entirely of wood.

The wooden bicycle was called a “running machine.” Since they moved on it with the help of their legs, pushing off from the ground with them. In this case it was necessary to balance on the front wheel. It looked more like a scooter than a bicycle. It could reach speeds of up to 12 km/h.

A year later, Drez patented his invention. It became so popular by the end of 1918 that it began to be produced in French and English carriage factories. But " bicycle boom"did not last long, and did not bring Karl Drez much money. In 1851, the professor died without a penny to his name. Only 20 years later work on bicycles was resumed.

Interesting to know! The creation of the bicycle played an important role in the development of cars and airplanes in the future.

The path to a real bike

In 1840, Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan attached the first pedals and saddle to a “running machine.” The transmission of this design was a system of connecting rods that transmitted force from a person to the front wheel. Like a classic sewing machine.

In 1863, a young engineer, Pierre Lallement, who was developing baby carriages, attached pedals to a long-forgotten railcar. The entire structure was mounted on the front axle. Lilman demonstrated his invention in Paris and attracted the attention of many. Including the three rich Olivier brothers. They highly appreciated new bike, and offered Lalman cooperation.

Pierre Michaud, a famous French engineer who also worked with the Olivier brothers, improved Lallement's model: he replaced the wooden frame with an iron one. However, the wheels were still wooden, with metal tires. Michaud also suggested calling the new vehicle " vélocipède" (bicycle).

Interesting to know! Only in 1866 Pierre Lallement managed to obtain a patent for his invention. This year is considered the beginning of mass production of bicycles.

Legends about the invention

There are several other theories about where and by whom the first bicycle was invented. But they are more likely to be classified as patriotic legends that have not received enough evidence.

According to some sources, Leonardo da Vinci is considered the creator of the bicycle. Sketches of a primitive bicycle, subsidized in 1493, were found. They were supposed to belong to him. But subsequent examination showed that this was not so. It is possible that the sketch was completed by his student when the original was lost, but this data is also considered false.

Others say that in 1801, Russian serf Efim Artamanov designed an iron bicycle. On it he traveled from the city of Verkhoturye to Moscow. This is evidenced by only one entry in the Dictionary of the Verkhoturye District of the Perm Province. The design itself was transferred to the royal collection, and was soon lost.

Since childhood, each of us has dealt with a bicycle in one way or another. Some raced around the yard with all their might, some only dreamed of an iron friend, some asked friends for a ride. In any case, the bicycle has already become an integral part of our lives, something taken for granted. It’s even hard to imagine that once there were no two-wheeled vehicles at all, and someone had to reinvent the wheel. In this article, we will dive into the history of the bicycle and find out who to thank for such a useful invention.

Why reinvent the wheel?

In April 1815, on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa (which is not far from the modern popular resort island of Bali), a powerful eruption of the Tambora volcano occurred, which killed more than 71 thousand inhabitants inhabiting numerous islands in the region. But the troubles didn't end there. A huge amount of volcanic ash entered the atmosphere and spread through it for several months, which ultimately triggered the effect of a volcanic winter in the northern hemisphere in 1816.

Constant floods, months of abnormal cold, incessant cold showers and even snow in the middle of summer - all this almost completely destroyed the harvest. The consequences of the eruption were felt for several years. Western Europe and North America. As a result, a massive loss of livestock began, suffering from malnutrition. The number of horses has also dropped sharply, which has forced an urgent search for an alternative to this method of transportation.

Making a bike

The running car instantly became popular throughout Europe - many English and French carriage manufacturing companies began producing a new fashionable vehicle. But since the German word “Laufmaschine” was very offensive to the English and French, running machines began to be produced under the name “Trolley” (if the name of the inventor Karl Drais is read in the French manner and the suffix -ine is added to it, meaning belonging, then it will turn out to be Draisine, that is, in Russian speaking, a trolley).

The interest in handcars was so great, and the profits from their sales were such that already at the end of 1818, British merchant Denis Johnson announced the release of a new, improved model. There was a slight hitch - a new word was needed to denote the improved railcar in order to distinguish the old model from the significantly redesigned new one (otherwise it would be like inventing an airship and continuing to call it the old word “aerostat”).

However, this awkward pause did not last long - the French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niepce, better known as the discoverer of photography, proposed the word vélocipède “bicycle” almost immediately after the appearance of a new model of handcar.

The French word "bicycle" is formed by adding two Latin words velox "fast" and pedis "legs" (i.e. literally "swift-footed" or "swift-footed"). Turning to Latin was not accidental - firstly, Latin has always been the language of learned men, and secondly, the French, more than other European peoples, loved to dabble in Latin words. However, the origin of the word "bicycle" is disputed by another Frenchman.

According to the second widespread version, Denis Johnson’s improved model was called dandy-horse (i.e. “English dandy horse”). But the word “bicycle” appeared a little later.

How everyone started pedaling

IN next year industrialists, the Olivier brothers from Lyon, highly appreciating Pierre Lallement's invention, took it over and began mass production of “dandy horses” with pedals in collaboration with carriage maker Pierre Michaud.

Pierre Michaud was the first to think of replacing the wooden frame of a bicycle with a metal one, and also (according to some sources) decided to change the name “dandy horse”, which was dissonant to the French ear, to the Latin “bicycle”.

It has not yet been established for certain who was the first to come up with the name “bicycle” - the Burgundian Joseph Nicéphore Niepce (1765-1833) or the Lorraineer Pierre Michaud (1813-1883). But written sources clearly record the first (still timid) attempts to penetrate the word “bicycle” into the Russian language precisely at this time - at the beginning of the second half of the 19th century.

Pierre Lallement, after working for a couple of years with the Olivier brothers, went to America and patented his invention there in November 1866. It is Pierre Lallement who is most often unfairly considered the inventor of the bicycle, since outwardly his bicycle is more similar to its modern descendant than the invention of Karl Dries, who is undeservedly relegated to the background.

Other vintage bicycles

The bicycle of another Scot, Kirkpatrick MacMillan, did not become popular either. In 1839-1840, a blacksmith from a small village improved McCall's invention by adding a saddle and. We can say that it was MacMillan who was the first to make a bicycle that has the maximum resemblance to a modern one. The pedals drove the rear wheel, which in turn was connected by connecting rods to metal rods. The front wheel could be turned using the steering wheel; the cyclist was positioned between the wheels. It’s very reminiscent of the bicycle we’re used to, isn’t it? It’s just that in those years the invention went unnoticed because it was far ahead of its time.

In the second half of the 19th century, bicycles with a huge front wheel and a disproportionately small rear wheel, known to all of us from old photographs and engravings, appeared. Such bicycles received a special name - “penny-farthing”, given to them after the names of the corresponding English coins - the penny and the farthing (the farthing, which cost one-quarter of a penny, was much smaller in size than the penny).

However, these monsters very quickly went out of fashion, since the seat was located very high altitude, and the center of gravity in the penny farthing was shifted towards the front wheel, which made such bicycles quite dangerous.

The Birth of Modern Nomads

The first rovers already had a chain drive to the rear wheel, the wheels themselves were the same size, and the cyclist sat between them. This design seemed like a real breakthrough after the dubious penny-farthing, and was called “safe.”

Further, the history of the bicycle consists only of improving the Starly Rovers. In 1888, the vehicle was equipped with inflatable rubber tires (invention of John Boyd Dunlop), which made riding as comfortable and popular as possible. Thus began the golden age of bicycles.

In 1898, the braking problem was solved. They came into use, but the manual ones that appeared did not immediately find widespread use. A freewheel mechanism was also invented, thanks to which the bicycle could roll on its own, without pedaling.

The first folding bicycle was made in 1878, followed by an aluminum one in the 1890s. By the beginning of the twentieth century, gear shifting mechanisms appeared. However, those systems were absolutely inconvenient and unpopular. The modern mechanism was invented in 1950 by the Italian cyclist Tullio Campagnolo.

At the end of the twentieth century, special racing and Mountain bikes, known to us to this day.

The bicycle is one of the most popular means of transportation around the world; millions of people travel huge and not very long distances every day on a variety of models and types of bicycles, but not everyone has thought about the origin of this type of transport.

And it all started back in the 9th century. In 1817, the German professor Baron Karl von Dres invented and patented the first balance bike, which he proudly called a “running machine.”

Outwardly he strongly resembled modern bicycles and had a wooden frame. However, a bicycle with a design familiar to modern man was made only in 1862 by Pierre Lallement in Paris.

Since the 1870s, the penny-farthing pattern began to gain popularity; the name gives an idea of ​​​​the proportionality of the wheels, since the penny coin is much larger than the farthing coin. The high seat height and the center of gravity greatly shifted forward made such bicycles quite dangerous.

Further, technological progress gradually brought the appearance and structure of the bicycle to what we can see every day. The first folding bicycle was made in 1878, and the active use of aluminum in the manufacture of frames began in the 1890s.

Shift mechanisms began to appear only at the dawn of the 20th century, sometimes they were quite funny, for example, one of the first methods was to equip the rear wheel with two sprockets - one on each side, so that in order to change gear the cyclist had to stop, remove the rear wheel, turn it over and re-tension it. The first switching mechanism, identical to today's operating scheme, appeared only in 1950, it was invented by the Italian cyclist and bicycle manufacturer Tullio Camagnolo.

The invention and development of bicycles greatly influenced the overall technical development of society. Many technologies for the production of bicycle components were subsequently transferred to the automotive industry, and the well-known Wright Brothers began as bicycle manufacturers. In the United States, bicycles played a role in improving the quality of roads, which led to the rapid development of motor transport.

Every day, thousands of people around the world use bicycles not only for walking, but also when performing their official duties. Many European countries, such as the UK and Hungary, use bicycles to deliver mail. Even the famous cartoon postman Pechkin dreamed of a bicycle all his life.

In densely populated cities, you can often find police officers on bicycles patrolling the city streets; with this type of transport, they are not afraid of any traffic jams and can quickly move through pedestrian areas. What can we say about couriers, for whom the bicycle is one of the most effective types transport in a modern city. Bicycles were also actively used in wartime. During the First World War, both sides used bicycles quite actively. They found their main application in reconnaissance, allowing them to quickly and silently move around the territory; in addition, the scouts did not need scarce fuel for their transport.

Today we got to know the history of such a wonderful and useful form of transport as a bicycle. There are many more interesting and useful articles awaiting us!