58 Milestones From Bicycle History You Must Know

Bicycles have been a big part of our society for a while now; almost everyone in the first world has learned to ride a bike at some point. We all remember our first lessons from when we were kids, and of course, our first awesome wipeout. These are our own personal biking milestones of course, but those two-wheeled devices (that are often both our favourite tool and worst torture device, depending on how well we can steer) have been around for 200 years, and they have quite a few milestones of their own.So in celebration of all those successful stunts, scraped knees and epic crashes, below are 58 of the greatest milestones in biking history.For all practical intents and purposes, this was the first thing to actually qualify as a bicycle. Invented by a German Baron named Karl von Drais in 1817. Later on this bike, which became known as the Draisine, shifted from its common use to versions that were designed specifically to be used on railroads (which meant 4 wheeled versions), however despite that, this bike was the beginning of cycling’s 200 year 2-wheeled reign. This terrifying-sounding thing is actually the first bicycle to have front-wheel pedals. It is also sometimes known as the first Velocipede.The name boneshaker comes from the fact that they were incredibly uncomfortable. This is because they were hard to control and shakey, with a stiff frame and wooden wheels with iron tires. Ouch.

The Penny-Farthing, also known as the High Wheeler or the Ordinary, looks ridiculous by today’s standards, however when they were first released, they were all the rage.These bikes are easily recognized by their enormous front wheel and tiny back wheel. The Penny-Farthing is most likely the first bicycle to actually be referred to as such in its time period. That, combined with its relation to the birth of sports-cycling and its unique design make it an important cornerstone of cycling history. The Penny-Farthing was popular for decades following its inception. In 1872, it was first manufactured in Britain (where the cycling market moved to in the 1870’s), and In 1878 inventor William Henry James Grout created a portable version which could be easily assembled and disassembled as needed.1868 – Mass production It wasn’t until 1868 that bicycles started to be mass produced. Pierre Michaux, a big-name blacksmith and bicycle manufacture partnered with Aimé, René, and Marius Oliver, or the Oliver brothers, to begin the mass production of velocipedes. The Oliver brothers were wealthy businessmen, and combined with Michaux’s expertise, they made a fortune off of the bicycle crazy of the 1860’s with their company, Michaux et Cie (meaning Michaux and Company). The Roper Steam Velocipede was the first steam-powered bicycle, coming out around the same time that bicycles began exploding on the market.However, it doesn’t just belong in cycling history; the Roper Steam Velocipede is also regarded by some as the first motorcycle, though whether it constitutes a motorcycle is a matter of debate.

One of the staples of the circus, the unicycle dates back to the 1870’s. Originally made as an offshoot of the Penny-Farthing, the unicycle has inspired crazy ideas since its inception.

From riding one down a mountain, up a ramp or across a tightrope, it seems there’s no end to the life-endangering stunts you can get up to with a one-wheeled bike. Before the bike chain became a thing, pedalling and controlling a bicycle could be a real pain.Essentially without the chain you could only pedal the front wheel, leaving the back wheel to roll from your momentum. As you can imagine, it made things like starting, stopping, and even turning a challenge. The bike chain, patented by Henry J. Lawsen, fixed all of that. Though the design has had some evolutions, we still use bike chains to this day.