Bicycle History

1. Bicycle History 1815 Hobbyhorse by Karl von Drais, Germany 1490 DaVinci drawing 1839 Treadle cycle by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, Scotland 1861 Velocipede by Pierre Michaux, France

2. In the quest for more speed, the velocipede evolved into the “ordinary.” 1.5 m The “ordinary”

3. 1885 Rover “Diamond Frame” Safety by John Starley in England 1888 Pneumatic tire developed by John Boyd Dunlop in Scotland Rover Safety Bicycle 1895 Derailleur gears 1895 - 1970 Nothing significant happened in the development of the bicycle Modern Rear Derailleur

4. The Revolution since 1970 • New materials (composites, titanium, aluminum) • Cross-over technologies (aircraft, skiing) • Mass production • Increased environmental consciousness • Bikes are “cool” again • Mountain bikes • Human powered vehicles

5. The Bicycle Today • The world’s 800 million bikes outnumber cars by two to one • Bike production outnumbers car manufacture by 3 to 1 • In Asia alone, bicycles transport more people than do all the cars worldwide • The bike is the most energy-efficient mode of transport: one US study found that to cycle one mile burns 35 calories, to walk uses 100 calories, while a car’s engine burns 1,860 calories

6. Bicycle Facts - continued • Each mile of highway consumes about 25 acres of land • The average motorist spends four hours a day either driving, maintaining, or earning the money for a car • Americans spend a billion hours a year stuck in traffic, wasting two billion gallons of gas at a cost of $10-30 billion • In one hour, a lane of highway can carry twice as many people riding bikes as those traveling by car

7. Name: ____________________ Date: ____________________