An example of this is the Bicycle Film Festival , a film festival hosted all around the world. For example, road investments in India were a staggering times more effective than almost all other investments and subsidies in rural economy in the decade of the s. What a road does at a macro level to increase transport, the bicycle supports at the micro level. The bicycle, in that sense, can be an important poverty-eradication tool in poor nations. The safety bicycle gave women unprecedented mobility, contributing to their emancipation in Western nations. As bicycles became safer and cheaper, more women had access to the personal freedom that bicycles embodied, and so the bicycle came to symbolize the New Woman of the late 19th century, especially in Britain and the United States.
The bicycle was recognized by 19th-century feminists and suffragists as a "freedom machine" for women. Anthony said in a New York World interview on February 2, I rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives her a feeling of self-reliance and independence the moment she takes her seat; and away she goes, the picture of untrammelled womanhood.
How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle, with Some Reflections by the Way , a page illustrated memoir praising "Gladys", her bicycle, for its "gladdening effect" on her health and political optimism. Bicycle manufacturing proved to be a training ground for other industries and led to the development of advanced metalworking techniques, both for the frames themselves and for special components such as ball bearings , washers , and sprockets.
These techniques later enabled skilled metalworkers and mechanics to develop the components used in early automobiles and aircraft. Wilbur and Orville Wright , a pair of businessmen, ran the Wright Cycle Company which designed, manufactured and sold their bicycles during the bike boom of the s.
Early bicycles were an example of conspicuous consumption , being adopted by the fashionable elites. Bicycles helped create, or enhance, new kinds of businesses, such as bicycle messengers, [92] traveling seamstresses, [93] riding academies, [94] and racing rinks.
There were a variety of new inventions, such as spoke tighteners, [96] and specialized lights, [91] [96] socks and shoes, [97] and even cameras, such as the Eastman Company 's Poco. They also presaged a move away from public transit [] that would explode with the introduction of the automobile.
Starley's company became the Rover Cycle Company Ltd. In recent years, those bicycle makers have greatly changed their methods of production. Now, almost none of them produce their own frames.
Many newer or smaller companies only design and market their products; the actual production is done by Asian companies. Despite this shift in production, as nations such as China and India become more wealthy, their own use of bicycles has declined due to the increasing affordability of cars and motorcycles. In line with the European financial crisis, in Italy in the number of bicycle sales 1. One of the profound economic implications of bicycle use is that it liberates the user from oil consumption. Ballantine, The bicycle is an inexpensive, fast, healthy and environmentally friendly mode of transport.
Ivan Illich stated that bicycle use extended the usable physical environment for people, while alternatives such as cars and motorways degraded and confined people's environment and mobility. Children, students, professionals, laborers, civil servants and seniors are pedaling around their communities. They all experience the freedom and the natural opportunity for exercise that the bicycle easily provides. Bicycle also has lowest carbon intensity of travel. The proper Islamic bicycle for the Iranian women is a topic of heated discussion in both Sunni and Shia Islam.
Early in its development, as with automobiles , there were restrictions on the operation of bicycles. Along with advertising, and to gain free publicity, Albert A. Pope litigated on behalf of cyclists. The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of the United Nations considers a bicycle to be a vehicle, and a person controlling a bicycle whether actually riding or not is considered an operator. The traffic codes of many countries reflect these definitions and demand that a bicycle satisfy certain legal requirements before it can be used on public roads.
In many jurisdictions , it is an offense to use a bicycle that is not in a roadworthy condition. In most jurisdictions, bicycles must have functioning front and rear lights when ridden after dark. As some generator or dynamo -driven lamps only operate while moving, rear reflectors are frequently also mandatory. Since a moving bicycle makes little noise, some countries insist that bicycles have a warning bell for use when approaching pedestrians, equestrians, and other cyclists, though sometimes a car horn can be used when a 12 volt battery is available.
Countries which require adult cyclists to wear helmets include Spain, New Zealand and Australia. Mandatory helmet wearing is one of the most controversial topics in the cycling world, with proponents arguing that it reduces head injuries and thus is an acceptable requirement, while opponents argue that by making cycling seem more dangerous and cumbersome, it reduces cyclist numbers on the streets, creating an overall negative health effect fewer people cycling for their own health, and the remaining cyclists being more exposed through a reversed safety in numbers effect.
Bicycles are popular targets for theft, due to their value and ease of resale. The worlds longest bicycle was created by Santos and University of South Australia. It measures at From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Bicycle disambiguation. For other uses, see Bike disambiguation.
History of the bicycle. List of bicycle types.
History of the bicycle
Bicycle and motorcycle dynamics. Bicycle wheel and Bicycle tire. List of bicycle manufacturing companies. Retrieved 2 January Retrieved 31 October Australian Broadcasting Corporation News Online. The Automobile and American Life. Oxford English Dictionary 3rd ed. Subscription or UK public library membership required. Retrieved 10 February Canada Science and Technology Museum. Retrieved 11 February A History of Coventry Chichester: Phillimore, , p. Moving into the fast lane". Archive maintained by 'The Pedal Club'. Archived 3 April at the Wayback Machine.
Archived from the original on 29 November Coaster brakes were invented in the s. Archived from the original on 1 January Retrieved 27 January Proceedings of the Royal Society A. Bicycling Science Third ed. American Journal of Physics. Archived PDF from the original on 1 September Motorcycle Dynamics Second ed. Bicycling Science Second ed. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Looking at the Carbon Dioxide Produced by Bicycles". Fibre Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 25 October Retrieved 14 January Bamboo bikes put Zambian business on right track". Archived from the original on The American Journal of Sports Medicine. What does the Future Hold?
Retrieved 24 February Archived from the original on 9 February Archived from the original on 8 October Archived from the original on 26 August Retrieved 16 December Bike Collective Network wiki. Retrieved 15 January Archived from the original on 13 May Bicycle Glossary — Patch kit". Archived from the original on 25 June Journal of Transport Geography. Archived from the original PDF on A Wheel Within a Wheel: Woman's Temperance Publishing Association.
Retrieved 22 March The life and work of Susan B. A story of the evolution of the status of woman, Volume 2.
Bicycle predecessors
The Most Benevolent Machine: National Museum of Science and Technology, , p. Archived from the original on 25 January Why secular academics fret about an "Islamic bicycle " ". The New York Times. American bicycles weighed as much as 60 pounds 27 kg and were styled like motorcycles to appeal to children. In the s a teenage fad developed for a new design that was typified by the Schwinn Stingray. These high-rise bicycles had small wheels, banana-shaped saddles, and long handlebars. By they made up about 75 percent of U. Upon outgrowing them, however, the young consumers switched to speeds, so named because two chainwheels and five freewheel sprockets allowed a total of 10 different gear ratios.
Young buyers generated a second boom; from to annual U. About half of the bicycles sold were speeds. The oil embargo of expanded adult bicycling, and the United States became the major market for quality bicycles. However, sales slumped back to 7 million in , and many bicycle companies went bankrupt. Japanese and Taiwanese companies survived and took over the export market from European companies. The next resurgence in cycling was caused by the so-called mountain bike.
In the s they replaced speeds in the same way that safety bicycles had replaced ordinaries in the s. The mountain bike became the standard bicycle in the developed world and in accounted for 95 percent of bicycle sales in the United States. Touring and racing bicycles became known as road bikes.
Most present-day bicycles fit into six main categories: Utility bicycles are basic transportation in developing countries, where hundreds of millions are in service. In the developed world, utility bicycles are used by children or by adults for short trips. They have heavy frames, flat handlebars, wide tires and seats, simple brakes, and usually a single speed. Weighing more than 30 pounds 14 kg , they are ruggedly built, easy to maintain, and inexpensive.
Folding small-wheel utility bicycles are popular for commuting in Europe owing to their easy storage. Most are derived from a unique bicycle created in by a British engineer, Alex Moulton. His design used a single large tube as its main horizontal member, and it featured small inch- cm- diameter wheels and both front and rear suspension to overcome the harsh ride inherent in small wheels. Touring bicycles offer a stable ride and often have triple chainwheels as well as racks that allow the rider to carry specially designed luggage panniers.
These bikes have lightweight frames, 14 to 27 speeds, narrow tires and saddles, and typically drop-style handlebars. They weigh from 25 to 30 pounds 11 to 14 kg. Road-racing bicycles are designed for maximum speed and weigh about 20 pounds 9 kg. They have very light frames, narrow high-pressure tires, dropped handlebars, and derailleur gears with at least 16 speeds.
Track-racing models have a single fixed gear. Mountain bikes have wide low-pressure tires with knobs for traction, flat handlebars, wide-range derailleur gearing with up to 27 speeds, and powerful brakes. Their flat handlebars allow an upright riding position. Many mountain bikes have front suspension similar to motorcycles. Full-suspension mountain bikes have unconventional frames to allow rear-wheel movement. Mountain bicycles weigh from less than 25 pounds to about 35 pounds 11 to 16 kg. Hybrid bicycles combine the features of road bicycles and mountain bikes.
They have become very popular and are generally used for light recreation and urban commuting. Most have flat handlebars and medium-width tires designed for paved roads. BMX bicycle motocross bikes appeared in the early s as an offshoot of motocross. They were designed for racing on dirt tracks replete with tight turns, berms, and jumps. BMX bikes are durable, with inch- cm- diameter wheels mounted on a small frame. There is a single speed, the seat is low, and the handlebars are high. These traits make the BMX an extremely maneuverable bike, and it moved off the tracks and became popular on suburban and city streets.
BMX-type bikes are used for freestyle riding, which emphasizes acrobatics rather than racing. There are several other variants of the standard bicycle. Recumbent frames allow the rider to sit low to the ground in a slightly reclined position, with the legs driving cranks attached to a horizontal tube. Recumbents are often recommended for riders who are uncomfortable on traditional bicycles. There is no standard design, but the wheelbase is usually extended and the front wheel reduced in size. The design reduces wind resistance. Other variations include the tricycle , which has two rear wheels for increased stability and typically is used by small children and the elderly; the tandem bicycle, in which two riders sit one behind the other, the front rider steering; and stationary exercise bicycles.
Bicycle frame tubing is usually made of low-carbon steel. Better-quality bicycle frames use aluminum or chromium-molybdenum alloy steel. More expensive materials, such as titanium and carbon-fibre composites, also are used. The most common design is the traditional diamond frame, which is formed by two triangles of tubing. The main triangle consists of the top tube, the seat tube, and the down tube. The rear triangle consists of the seat tube, chain stays, and seat stays. The seat post and saddle fit on top of the seat tube.
The bottom bracket holds the spindle and the cranks. The right crank carries the chainwheel or chainwheels.
The head tube holds the steering forks, the stem, and the handlebars. Full-suspension mountain bikes use a different frame design with a pivoted rear triangle to provide rear wheel movement. There is no standard design. Bicycle wheels have a rim to retain the tire, a ball-bearing hub, and spokes between hub and rim. Spokes are made of steel wire, laced tangentially and kept under tension by threaded nipples in the rims that are adjusted to keep the rim straight true.
Hub axles are held in the frame either by nuts or by a cam-action quick-release lever. Rim diameters vary from 14 to 27 inches 36 to 69 cm , with the standard mountain bike rim being 26 inches and the standard road rim being 27 inches. The rim cross section depends on the tire pressure and the brake type. Hooked-edge rims rely on air pressure to hold the tire bead under the lip of the rim. Quality rims are extruded from aluminum alloy, and inexpensive rims are made from chrome-plated steel.
Tubular rims are used with tubular racing tires, which are glued to the rim. Tires with wire beads are called clinchers, though the proper technical name is wired-on or hook-bead.
Bicycle - Wikipedia
Clincher tires have a wearing surface of synthetic rubber vulcanized onto a two-ply cotton or nylon casing. Air pressure is contained by a butyl rubber inner tube with either a Presta or a Schrader valve. Schrader valves are identical to automobile tire valves; Prestas are unique to bicycles. Derailleurs and internal hub gears are devices that allow riders to match pedaling speed cadence to changing terrain.
The rear derailleur moves the chain from one rear sprocket to the next. The front derailleur moves the chain from one front chainwheel to the next. By varying the size of the sprockets and chainwheels, the rear wheel can turn faster or slower than the crank. It all started with the eruption of a volcano: Without these animals life became even more difficult than it already was. Then Karl Freiherr von Drais had an idea: In he invented the draisine, which was supposed to replace the horse but was so expensive that the majority of the population were unable to afford one.
Illustration shows the construction by Karl von Drais, published in autum For a long while after the invention of the velocipede nothing much changed. Not until the beginning of the s, when Pierre Michaux began developing bicycles with pedals. Michaux presented his invention in Paris at The International Exposition of It was an out-and-out success.
Only the well-to-do bourgeoisie were able to afford bicycles.
200th anniversary: How the bicycle changed society
It was no different when the penny-farthing appeared on the market three years later with its large front wheel and small rear wheel. The wooden wheels and the steel frame weigh 26 kilograms altogether. The Penny-farthing which entered the market in — big front wheel, small back wheel — was mainly interesting for the bourgeoisie. The beginning of the 20th century saw bikes being mass produced; they became affordable to all and evolved from a status symbol to an object of practical use for everyone. Bicycles saved workers time as well as providing them with freedom and greater independence, they could thus emancipate themselves from their employers and find a new job thanks to the mobility that bikes gave them.
Their puffy and at the same time restrictive clothing made it almost impossible for them to ride regular bikes. With the rise of the safety bicycle, which was also produced with a step-through frame for women, more and more women began riding bikes. If the bicycle promoted the emancipation of the workers, it did the same for women; they rode bikes and continued to do so until the bicycle lost importance in the years following World War II.
For decades the bicycle was an important means of transport, though this changed with the economic boom of the s: