While the exact time frame depends on who you ask \u2013 or, more importantly, what you consider a bike \u2013 it\u2019s broadly agreed that the bicycle has been around for just about 200 years; quite the innings, we\u2019re sure you\u2019ll agree! Mind, \u2018twas far from carbon fibre frames and ABS brakes that things began, which is why it\u2019s always fun to take a look back at how this life-changing mode of transport developed through the ages.<\/p>\n
Of course, we could be here another 200 years trying to cover all of the ins and outs that brought us from then to now \u2013 which is why we\u2019ve attempted to compress the need-to-knows into a half-dozen standout milestones. There\u2019s plenty of Irish involvement (like all the best stories!), though the tale begins in the streets of Germany\u2026<\/p>\n
Horsing around<\/strong><\/p>\n Karl Drais was a prolific inventor; he pioneered everything from the stenograph to the meat grinder. But it was his Laufmaschine, his Parisienne, or as it became lovingly known, the dandy horse, that stands out amongst his creations. While there were no pedals \u2013 the power coming in a distinctly Fred Flintstone fashion instead \u2013 the two-wheeler format that debuted in Mannheim still looks very familiar indeed. Unfortunately, another footnote sounds somewhat familiar too; the dominance of carriages meant most roads were unsuitable for riding, and the dangers of using them on footpaths quickly saw them banned in many major cities\u2026<\/p>\n Pedal, oh!<\/strong><\/p>\n While there are some who claim Scotsman Kirkpatrick MacMillan got there first, it\u2019s generally agreed that the first pedal-powered bike was developed around 1865 by Pierre Michaux. Known as the velocipede \u2013 Latin for \u2018fast foot\u2019 \u2013 it featured wheels of different sizes (a larger wheel meant less strain on the rider to rotate the pedals), and the numbers certainly varied; some had two, three, four and even five wheels, for reasons including stability, control and speed. The one thing they all have in common is a shared part in a cycling craze that was sweeping the population\u2026<\/p>\n There will B. Blood<\/strong><\/p>\n Unsatisfied with having what must have been the coolest name in all of Galway, engineering professor William Bindon Blood got in on the action by inventing what became known as the Dublin Tricycle in 1876. Its vital breakthrough was the front-mounted seat, which made it accessible for older cyclists, as well as women \u2013 Victorian dresses weren\u2019t exactly well suited to clambering onto a penny farthing, after all! Blood is widely recognised as Ireland\u2019s first cyclist, having built his own contraption to get to and from work in 1852 \u2013 something that certainly turned a few heads throughout the city of the tribes!<\/p>\n Safety first<\/strong><\/p>\n Controlling these machines \u2013 steering and pedalling a wheel at the same time \u2013 was a significant challenge, so the implementation of the chain was nothing short of revolutionary. First appearing in England in the 1880s, it meant the seat could be lowered, the wheel sizes evened out, and weight distribution equalised; in short, it meant that the Rover, made in Coventry in 1886, looked altogether close to what we know and love today. It ushered in another explosion in the popularity of cycling \u2013 even if it wasn\u2019t entirely smooth going\u2026<\/p>\n Pump it up<\/strong><\/p>\n While the new safety bikes were awesome in a variety of ways, the small, hard wheels made for a decidedly bumpy ride. Enter John Boyd Dunlop, a vet based in Belfast, who used his knowledge and expertise making rubber gadgets and devices to create the pneumatic tyre in 1887. We probably don\u2019t need to explain that it worked \u2013 we still use them today, after all! \u2013 so when Willie Hume, the captain of the Belfast Cruisers Cycling Club, began racking up race wins with his new secret weapon, it didn\u2019t take long for the world to get on board!<\/p>\n