An authoritative and comprehensive account of the bicycle's
two-hundred-year evolution. The bicycle ranks as one of the most
enduring, most widely used vehicles in the world, with more than a
billion produced during almost two hundred years of cycling
history. This book offers an authoritative and comprehensive
account of the bicycle's technical and historical evolution, from
the earliest velocipedes (invented to fill the need for horseless
transport during a shortage of oats) to modern racing bikes,
mountain bikes, and recumbents. It traces the bicycle's development
in terms of materials, ergonomics, and vehicle physics, as carried
out by inventors, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers. Written by two
leading bicycle historians and generously illustrated with historic
drawings, designs, and photographs, Bicycle Design describes the
key stages in the evolution of the bicycle, beginning with the
counterintuitive idea of balancing on two wheels in line, through
the development of tension-spoked wheels, indirect drives
(employing levers, pulleys, chains, and chainwheels), and pneumatic
tires. The authors examine the further development of the bicycle
for such specific purposes as racing, portability, and all-terrain
use; and they describe the evolution of bicycle components
including seats, transmission, brakes, lights (at first
candle-based), and carriers (racks, panniers, saddlebags, child
seats, and sidecars). They consider not only commercially
successful designs but also commercial failures that pointed the
way to future technological developments. And they debunk some
myths about bicycles-for example, the mistaken but often-cited idea
that Leonardo sketched a chain-drive bike in his notebooks. Despite
the bicycle's long history and mass appeal, its technological
history has been neglected. This volume, with its engaging and
wide-ranging coverage, fills that gap. It will be the starting
point for all future histories of the bicycle.
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