Origins of the Bycycle

In 1869, Eugène Meyer of Paris invented the high-wheeler (aka. the "penny farthing") and the wire-spoke tension wheel. This was one of the earliest predecessors to the modern bicycle. With front wheels up to 60 inches in diameter and a direct drive system, they were hard to mount and painful to crash because of the height and hard to ride because of the high center of gravity. Despite all that, the penny farthing took off in popularity. 

Next came the manufacturing of a rear-wheel, chain-drive bicycle with similarly sized wheels and pneumatic tires. These inventions made the bike even more popular because the idea of riding a bicycle with symmetrical wheels wrapped in tires filled with air was a lot more fun than bouncing around high above the street on solid tires. An effect of the huge popularity of bicycles was that cities and municipalities began paving roads to accommodate the flood of cyclists. That's right. Roads were built for bikes. Remember that next time someone says that "Roads are for cars". Now cyclists have to fight hard for small bike lanes on roads that were originally theirs. 

Works Cited

"Free Image on Pixabay - Penny Farthing, Bike, Bicycle, Old." Free Illustration: Penny Farthing, Bike, Bicycle, Old - Free Image on Pixabay - 908965. Web. 04 May 2017.

Weiss, Eben. The Ultimate Bicycle Owner's Manual: The Universal Guide to Bikes, Riding, and Everything for Beginner and Seasoned Cyclists. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2016. Print.