Categories: BMX Videos, Products, News and More

Evolution of the Bicycle

No, this doesn’t have anything to do with BMX bikes, but in a way it does… We spotted this video over on the Subrosa website. It’s an animation timeline showing the evolution of the bicycle from 1790 up until 1890, years before Bicycle Motocross was ever even an idea. Either way, it’s still pretty cool to look back and see how this two wheeled contraption came to be. It will be interesting to see what the bicycle looks like in 50 years… We’ll probably be rocking hover bikes by then.

“300 years compressed to a 1 min animation telling the interesting history of the bicycle, all the way from the wooden horse to the modern racer.
The video was made in combination with an application to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, 2013.
Animation : Thallis Vestergaard
Music : Flying Home by The Benny Goodman Sextet
visualartwork.dk
Note: Video updated September 2014
“A bicycle is a two wheeled, human-powered vehicle, with one wheel behind the other.“
The first track of the bicycle goes back to 1493 where Leonardo da Vinci made a sketch of a very advanced bicycle. This is not proven to be true though. So is there many uncertainties on when and who invented the
bicycles improvements along it’s history.

“00:05 – 00:12
1790, A Frenchman named Comte Mede de Sivrac says to be the first to attach two wheels in each end of a piece of wood. This creation is referred as “Velocifere” or “Celerifere”
1817, The German Karl Drais von Sauerbronn built the first steerable bicycle, the “Draisine”. He’s particular model is not shown in this animation though.
00:23 – 00:25
1818, In England, Denis Johnson improved the draisine. He’s model, “Dandy Horse” had bigger wheels and was lighter.
00:30 – 00:32
1839, Scottish, Kirkpatrick MacMillan is believed to be the inventor of the first pedal-driven bicycle, inspired by the locomotive.
00:34 – 00:36
1866, Pierre Lallement’s velocipede “The Boneshaker” is one of the first bicycles with pedals attach to the front wheel. He’s fellow landsman Pierre Michau invented a similar model around the same time and it is unclear who really was the first to put pedals on a wheel, although it is quite curtain it’s from France.
00:38-00:39
1869, The Frenchman Eugene Meyer has the credit for inventing the first high-wheeled bicycle, the famous “Penny-Farthing”. English, James Starley did a lot of further improvements on the high-wheelers and in 1870 he invited the “Ariel”.
00:43 – 00:44
1880-85, G. W. Pressey invented the “American Star” bicycle followed with the “Pony Star Bicycle” by William S. Kelley
00:46 – 00:47
1879, Harry J. Lawson’s bicyclette was one of the first chain driven bicycles.
00:49 – 00:50
1891, W. Scantlebury
00:51 – 00:52
1885, J.K. Starley “Rover Safety Bicycle”
1890 C. D. Rice”