Bikes Through The Ages

The humble bike has been part of society’s fabric for centuries. Nearly everybody in the developed world has owned a bike at some point in their life. In the previous century, cycling was something that was mainly done by the youth.

However, with pressing issues like global warming and congestion in major cities as well as the triumphs of British riders in the Tour de France – Bradley Wiggins’ success in 2012 and Chris Froome the year after – and the hugely successful Olympic team, the bike is making a meteoric return.

Although we are all familiar with the bikes of the modern era, our knowledge of bikes from yesteryear is hazy at best. Therefore, we have decided to look at the history of the bike, man’s best mode of transport.

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Early Days

The formative years of bikes is disputed, with various claimants arguing that they were the inventor. One of the earliest etchings of a cycle came from Leonardo Da Vinci’s pupil Gian Giacomo Caprotti in 1493. Nonetheless, many believe this drawing to be fake.

Humanity would have to wait until the 1830s before the bike came to fruition. The person many point to as the forefather of cycles is Kirkpatrick MacMillan, a Scottish blacksmith, who developed a rear-wheel drive cycle by using mid-mounted treadles that were connected to a rear crack by rods in a manner similar to that of a steam locomotive. MacMillan also has the dubious honour of being the first person to receive a recorded bicycle traffic offence when in 1842 he knocked over a pedestrian, earning him a hefty fine of five British shillings.

 

Another Scot credited with producing the bicycle is Gavin Dalzell. Originator he was not, many believed he copied MacMillan’s idea, but Dalzell was the first to realise the potential the cycle would have in regards to work. He used his contraption to help him deliver the drapes that he produced. While Thomas McCall, of Kilmarnock, is credited as the inventor of the first rod-driven two-wheeler treadle bicycle.

It was, however, a Frenchman, Pierre Lallement, who came up with the first commercially successful design in 1863. With a more simplistic design to Macmillan’s bike – it implemented rotary cranks and pedals that were mounted to the hub of the front wheel – it made pedalling far easier, allowing riders to achieve far greater speeds. There was an inherent flaw, though, as the design sacrificed stability and comfort, earning it the moniker of “bone-shaker”. Despite all that, the bike enjoyed great popularity within France until the Franco-Prussian war (1870) decimated the industry, killing the craze.

A knock on effect of the danger of the “bone-shaker” saw designers opt to make the front wheel far larger in size than that of the back. This is a vehicle that most of us know as a penny farthing. As time went on so did the front wheel’s size. The larger it was the faster it would go and the more expensive it would become. Penny farthings were very much exclusive to the upper classes. Purchasing one would set back the average worker six months’ wages.

We owe a great amount of gratitude to these early day daredevils. They didn’t just make our lives easier, they also helped the motor industry and the world of sport. Had MacMillan not been a touch crazy then there may never have been a Tour de France. Had McCall not been a genius then we may never have been blessed with motorcycles – sacrilege – and when you see Moto GP betting favourite Jorge Lorenzo glide round a track you do become extremely grateful that these early innovators really did reinvent the wheel.

Going Mainstream

Thankfully, bikes have more lives than Napoleon Bonaparte and it didn’t take long for the penny farthing to be rendered useless by the new safety bicycle which emerged in the 1880s. Shortly after the popularity of cycles burgeoned, they become the must have for nearly all of Europe’s landed gentry.

John Kemp Stanley is the guy who gave us the safety bicycle, which featured, amongst other things, a steerable front wheel, wheels of equal size and a chain to drive the rear wheel. He named this bike Rover, a name that still means something in Britain – from 1904 Rover was a car manufacturer until its demise in 2005.

The Rover started what many historians aptly named the “bicycle craze” which continued into the early years of the 20th century. People had become infatuated with bicycles. Not only were they a great way to get around but they also helped emancipate females who were now free and able to travel distances that were previously untenable. Previously females had been unwilling to ride upon penny farthings as they could not cover up their legs sufficiently enough with a large dress, on a safety bike. However, preserving their modesty was easily achievable. Moreover, these new safety bikes also ushered in an ear of “common-sense dressing” for women.

Many people associate Holland with bikes and it was during this time that they first got a taste of the two-wheeled speedsters. The industry grew rapidly from the 1890s. You have to love the Dutch, they are very much “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” type of people, which is a very endearing quality, and this can never be more easy to witness than with their cycles, which haven’t changed much in design since the first ones that came over the North Sea in the 1890s.

Diversifying

1960s

The swinging Sixties saw cycling undergo another renaissance and although not popular enough to outsell motor vehicles, they did make a very good account for themselves. At the time there was a renewed interest in bicycles for recreation and fitness, which served as the bedrock for the major boom that was present for most of the decade. At the time it was the famed “English 3-speed” that consumers wanted to own with famous names such as Raleigh and British Standard starting to develop a foothold within the potentially rewarding market.

These Raleigh bikes became instantaneously popular the world over as adults looked to move away from the traditional youth-orientated cruiser bicycle. In today’s world you could not call these sports roadster racing bikes but they were much faster and better for climbing hills than the cruiser due to its lighter weight, taller wheels, narrow tires, and internally geared rear hubs.

By the end of the decade it was clear that a three-speed just was not enough and by the time the 1960s were out companies like Raleigh had moved to produce a 10-speed derailleur “racing bike”.

Some of the most famous bikes of the era include the 1961 Bianchi Competizione, 1963 Dick Power, 1960 Schwinn Continental, 1960 Cinelli, 1964 Carlton Catalina, 1962 Flying Scot, 1961 Bianchi Specialist.

1970s

The late 1960s and early 1970s were a troublesome time for most American and international households. In America especially, where they were already dealing with stagflation, there was an energy crisis that threatened to seriously derail the country. People, who were already struggling financially due to the crippling effect of inflation, were aghast to the rise in fuel prices and even more perturbed to the general lack of oil. It was not an uncommon sight to see petrol stations turning people away as they had simply run out of fuel.

All of this financial and energy insecurity naturally turned the people of the U.S. towards cycles, leading to an enormous boom in the country. Annual sales of adult bicycles doubled between 1960 and 1970, and doubled again between 1971 and 1975. These peak years of the boom saw sales nearly hit 17 million units. The year 1978 saw bicycles outsell cars for the first time after another steep hike in oil prices.

By and large, those who invested in a bike in 1970s America overwhelmingly opted for the popular European derailleur-equipped racing bike, colloquially known as sports models, sport/tourers, or ten-speeds. These lighter bicycles has long been used by serious cyclists and racers and proved an instant hit with the masses. Innovative features such as dropped handlebars, narrow tires, derailleur gears, five to 15 speeds, and a “racing” type saddle all helped these racing bikes attract numerous customers. It is testament to the quality of a bike that this type continued to dominate the North American cycle market the year after.

The 1970s also gave us one of the most culturally important bike’s of all time. This is a bike that completely reinvented the basic conception of cycling – the BMX.

Bicycle motocross (BMX) originated in the early 1970s in southern California where children started racing their bikes on dirt tracks, taking inspiration from the stars of motocross. In those days the Schwinn Sting-Ray and other wheelie bikes were the popular choices. They could easily be customized to optimize handling and performance. The 1971 motorcycle racing documentary On Any Sunday is often credited with kickstarting the national BMX movement, taking the notion out of California and spreading it across the US. By the mid-1970s, children, in California especially, were racing standard road bikes off-road and on tracks that had been purposely built. With the craze proving to be no fad, cycle manufacturers had no choice but to start massively developing the BMX.

Despite snobbery from cyclists towards BMX, you cannot help but admire the plucky, non-conformist attitude of the humble bike. Its anti-establishment aura was something that resonated with many teenagers and still does. This ensures that there will always be a healthy market for the bike, preserving its future for plenty of years to come. It has also experienced a lot of success in the mainstream. The sport was contested at the 2012 Olympic games whilst freestyle legend Mat Hoffman has had some crossover appeal and sporting events like the X Games are growing in stature every year.

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Some of the most iconic bikes of the time include the 1971 Schwinn Grey Ghost, 1976 Sting-Ray, 1974 Sting-Ray BMX, 1975 Cinelli Pista, 1975 Mongoose Motomag, 1975 Schwinn Varsity Sport, 1975 Redline Monoshock BMX, 1975 Matsushita National Sensor, 1979 T.I. Raleigh team bike, Jaime’s 1973 Colnago Super Pantografata and the 1972 Schwinn Manta Ray.

The 1980s and 1990s

The 1980s saw a new player join the cycling game – the mountain bike. In the early years of the 1980s, start-up cycling manufacturers, most notably Fisher, started to produce mountain bikes. This new bike was derided by large sections of the cycling industry, with many believing it to be nothing more than a short-term fad. Notable companies such as Schwinn and Fuji were increasingly hostile to the bike after failing to grasp the significance of an all-terrain bicycle and the coming “adventure sports” boom.

While the 1980s saw the mountain bike sit on the periphery of the cycling spectrum, by the 1990s it had established itself as a mainstream sport with a healthy fanbase.

Classic bikes of the time include the 1988 Shogun Prairie Breaker Team Issue, 1991 Kestrel 200 SC, 1994 Yeti Pro F.R.O., 1992 Trek 9500 Suspension Mountain Bike, 1987 Trex 8000 XT.

2000s-present

The millennium has seen more bike designs favouring specialisation due to the once again growing market. Hybrid bikes which combine elements of road racing and mountain bikes have proven to be very popular with casual, recreational and commuter cyclists and are now established as a cycling variant.