Individual Assignment: Section 1

There are several theories about the bicycle about when and where the first model was invented. There was a sketch from a student of Leonardo da Vinci and also there was another in France, which had two wheels with a wooden frame and without any steering direction control. (Wikipedia,2012)

The first bicycle that was invented was the “Running Machine” by a German inventor. The inventor created this idea when he saw the starvation and death of horses caused by crop failure. So he invented an alternative means of transport instead of horses, which depended on pushing the riders’ feet against the ground to make it go forward. After that there was another development of the bicycle which was (tricycles) and (quadracycle) which had three or four wheels. This design had pedals, hand cranks and treadles but suffered from a high weight and high rolling resistance. (G. Donald Adams, 1997).

The first bicycle with a rear-wheel design using mid-treadles connected by rods to a rear crank was believed to be built in 1839. Then they designed another one which had pedals connected to the front wheel, which made it easier for the riders to increase speed. But also it had a negative point because the high speed affected the riders which caused a loss of control. Then there was another model invented which was a high-wheel bicycle. The design of it had pedals attached directly to the front wheel. Also they used solid rubber and long spokes in the front wheel tires which helped the bicycle to be smooth. Also the high-wheel helped to go a long distance because of the big rotation. However, there was some danger for the rider when they used it. For example, it could drop the rider on his head if he had a sudden stopped on a stone. (G. Donald Adams, 1997).