Bicycle
device · 1885 · Electric age
A two-wheeled machine with a pedal-driven chain to the rear wheel; the modern layout is Starley’s “safety bicycle”.
Inventors: Karl Drais, Kirkpatrick Macmillan.
What it is made of
- Bicycle frame — has part. The frame ties all the units together and carries the rider.
- Bicycle wheel — has part. Two wheels: the front one steers, the rear one drives.
- Bicycle drivetrain — has part. The drivetrain transfers the force of the legs to the rear wheel — the main difference from a kick scooter.
- Handlebar — has part. The handlebar turns the front wheel and helps keep balance.
- Bicycle brake — has part. Brakes stop the bicycle.
- Saddle — has part. The bicycle saddle took its name from the horse saddle.
- Bike light with dynamo — has part. A lamp.
- Suspension fork — has part. On mountain bikes a suspension fork absorbs bumps.
- Pedal — has part. You push the pedals with your feet — that is what moves the bike.
- Ball bearing — has part. Ball bearings in the hubs and bottom bracket let the wheels and pedals spin easily.
Principles and materials it uses
- Angular momentum — uses. The spinning wheels and the steering geometry help keep balance.
- Steel — is made of. The frame is steel tubes.
Where it is used
- Bike lane — is used in. For bicycles.
- Bike sharing — is used in. Bicycles.
History: what it evolved from and what it influenced
- Drais’s running machine — evolved from. The bicycle evolved from Drais’s running machine: pedals were added, then a chain drive.
- Motorcycle — evolved into. The first motorcycles were built on the bicycle layout: two wheels in line, a frame, a handlebar.
- Electric bicycle — evolved into. A bicycle with an electric drive.
- Wright Flyer — inspired. The experience of the Wrights’ bicycle shop — chains, light structures, the idea of controlled instability.
- Moped — evolved into. A bicycle with a motor.
- Rover safety bicycle — evolved from. The modern layout of the bicycle.
- Michaux velocipede — evolved from. The modern bicycle grew out of the Michaux velocipede, which had pedals on the front wheel.
What it is a kind of
- Land vehicle — is a kind of. A bicycle is a land vehicle.
- Mountain bike — includes. A bicycle.
- Folding bicycle — includes. A bicycle.
- Recumbent bicycle — includes. A bicycle.
- Cycle rickshaw — includes. A cycle rickshaw is a bicycle with a seat for passengers.
Things built in a similar way
- Exercise bike — works like. The “Gymnasticon” pedal machine (1796) is older than the bicycle; later exercise bikes adopted the bicycle layout.