Talk:History of the bicycle

message: The recent surge in the use of fixed gear or 'fixie' bicycles should be included in this article.
see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed-gear_bicycle  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.245.93.212 (talk) 01:55, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Addition of fixie trend to recent history of bicycles? 

message: There was a speedy stage-coach service in France around 1800 called Velocifere or Celerifere. One Jean Sievrac of Marseille obtained an import brevet on a Celerifere in 1817. In Louis Baudry's 1891 booklet "Histoire de la Vélocipédie" this turned out as a rigid two-wheeler called celerifere just hundred years earlier, i.e. 1791 ... -- Lesseps 05:03, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  celerifere 

message: According to the museum of science and technology (Ottawa) (Today: November 15 2005) the display indicates:
http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/collection/bikes1.cfm
:The story of bicycle begins with the "hobby-horse" (another name for dandy-horse?), the first commercially sucessful two-wheeled, steerable, human-propelled machine. Patented by the German Baron, Karl von Drais, in 1817.  Initially produced in France where it enjoyed considerable popularity among fashionable members of the middle class.  --CyclePat 02:14, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  New information, but where should it go? 

message: Would it be appropriate to create a list of bicycle technology milestones for this page?  I was wondering what year the following innovations were introduced, and thought they would appear here, things like:
* introduction of 5/7/9/10 speed gears
* introduction of double and triple front chainsets
* first use of carbon/magnesium/titanium/berylium frames
* manufacturing techniques and alloys which allowed "breakthroughs"207.178.98.52 19:17, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  milestones? 

message: I notice these letters, and no definition or internal or external link for them.  Will someone explain, either in the present article or another?  Jim.henderson 02:56, 6 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: ICHC

message: It would be interesting to highlight the way that the history of the bike was distorted for nationalistic reasons in the early 20th century, and related claims that early bikes were non-steerable.  See  Earthlyreason (talk) 08:41, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Nationalistic claims 

message: "Vehicles for human transport that have two-wheels and require balancing by the rider have a long history."
whats the meaning of long history? 
"The earliest confirmed example dates back to the early 19th century."
Is it a long history!!!!? or it wanted to say bicycles were used long before 1860s. If so, is there any proof? no. so the sentence long history must be removed. we use long history for more than at least 1000 years! Iranway (talk) 21:00, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: long history?

message: Reading this article you would be forgiven for thinking that no significant advances were made during the 20th century.  What about the recumbent bicycle?
Perhaps this article should be renamed "History of the {Upright} Bicycle", or else have the absolute focus on one frame geometry corrected.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.241.141.158 (talk) 13:11, 4 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: True, only about a quarter of the article is about the diamond frame majority, but those seem well covered elsewhere and if they needed more it could go in the Starley biographies and other relevant articles.  The present article also doesn't mention delivery bikes or my Brompton Bicycle and several other rare modern types, which unfortunately are not widespread enough for their own paragraphs here, but parhaps their history sections should get a pointer from See Also.  Jim.henderson (talk) 06:01, 10 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Recumbent? 

message: "Unlike the penny farthing the safety bicycle does not use gyroscopic forces for stability at every moment. The caster of the front wheel removed the reliance on gyroscopic forces for stability. The improved caster allows the riders balance to correct steering, and steering is self correcting in that if the bike leans over out of balance, the front wheel then rotates to steer the bicycle in such a way that centrifugal force holds the bicycle and rider up."
:I can find no source that confirms this reason for the difference between ordinary and safety bicycles. I have seen the counter claim that the drive wheel of ordinaries was enlarged simply to gain a faster cruising speed. For example,
:*The Wheelman, an orgianization "Dedicated To The Enjoyment And Preservation Of Our Bicycling Heritage", says on their FAQ "Why did they make the wheel so big? The short answer is to go faster! The larger the wheel the more ground covered with each rotation.  A taller person had an advantage over a shorter person simply because the taller person could ride a larger wheel and outpace his counterpart."
:*Britannica Online says "The ordinary’s cranks were directly connected to the front wheel, and its speed was limited by pedaling cadence and wheel diameter. Larger front wheels went faster and handled better on bad roads."
:*Exploratorium says "The pedals were attached directly to the front wheel of the high-wheelers. The larger the front wheel on an "Ordinary," the farther the cyclist would travel with each turn of the pedals."
:*Sheldon Brown says "Before the use of chain drive, bicycles had direct drive. The cranks were directly attached to the hub of the drive wheel. The larger the wheel, the farther the bicycle would move with each turn of the pedals. The diameter of the drive wheel determined the gear of the bicycle. The larger the wheel, the higher the gear. With a chain-driven "safety" bicycle, you can have any gear you want by selecting appropriate sprockets. With a high-wheel bicycle, the limiting factor is how long your legs are, because you can only pedal a wheel that is small enough for your legs to straddle and reach the pedals throughout the pedal revolution." And "back in the high-wheeler era (1870s through early '90s) long legged riders had an advantage, because they could straddle a larger diameter wheel, effectively giving them a higher "gear." By pedaling on the balls of their feet, they could get a bit more leg extension, permitting a given rider to straddle a larger, faster machine. The development of the safety bicycle rendered this concern obsolete, but the habit (and advice) persisted."
:Anyone have anything definitive one way or the other?-AndrewDressel (talk) 14:48, 14 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Guess not. Out it comes. -AndrewDressel (talk) 01:10, 16 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Caster, gyroscopic forces, and stability 

message: "further lowering prices increasing the range of consumers"? Wouldn't "increasing the range of consumers" improve business? Or were there other factors?  TREKphiler hit me ♠  02:03, 10 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Absent explanation, I deleted. In another vein, "gave women unprecedented mobility, contributing to their larger participation"? Norcliffe suggests the importance of the bicycle is overstated, & the movement toward "larger participation" was merely reflected by the bicycle, not significantly aided by it.  TREKphiler hit me ♠  18:09, 7 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Contradiction

message: The article seems to contradict itself about the term "Dandy Horse," saying at the beginning that it is just another nickname, while towards the middle, it is apparently very derogatory.
Alx xlA (talk) 20:42, 16 September 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Not really. It's a derogatory nickname; the lead isn't designed to explain everything, just introduce the subject.  TREKphiler hit me ♠  03:02, 17 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Dandy horse" 

message: Can somebody clarify the dating of the "1493"? Did it take that long to make, or is the date uncertain?  TREKphiler hit me ♠  17:35, 26 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Closed captioning

message: The image :File:SamWhittingham.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here.  In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page.  Please check
:* That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
:* That this article is linked to from the image description page.
This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --04:36, 5 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Image copyright problem with File:SamWhittingham.jpg

message: Perhaps this numbered version, not claiming an invention date and with a suitable caption added, would be more acceptable than the one deleted last month?  Jim.henderson (talk) 17:20, 1 April 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Racer date 

message: Since Dunlop is said to have invented the pneumatic tire for his son's tricycle, the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company didn't produce automobile tires for the first 10 years of its existence, and the current pneumatic tire article is almost entirely about automobile tires, it seems that Bicycle tire is a more appropriate article for this article to link to in the sentence "John Dunlop's reinvention of the pneumatic bicycle tire in 1888 had made for a much smoother ride on paved streets." Sure, it was later applied to other vehicles, but when it was invented, it was a bicycle tire. -AndrewDressel (talk) 21:42, 26 June 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Hmm... As it was the first use of pneumatic tires for any purpose, I objected to the narrow usage. However, you make an interesting argument. I don't completely agree with it, ;p but it is persuasive enough I'll leave it be.  TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura  08:15, 27 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tires 

message: This person seems very imporatnt to the history of bikes but there is no first name in the article and he kinda apears out of no where. Can someone who has inof on this expand on him?Darrell Wheeler (talk) 03:38, 20 November 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Done. -AndrewDressel (talk) 15:07, 21 November 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Pope

message: This window was not installed in the 16th century. It's from a window installed to celebrate the war dead of World War 2. I went there on 13/4/11 to have a look. But it's unclear whether the sentence means that the depiction in the window came from the drawing by Leonardo's pupil or whether they are unrelated. If the first, then it could stand (albeit misleadingly) - but if they are unrelated then it is just plain wrong! I've not made any edits here before so some guidance on what to do would be gratefully received.
Ds charles (talk) 07:56, 15 April 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Since the earlier sketch takes precedence anyhow, I've removed it. If you've got a pamphlet or something with a date of installation, or a photo of a plaque dating it, you can add here. Thx for bringing it up.  TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura  16:49, 15 April 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: On further research, part of the window has been dated to 1643. Whether this is the 'bicycle' bit is unclear. The information comes from Stoke Poges Parish Council website: http://www.stokepogesparishcouncil.gov.uk/stoke-poges-history/st-giles-church/. The image is probably not a bicycle either and could be a "one-wheeled contraption that was often associated with cherubims and seraphims in mediaeval iconography" according to this website http://www.jimlangley.net/ride/bicyclehistorywh.html. David Charles (talk) 10:34, 20 April 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanx for looking. Either way, it's too late a design to be added IMO. A unicycle would disqualify it, too.  TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura  12:49, 20 April 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Stoke Poges window

message: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262026759/pschemp | talk 13:18, 23 July 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: Reference Possibility

message: I propose that History of cycling be merged into History of the bicycle. I think that the content in the History of cycling article can easily be explained in the context of History of the bicycle, and the History of the bicycle article is of a reasonable size that the merging of History of cycling will not cause any problems as far as article size or undue weight is concerned. Darrelljon (talk) 19:39, 28 May 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Merger proposal 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just added archive links to  on History of the bicycle. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add  after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add  to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20090711212421/http://www.legnano.org:80/reteciv/marinoni/Question/question.htm to http://www.legnano.org/reteciv/marinoni/Question/question.htm
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.
Cheers.—cyberbot IITalk to my owner:Online 03:20, 9 January 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: One of the problems with this article is the implication that suddenly the concept of a vehicle with two wheels just popped into existence, with no precursors. This is unlikely. If you look at the history of the Tricycle, a seated vehicle with hand cranks for movement was invented in 1655 (or perhaps 1680). I guess it would be "original research" to add that without authoratative support (citation) but since wheels had been around since roughly 6000 BCE, it is really unlikely that the first use of two wheels occurred in the early 1800's. IMHO, the History section is glaringly incomplete. Also, the term "safety bicycle" is NOWHERE defined! This article claims it is the most important advance and yet isn't described (except its anything that is not a penny-farthing bike???). Clearly, the history of the bike should include the evolution of wheels (size, inflated tires), gearing (chain, multiple gears), brakes (hand, disc, front/rear, coaster) and frame (diamond, suspension).Abitslow (talk) 23:07, 28 April 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Precursors 

message: The article could be improved on the actual years that the first woman travelled around the world, i.e., intermodal with bicycles included.  The article states 1880's and 1895.  The article should give her double the credits for being the first, two times.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.183.224.2 (talk) 21:27, 18 November 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  2 Firsts - Annie London-derry Cohen Kopchovsky (1870–1947) 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 5 external links on History of the bicycle. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120515165247/http://objectwiki.sciencemuseum.org.uk/wiki/McCammon_Safety_Bicycle.html to http://objectwiki.sciencemuseum.org.uk/wiki/McCammon_Safety_Bicycle.html
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20071020001118/http://ababmx.com/index.php?page=home_history to http://www.ababmx.com/index.php?page=home_history
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20071019210834/http://fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2372 to http://www.fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2372
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130811101125/http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/whpsc2009/results.htm to http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/whpsc2009/results.htm
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090205043857/http://pedalinghistory.com/PHhistory.html to http://www.pedalinghistory.com/PHhistory.html
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 11:52, 5 November 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Were the big wheel bicycles invented so that the rider was on the same level as a horse rider?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.40.223.20 (talk) 04:45, 2 December 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: It is not clear what you mean by "big wheel bicycles", but if you mean high-wheel bicycles, then the article already explains "the front wheel enlarging to enable higher speeds," although the wording is perhaps not as clear as it could be. -AndrewDressel (talk) 13:18, 2 December 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  big wheel bicycle because it is as high as a horse? 

message: Should 黄履庄 be added here under "Earliest unverified bicycle"? According to 《清朝野史大观》, it is said that he invented the "bicycle" during the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Kangxi Emperor.
《清朝野史大观》记载：“黄履庄所制双轮小车一辆，长三尺余，可坐一人，不须推挽，能自行。行时，以手挽轴旁曲拐，则复行如初，随住随挽日足行八十里。” Qhwans (talk) 14:22, 17 September 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Earliest unverified bicycle 

message: This shows a cartoon illustration of the composer Franz Schubert having a bicycle (velocipede) collision. It would make an interesting illustration here. 2603:8000:F201:2879:645B:1FBA:3A5F:AF9C (talk) 23:22, 27 May 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:   Franz Schubert 

message: The concept of a Bicycle in its design has been advanced to be able to accomplish duties and labors normally handled by horse-drawn carriages and wagons, and motor vehicles, and has been a crucial part of the integration of alternative vehicles into the working practices of a number of utility services and commercial enterprises.  From the development of accesory Bike Trailers, to the addition of Passenger Seats, Cargo Containers and even the creation of Electric-Assisted Motors to accentuate the performance of the Bicycle, Work Bikes have been produced for many years, and should be included in this page under its own heading.  If the members of this group are interested in developing a documentation of these types of Bicycles, Accessory Trailers, or if they are made with three or four wheels, in Tricycle or Quadricycle form, we should work to gather as much information from the archives available to create a timeline and show examples of the advancements made.  There are also other advancements made in pioneering pedal powered tram lines that are based on the creation of transportation models, and have the potential for revolutionizing travel throughout congested cities if integrated in the right fashion.  I hope to work with the group in setting up this topic for discussion in the near future.  James Simpson, Founder and Owner, Pedal Power Work Bikes. 70.167.213.119 (talk) 03:45, 15 June 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Work Bikes