Who Invented Cycling

An article by Peter Pierce    Comments Off

Cycling has been around for quite some time and although unverifiable, certain traces of the use of bicycle can be dated back to as early as the 16th century.

The first known model of the cycle was the ’Laufmaschine’ or the ‘Running Machine’ invented by German Baron Karl Drais Von Sauerbronn. Based on an extremely primitive design this steerable bicycle was made only of wood. It was also quite inconvenient for the rider to operate the Laufmaschine as the machine did not have pedals. The rider was required to push his feet against the ground to make it move forward. Sauerbronn’s invention was first launched in Paris on April 6, 1818.A similar invention known as the Celerifere by a French man, Comete Mede de Sivrac had come up in the year 1790.However the celerifere was not steerable like its German counterpart.

In the decade that followed the invention of the Laufmaschine, many new and improved versions of the bicycle were introduced. A cycle named the ‘Dandy horse’ became a big hit in the 1820s as it had much bigger wheels allowing for a very comfortable ride. A part of it success can also be attributed to the effective marketing techniques employed by its creator.

In the year 1861 father and son duo Pierre and Ernst Michaux introduced the first modern bicycle with pedals and cranks. The bicycle kept evolving steadily to meet the changing needs of its users ever since.