History of the bicycle

One summer morning in 1817, despite the early times, the entire German city of Karlsruhe was on its feet. There was a funny spectacle - a competition in speed between the post coach and the "crazy" baron von Dreez, who built an extraordinary machine for quick movement with the help of his feet. The attendees gathered just to have fun, and nobody doubted the loss of the baron. Came even those who concluded a bet: will the baron reach the nearest puddle? The Baron did not doubt the victory. He put his invention near the mail coach and greeted the audience. The carriage started off, and the baron did not think to hurry, and, only giving her a fair start, he pushed his feet off the ground and rushed forward, quickly picking up speed. Soon the coach was far behind. After 4 hours, dirty, in the clothes torn from falling, but the lucky baron-winner appeared on the outskirts of the neighboring city of Kehl, having traveled exactly 70 kilometers. The parry was won, and a few days later the baron received a long-awaited patent that guaranteed to the inventor that "in the lands of his Highness the Grand Duke of Baden, no one can manufacture or sell a vintage car, called a bicycle, invented by von Drais, a junker, and also ride it inpublic places without the special permission of the baron ".

An old bicycle.

The von Drais car was like a scooter. True, she had a steering wheel, which was not on the scooters before, and a soft seat.

The legs of the rider reached the ground - such a landing was necessary to push off from the ground. His invention Karl Friedrich Christian Ludwig von Drais Sauerbron decided to call in the Latin manner: he combined the words "velocis"( fast) and "pedis"( foot) - this is how the "fast-foot" or bicycle appeared. Alas, instead of fame, honor and money of the baron, only troubles awaited. His car no one bought, and the bosses saw in the activities of the chief Baden forester manifestation of extreme frivolity - and he was dismissed from his post. But from the invention of the stubborn Baron did not retreat. Subsequently, he designed a railway trolley known to all, thereby perpetuating his name. Unfortunately, this story has a sad ending. The inventor spent the last years of his life abandoned and mocked. From hunger death, he was rescued by the last faithful friend - a bicycle with which he roamed the cities and villages, showing his "toy" to the crowds of onlookers, and then walked around them with the outstretched cylinder. He died in the winter of 1851 in one of the taverns on the outskirts of Karlsruhe from a heart attack.

Paying tribute to the inventor, I must say that his "fleet-foot" still remained an improved scooter. And the first design, most similar to the usual bicycle - a "two- or three-wheeled vehicle, driven by the muscular power of the persons on it" - was created by a craftsman from the town of Verkhoturye, in the Urals, by Yefim Artamonov. The history of the invention is unknown. Only in the "Dictionary Verkhotury Uyezd Perm Province", published in 1910, you can read: "Master craftsmen Ural Artamonov in 1801 during the coronation ran on the bicycle invented by him."The very first bicycle, placed by the owner of the Ural plants in the Nizhny Tagil "Muzium of Natural History and Antiquities", was also preserved. This invention has a steering wheel, pedals, a saddle. The whole construction is iron. The driving wheel - the front wheel - in the growth of the person, the rear wheel - half the size. It was the prototype of a whole family of bicycles - "spiders".They were called that because of the characteristic landing of the rider. For adults, large spiders were produced, for babies - spiders. On a flat road, the "spider" developed a speed of 12-20 versts per hour.

The inventor of Artamonov had predecessors. Four-wheeled carts-scooters could be seen on the streets of European cities as early as the 17th century. They were built by inventors of different countries - the German G. Ganshtel in 1649, the Frenchman R. Roshelly in 1693, the Russian L. Shamshurenkov in 1752, the Englishman Ovenden in 1761.

Officially it is considered that the bicycle is not more than 200 years old. But it consists of simple, long-known details: wheels, gears, crank mechanism. The wheel has been known for 6000 years. Gears were used in ancient Rome in the II-I centuries BC.The beginning of our era is the birth of a crank. It turns out that the bicycle could be invented, at least 1000 years ago. Perhaps it was so. In favor of this assumption is the fact that in one of the museums of Rome is a sarcophagus, which depicts a man riding on a device very similar to a bicycle. The sarcophagus is 2000 years old. On the walls of the ruins of Ancient Egypt, Babylon, Pompeii, there are also images of such machines.

But back to the spider bike. He was not distinguished by security. The center of gravity was very high, hence the instability. When it rolled downhill, it was very difficult to stop it, the first bikes with brakes on the front wheel appeared in 1853.But the wheel itself "let go of a rider," only when a chain appeared on the bicycle. Despite the fact that the bike has acquired a modern look, it was not easy to ride it. He weighed more than 30 kilograms, and on uneven roads shook so that the wits nicknamed him kostotryasom. Soon, heavy wooden wheels were replaced with lighter and more durable, with steel spokes.

The next major improvement is due to the bicycle tire. Its inventor was the Scottish veterinarian Dunlop.

He watched for a long time his son, whose teeth literally chattered while riding a bicycle. Then he took an ordinary garden hose, cut off a suitable piece from it, filled it with water, connected the ends, and put the ring on the rim of the wheel. His son's teeth stopped pounding, but the wheels were very heavy. Having survived the first failure, Dunlop replaced the water with air. For pumping tires, he invented a valve and an air pump, obtaining a patent for his invention.

All other innovations in the design of the bicycle can already be attributed to the category of small things. And in 1891 the model "Ideal" was launched in Russia, which had a quite modern look.

During the years of joint "work" with a man, the bicycle has mastered many professions. Since ancient times, as has appeared, and to this day the bicycle is a faithful assistant to postmen, especially rural ones.

At the end of the last century in Russia invented a bicycle for hunters. On it it was possible to carry a gun, which was easily and instantly removed and did not interfere with driving at all. The hunter's bicycle was also supplied with a tent-roll, placed under the saddle.

There are trishaws from the East for a long time. And today in Japan, for example, the transportation of goods on bicycles has acquired such a scope that Japanese companies already design special bike trucks. There was an attempt to use a bicycle for plowing the land. It failed - the pedal effort of the worker was too little, but on a bicycle, attaching a cultivator to it, it is possible to process the aisles in the fields.

Water bicycles. The end of the XVIII century.

With the help of pedals rewind materials, sawed wood, pump water.

The bicycle has long attracted the attention of the military. Italy, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland had in service bicycles in the last century. At the end of the XIX century, a special military scooter appeared in the Russian army.

Often a novelty is a long-forgotten old. For example, folding bicycles appeared in stores relatively recently, but such bicycles were used in the Russian army even before the outbreak of the First World War. One of the most successful designs came up with Russian officer-athlete A. Bazilevsky. In the upper and lower parts of the frame, he provided four steel hinges, which allowed to fold the bike three times. In this form, he was worn on two straps behind his back.

You can ride a bicycle not only on the ground. Many of you ride a water bike. But on the submarine is unlikely. In it, the legs are rotated not by wheels, but by a double-acting piston pump, i.e., the apparatus is driven by a water jet. A similar bicycle can move in a straight line, change the direction of movement, hang in place, dive deeper, emerge. And very few people have ever ridden a bicycle by wire. Power lines are often subject to an unpleasant phenomenon. With strong gusts of wind, the wires overlap. Therefore, spacers are placed between them, which are periodically inspected and changed. So I created a five-wheeled bicycle for riding on wires. It is easily established by one person.

Attempts to raise the bicycle in the air were made in the last century."The well-known French firm Peugeot has already donated a prize of 10,000 francs to that future inventor who will fly the first inventor, having risen on his own and from an even platform, without any deviation, at least only 10 meters," the magazine "Russian Sport"in 1912. The prize was given to the French cyclist Poulain in 1921. True, his airplane-bicycle rather jumped than flown. In our time, a bike has already flown across the Channel.

Good old bicycle. It is difficult to compare with him in popularity. Chekhov's "man in a case" has long ago disappeared, reasoning thus: "If a teacher goes on a bicycle, what does the disciple still have? They can only walk on their heads! And since this is not allowed circularly, it is impossible. I was horrified yesterday! When I saw your sister, I was confused in my eyes. A woman or a girl on a bicycle is awful! "

Today hundreds of millions of people travel by bicycles. He alone gives health and vivacity, makes others courageous and enduring, the third opens new distances.

Do you know?

Does the cyclist have to follow the rules of the road?

Must be.