Bike's evolution over 200 years+

What a ride for our bike!

More than 200 years of evolution...?

It seems as if the bicycle has been around forever, yet it was only invented in the in the 1800s.

Like any innovation, it is in fact the sum of a multitude of innovations which, assembled, make a coherent whole.

This is the story of the "petite reine" (little queen), which begins in a surprising way with the response to a terrible climatic cooling (quite natural).

FROM THE INDONESIAN VOLCANO TO THE "DRAISIENNE"?

It all begins in April 1815, far away from Europe, in Indonesia. Mount Tambora in the well-named "belt of fire" wakes up and rumbles.

For years now, the mountain on the island of Sumbawa has been spewing out fumes and smoke, sometimes even a bit of ash into the sea and the surrounding jungle, occasionally the earth trembles a bit, but nothing too alarming.

On the evening of April 5, the first explosions sounded. The local population thought they were cannon shots.

The next day, the layer of ashes that was delicately deposited removed all doubt as to the cause of these first explosions.

For five days, nothing more happened. The calm before the storm.

The magma chamber of Tambora filled up for a long time in silence. The dragon takes its breath.

On April 10, 1815, according to a village chief located 35km from the volcano: "around seven o'clock in the evening, three columns of flames burst near the top of the mountain Tambora".

The eruption is intense, the eruptive column rises to nearly 43 km high!

After about an hour of activity, this volcanic plume collapses, causing gigantic flows known as pyroclastic flows or "nuées ardentes".

It is an avalanche of rock, ash and toxic gases at a temperature of 500°C which descend the slopes of the volcano and destroy everything in their path.

The mountain which culminated at more than 4000m emptied of a part of its magmatic substance, collapses and loses nearly 1500m of height.

Columns of flames, stone jets, ashes, violent winds: the eruption was one of the worst in the history of mankind, much more devastating than that of Pompeii or Krakatoa and certainly the most deadly.

Tens of millions of tons of aerosols composed of sulfur, chlorine and fluorine were released into the atmosphere.

The ash, dust and other rock debris were propelled up to the stratosphere in the "jet stream", which carried away this veil of dust, affecting the climate of the entire northern hemisphere for several years.

Just a few weeks after the eruption, on June 18, 1815, torrential rains close to the monsoon rained down on Europe and stopped the French forces dead in their tracks for three crucial hours, wetting their gunpowder, which allowed the Prussians to arrive and play their crucial role in the French defeat at Waterloo.

Each crisis is a source of questioning and reflection.

The year 1816 was a "year without a summer", or "the year of the beggar".?

While Lord Byron described: "the shining sun went out... the dawn came and went - and came, and brought no day", these dark hours will inspire Mary Wollestonecraft (future Shelley), also a recluse on the shores of Lake Geneva, her major work "Frankenstein".?

The harvests in Europe were meager, wheat and oats were in short supply, the price of bread exploded, famine set in... many horses died even though there was no other means of transportation.?

The German baron Karl Drais, living in Mannheim, was a forester.?

He is working on the following problem: "What as an alternative to the horse?

After many attempts with 2, 3 or 4 wheels, the draisienne (in German the "Laufmaschine" literally "running machine") was born.

The engine made it possible to travel from Mannheim to Schwetzingen at a speed of 13 kilometers per hour. Knowing that the stagecoach of that time was going at 6 kilometers per hour (we were far from the current French debate on the 110km/h).

The draisienne had two wheels, but with a propulsion closer to the current scooter since it was a question of pushing with its feet on the ground to make it advance (one finds that on the first bicycles for children of today without pedals, which already enables them to find the balance).

He presented his invention to the Grand Duke of Baden, Karl von Baden, who was very impressed and granted him the title of Professor der Mechanik to continue inventing. In 1918, the German baron filed a patent in France under the name of velocipede from the Latin velox (fast) and pes, pedis (foot).

The first public demonstration took place in Paris during the Universal Exhibition on April 6, 1818. It provoked a certain curiosity marked by mockery, reported by certain writings of the time:

"a heavy German, named the baron Drais believed to make an invention to which he gave the name of draisienne derived from his, and to show that he was strong in etymology, he granted him the epithet of velocipede"

From the 1830's, the draisienne gradually fell into disuse.

THE PEDAL STROKE OPENS THE WAY TO THE FIRST VELOCIPEDE RACES

The revival will come with the addition of pedals, by a Frenchman in the 1860s. But there is a debate about his name.

For some, the locksmith (metal specialist, not locks) Ernest Michaux is the precursor with the Michaudine.

Finding the use of a draisienne particularly tiring for the legs, Ernest Michaux would have had the idea of adapting a footrest on the front wheel. His father (also a locksmith) would have suggested him to adapt a crank to make the wheel turn.

Others mention Pierre Lallement (we don't know if he is a relative of the recent prefect of police of Paris) as being the first one who had the idea to add pedals to the Draisienne, adding that he was Michaux's worker.

In any case, Lallement patented the first "bicycle" in the United States (without him, no "Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle ... I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle ... ".

The Compagnie parisienne des vélocipèdes founded by Michaux then launched the first bicycle race in the park of Saint-Cloud on May 31, 1868. ?

Then, on November 7, 1869, one hundred and twenty riders took the start of the Paris-Rouen race, perhaps inking the infatuation of the French, but also of Europe and the whole world for bicycle races in France.

James Moore wins the Paris-Rouen, on the right on the picture. Jean-Eugène-André Castera finishes second at fifteen minutes.

Elisabeth Turner (née Sarti), a woman registered as "Miss America", placed 29th in this first long-distance bicycle race.?

But pedaling was still not very pleasant, because the pedals were attached to the hub of the front wheel.?

The rear wheel only followed the movement.

So the "best way" to optimize the distance covered with each pedal stroke seemed to be to enlarge the drive wheel, at the risk of falling while riding the machine. This is how the big Bi was born in 1871, an invention apparently of the Englishmen James Starley and Corley Turner in Coventry near Birmingham (they were the creators of the Turner brand still active today)

We then witnessed a real escalation, both literally and figuratively, as the big Bi's soon reached dimensions beyond what was reasonable. It was then necessary a good dose of courage (or madness?) to venture on a machine whose front wheel could measure up to 3m in diameter. Not very stable, it had a bad tendency to throw the "grandBiste" on the ground after a magnificent "sun" (note, it is also quite possible with "reasonable" size wheels, I know something about it :)

WE FOLLOW (INFERNAL CYCLE)

Reflections follow on how to offer an acceptable driving position and sufficient traction by shifting the pedal movement while offering a more ergonomic position...

On the other hand, we can see the tendency to keep a particularly oversized traction wheel.?

The seat becomes low enough for the rider to touch the ground. The handlebars directed the front wheel directly. There was even a lever on the handlebars that was pressed to apply the spoon brake to the rear wheel.

In 1879, Henry John Lawson incorporated chain drive between the crankset and the rear wheel.

A patent for a "rear-wheel driven chain-driven velocipede" was filed.

The front and rear wheels were rebalanced, probably in the search for a better comfort of use.

Surprisingly, Leonardo da Vinci's drawings include sketches of the sprocket chain that we still know today.

The Union vélocipédique de France was created in 1881, which would become the French Cycling Federation years later.

As we can see, the bicycle was very quickly successful (in the small circles of wealthy families) as a sport and we will see that the French participated a lot in this.

John Kemp Starley, the nephew of the inventor of the Grand Bi, developed in 1884 the Rover Safety Bicycle, in search of a velocipede that everyone could use (he said even for women, that's how open-minded he was ;) !)

RE-INVENTING THE WHEEL, IT WAS A DARING MOVE... IT WAS BOLD?

As you can see, the bicycle has already evolved a lot. And yet the wheels were still very uncomfortable (made of wood with iron rings) and very noisy.

The Scottish veterinarian John Dunlop heard his son complaining about the comfort of his tricycle. No doubt the noise caused by the solid wooden wheels also prevented him from working in peace.

So he looked into the matter and rolled some rubber sheets around an axle. This formed an elastic cylinder which he was able to fill with air. The system worked well for soundproofing but also made the wheels more comfortable, grippier and faster.

On December 7, 1888, Dunlop filed a patent for the valve tire.?

He decided to establish his bicycle factory.?

Bicycles are ridden on rubber tubes that are inflated with air but remain attached to the rim.?

In 1891, an English cyclist was passing through the town of Clermont-Ferrand and suffered a puncture in his Dunlop tire.

He then sought help from a local company known for its know-how in rubber (manufacture of game balls and bilboquets in particular...): the Michelin company.

The Dunlop tire is then covered and glued directly on the rim.?

Changing it requires at least three hours of installation and a night of drying... In a bicycle race, a flat tire can be fatal :)

Edouard and André were not satisfied with repairing the Englishman's tire, they invented a new system with an inner tube (a patent was filed the same year) and launched "a tire that could be disassembled and repaired in fifteen minutes"!?

Also in 1891, the Petit Journal de Paris directed by Hippolyte Marinoni organized the first Paris-Brest-Paris.

The winner of the event, Charles Terront, completed the 1,200 km course in 71 hours and 22 minutes.

He had been hired by Michelin to promote their newly patented demountable tire and became one of the first figures in French cycling!

At the time, a Peugeot Type 3 quadricycle also took part in the event.

For the record, when this race was launched, participation was forbidden to foreigners and women...

The Bordeaux-Paris race followed the same year and of course the Tour de France, created a few years later in 1903.

The Gauthier brothers (St Etienne factory)?

Peugeot (manufacturer of the big Bi from 1882) will also manufacture the first bicycles from 1886 in Beaulieu in Doubt. Peugeot continued the manufacture of cycles until the end of the years 2000.

The French expression "petite reine" was attributed with some affection by the French press to the Dutch queen Wilhelmine of Orange-Nassau during an official visit in 1896. Very fond of the "modern" bicycle, this expression would have been transferred by metonymy to the bicycle.

Perhaps Wilhelmine is the origin of the Dutch taste for the bicycle?

ON THE FREE WHEEL

An American, William Van Anden, had the idea to separate the movement of the pedals from the movement of the wheel.?

Thus the wheel could turn without the pedals turning.

He proudly relates this in his patent application in 1869

"I have invented a new and useful improvement of velocipedes (...)

This invention concerns certain improvements made to velocipedes; it consists, roughly speaking, in the use of a ratchet device or its equivalent, in connection with a driving wheel, operated by the feet, by means of which arrangement the velocipede can be allowed to move, under the impulse of a movement, without the "rider" being obliged to move his feet.

But he was right too soon... the cyclists, purists, saw in it first an increased risk of failure, more than the possible gain in comfort and safety. Some things take time.

It was not until 1898 that the German Ernst Sachs commercialized bicycles with this invention, which is indispensable today.

Imagine having to pedal at the rhythm imposed by the speed of your wheel, especially when going downhill or when stopping the pedaling does not block the wheel...

BIKE WORK SLEEP

Other inventions have obviously further improved the bicycle. Many of these inventions have been taken over by the automotive industry.

In the city, the bicycle has gradually lost ground to the car...but it has regained its credentials with the recent urban redevelopment.

Largely promoted by JCDecaux , whose ingenious sales model we highlighted in a previous publication, bicycles have re-invaded cities.?

It remains to find the right organization in very large megalopolises such as Paris & suburbs, where the bicycle has its limits if it is not intelligently associated with revisited, reformed but above all *renovated* public transport to link the suburbs to the heart of the city.

Bicycle sales have certainly a bright future ahead of them, but today France only produces a small proportion of the bicycles purchased each year. Of the nearly 3 million bicycles purchased, less than 700,000 are made in France.?

A small quarter.

The French inventors and industrialists who worked for the development of this invention would appreciate the work of a few young thumbs willing to reinvent the French cycling industry.

Clermont-Ferrand, Saint-Etienne, Beaulieu... France needs to make its provincial cities resound and revive this disappeared know-how, swept away by the relocation of the industry.

A few players are breathing new life into the industry by relying on intelligent industrial partnerships, such as Angell Mobility (owned by Marc Simoncini) with Seb in Is-sur-Tille (C?te d'Or).

ULTIMA Mobility , a young startup of high-end electrically-assisted bicycle, wants to assemble the best technical subcontractors in France: thus Mavic wheel manufacturer in Annecy (Haute-Savoie), NOVA RIDE (derailleurs, cranksets) manufactured in Clermont-Ferrand, LOOK Cycle pedals in Nevers to name a few.

Rebirth assembles about 50,000 bikes of the group's brands (Solex, Matra, Easybike) on the site of Saint-L?, my Normandy.

Re-industrializing is a long-term exercise, requiring a little opportunism, a lot of willpower too, because it is not always easy for a young company to obtain attractive conditions (or even an answer) when it seeks to work with a French industrialist.

What is extraordinary when we look back at the past is to see that difficult times have often been times of creativity.

Faced with the pressure, people try to find solutions and bricks are born everywhere, because intelligence is everywhere. Then some have the flair to use a technique, a technology to adapt it to good use or to assemble several of them.

To each problem, its solution, it is our credo at RéclameICI and to those which could doubt it, we like the beautiful marks which mark the history of yesterday and today.

On ReclameICI.fr, we just help brands to correct a problem and our site testifies to the ability of great brands to remain humble and to listen to create... a positive cycle :)

Nicolas Lemonnier - https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/nicolaslemonnier/

Co-founder of RéclameICI