| First
form of bicycle |
1818
|
Draisienne
or hobbyhorse (Baron von Drais) |
| Treadle-driven |
1839 |
Treadle-driven
bicycle (Kirkpatrick Macmillan) |
| Cranks
and pedals |
1863 |
Velocipede
(Pierre Michaux) |
| Bracket
gears |
1869 |
Bracket
gears at the crank axle increased the speed of the velocipede |
| Tangentially
spoked wheel |
1870 |
Ariel or penny-farthing (Starley and Hillman) |
| Tubular-frame |
1877 |
Tubular-frame penny-farthing |
| Rubber
tyres |
1877 |
Iron tyres replaced with solid rubber |
| Ball
bearings |
1877 |
Wheel-bearing
replaced with ball bearings |
| Development
towards safety bicycle |
1879 |
Bicyclette
(Henry Lawson) |
| Bush
roller chain |
1880 |
Bush roller chain (Hans Renold) |
| Transitional
development from Penny-farthing to safety bicycle |
1884 |
The Kangaroo (a safety ordinary bicycle) was a variation
on the penny-farthing |
| Chain-driven
rear wheel |
1885 |
Rover safety (J K Starley, James Starley's nephew) |
| Pneumatic
tyre |
1888 |
John Boyd Dunlop patented the pneumatic tyre |
| Caliper
brake |
1880s |
Free wheel introduced which improved coasting Stirrup
brake
Caliper brake (E.M. Bowden) |
| Mudguards |
1890s |
Front forks curved forward to improve steering and balance
Mudguards |
| Gear
systems |
1899 |
Derailleur gear change system
|
| Hub
gears |
1902 |
Sturmey-Archer
hub three-speed gear |
| Sprung
bicycle |
1962 |
Moulton
bicycle, wheels are separately sprung. |
| Chrome
molybdenum frame |
1971 |
Bicycle
Motor Cross (BMX) developed in USA using chrome molybdenum
frame |
| Disk
wheel |
1984 |
Spokeless,
carbon–fibre disc wheel was used at the Los Angeles
Olympic Games. |
Monocoque
frames
Advanced materials |
1990 |
Zipp
2001 Multisport (Zipp Speed Weaponry, USA) |
|
Carbon–fibre
technology
Aerodynamic
engineering
|
1992 |
Chris
Boardman (Great Britain) broke world records at the Barcelona
Olympic Games with the LotusSport carbon–fibre, aerodynamic
bicycle weighing less than nine kilograms, designed by
Mike Burrows for Lotus Engineering UK. |
| Monocoque
frames Carbon-fibre technology Handlebars modified |
1994 |
AIS/RMIT
Superbike requires 15 per cent less power to travel at
a given speed than a conventional tubular-framed racing
bike and weighs only 5 kg. |
