The bicycle

A mountain bike, a popular multi-use bicycle.

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a pedal-driven, human-powered,single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist or a bicyclist.

Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now number about one billion worldwide, twice as many as automobiles.^[1] They are the principal means of transportation in many regions.^[where?] They also provide a popular form of recreation, and have been adapted for such uses as children's toys, adult fitness, military and police applications, courier services and bicycle racing.

The basic shape and configuration of a typical upright bicycle has changed little since the first chain-driven model was developed around 1885.^[2] However, many details have been improved, especially since the advent of modern materials and computer-aided design. These have allowed for a proliferation of specialized designs for particular types of cycling.

The invention of the bicycle has had an enormous impact on society, both in terms of culture and of advancing modern industrial methods. Several components that eventually played a key role in the development of the automobile were originally invented for the bicycle, includingball bearings, pneumatic tires, chain-driven sprockets, and spoke-tensioned wheels. 

1. The first contraption that can realistically be said resembles a bicyclewas constructed around 1790 by Comte Mede de Sivrac of France. Calleda celerifere, it was a wooden scooter-like device with no pedals or steering.

2.Being the first human means of transport to use only two wheels in tandem, the Draisienne,Laufmaschine, or dandy horse, invented by the German Baron Karlvon Drais, is regarded as theforerunner of the modern bicycle. It was introduced by Drais to the public in Mannheim in summer 1817 and in Paris in 1818. Its rider sat astride awooden frame supported by two in-line wheels and pushed the vehicle along withhis/her feet while steering the front wheel.

- The original pedal-bicycle, with the serpentine frame, from Pierre Lallement's US Patent No. 59,915 drawing, 1866

3 Michaux' son on velocipede 1868

4  Thomas McCall in 1869 on his velocipede

5. A penny-farthing or ordinary bicyclephotographed in the Škoda Auto museum in the Czech Republic

 6. A smartly dressed couple seated on an 1886 Coventry Rotary Quadracycle for two.

7.McCall's first (top) and improved velocipede of 1869 - later predated to 1839 and attributed to MacMillan

8. 1890s Hotchkiss Bicycle Railroad

9. Woman with bicycle, 1890s

10 

Bicycle in Plymouth, England at the start of the 20th century

Starley της "Royal Salvo" τρίκυκλο, ότι κατέχονται από Queen Victoria

11

This racing bicycle has aluminum tubing,carbon fiber stays and forks, a drop handlebar, and narrow tires and wheels.