The Machine

The bicycle itself: Karl von Drais’ 1817 running machine, the boneshaker, the high-wheel penny-farthing, the safety bicycle and pneumatic tyre that sparked the 1890s boom, the derailleur, and the age of carbon.

Part of Cycling

34 moments in this segment.

1. 1817-06-01 — The Draisine (1817). The 1817 draisine or “running machine” of Karl von Drais — the ancestor of the bicycle — in a contemporary engraving.
2. 1820-06-01 — Karl von Drais (1820). Karl von Drais, the German inventor who built the first two-wheeled running machine in 1817, in a period portrait.
3. 1869-06-01 — The velocipede (1869). The pedal velocipede or “boneshaker” of the 1860s, the first bicycle to be driven by pedals, in a period image.
4. 1878-06-01 — The penny-farthing (1878). The high-wheel “ordinary” or penny-farthing, the dominant bicycle of the 1870s-80s, in a period photograph.
5. 1885-06-01 — The Rover safety bicycle (1885). The Rover safety bicycle by John Kemp Starley — the 1885 chain-driven design that became the template for the modern bicycle.
6. 1889-06-01 — The safety bicycle (1889). The chain-driven safety bicycle of the late 1880s that made cycling universal, in a period illustration.
7. 1893-06-01 — History of the bicycle (1893)
8. 1895-06-01 — Safety bicycle (1895) — IV. Safety bicycle, 1895.
9. 1895-06-01 — Safety bicycle (1895) — II. Safety bicycle — the chain-driven safety bicycle that made cycling universal.
10. 1895-06-01 — Safety bicycle (1895) — III. Safety bicycle, 1895.
11. 1895-06-01 — Safety bicycle (1895) — I. Safety bicycle, 1895.
12. 1895-06-01 — Safety bicycle (1895) — V. Safety bicycle, 1895.
13. 1896-06-01 — The bicycle boom (1896). A vintage poster from the 1890s bicycle boom, when cycling swept Europe and America.
14. 1928-06-01 — The Penny Farthing Bike Race (1928) | British Pathé. The Penny Farthing Bike Race (1928) — a milestone in how the bicycle itself was invented and refined.
15. 1953-06-01 — Safety Cycle (1953). ) — a milestone in how the bicycle itself was invented and refined.
16. 2009-06-01 — History of the bicycle (2009). History of the bicycle — the evolution of the machine that changed the world.
17. 2009-06-01 — Penny-farthing (2009) — III. Penny-farthing, 2009.
18. 2009-06-01 — History of the bicycle (2009)
19. 2009-06-01 — Penny-farthing (2009) — II. Penny-farthing — the high-wheel “ordinary” bicycle of the 1870s-80s.
20. 2009-06-01 — Penny-farthing (2009) — I. Penny-farthing, 2009.
21. 2010-04-14 — The Safety Bike. a milestone in how the bicycle itself was invented and refined.
22. 2010-06-01 — History of the bicycle (2010)
23. 2010-06-01 — Penny-farthing (2010)
24. 2011-06-01 — History of the bicycle (2011)
25. 2012-06-01 — Penny-farthing (2012)
26. 2012-06-01 — History of the bicycle (2012)
27. 2012-06-01 — History of the bicycle (2012)
28. 2013-06-01 — Penny-farthing (2013)
29. 2013-06-01 — History of the bicycle (2013)
30. 2016-06-07 — The Roots of Dirt | How The Mountain Bike Evolved From Clunker to Global Phenomenon
31. 2017-07-01 — Pedalling Dreams. The Raleigh Story. BBC Documentary 2017. a milestone in how the bicycle itself was invented and refined.
32. 2022-11-12 — Antique Bicycle Ads 1896. Cycling Advertisements from Germany During the 1890's Bike Boom.
33. 2023-10-07 — Antique High Wheel Bicycle Springfield Roadster 1889 lever drive, coasts.. not a penny farthing !. Antique High Wheel Bicycle Springfield Roadster 1889 lever drive, coasts.
34. 2024-06-11 — 12th June 1817: Karl Drais makes the first journey on an early bicycle, called the Laufmaschine