The Birth of the Bicycle
eBook - ePub

The Birth of the Bicycle

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Birth of the Bicycle

About this book

In this highly readable book, Nick Clayton charts the origins of the bicycle, a machine that is still regarded as the most efficient means of translating human energy into motion. Focusing on the early years of development, the author examines the technological developments that have led to the modern bicycle, including the hobby-horse, velocipede, boneshaker, tricycle, the pneumatic tyre, shaft drive, hub-gear, derailleur and many others. He also looks at differences in design, whether for ladies' bikes or for sport and off-road vehicles. The book is filled with interesting information and anecdotes and the author tackles such questions as why the penny-farthing had such a large front wheel or the meaning of trail-and-fork offset. As the bicycle continues to grow in popularity, both as an environmentally friendly travel solution and for sports as varied as triathlon and cyclo-sportive, this book provides you with all the answers you need about one of the most ingenious human inventions.

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Yes, you can access The Birth of the Bicycle by Nick Clayton in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Technology & Engineering & Automotive Transportation & Engineering. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. 1: A Very Short History of the Bicycle
  3. 2: Historiography
  4. 3: The Draisine aka the Hobby-Horse
  5. 4: The Quadricycle Years 1820–1868
  6. 5: The Velocipede Bicycle or Boneshaker
  7. 6: America and Germany
  8. 7: The Penny-Farthing or Ordinary Bicycle
  9. 8: Tricycles 1876–1886
  10. 9: The Safety Bicycle
  11. 10: The Braced Diamond Frame
  12. 11: James Starley (1831–81) and the Coventry Machinists Co. Ltd
  13. 12: Hans Renold and the Bush Roller Chain
  14. 13: Harry John Lawson 1852–1925
  15. 14: Ladies’ Bicycles
  16. 15: Dunlop and the Pneumatic Safety
  17. 16: The Bicycle Boom
  18. 17: Gears
  19. 18: The Lightweight Bicycle
  20. 19: Mountain Bikes
  21. 20: The Future
  22. Further Reading