A bicycle, pushbike, or bike, is a pedal-driven land vehicle
which has two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. They were first
introduced in 19th-century Europe and then quickly evolved into its familiar,
current design. Numbering over 1,000,000,000 in the world today, bicycles
provide the chief means of transportation in many regions and also a popular
form of recreational transport in others. The bicycle is amongst the most
notable of human inventions. However there is a lot of confusion regarding when
and who invented the very first bicycle. According to general belief, the
earliest bicycle was a wooden scooter-like contraption named ‘celerifere’ and
it was made by Comte Mede de Sivrac of France in about 1790.
An Overview of the Bicycle –
The basic shape and configuration of the frame, wheels,
pedals, saddle and handlebars of the bicycle has hardly changed since the first
chain-driven model that was developed in around 1885, though many important detail
improvements have been made since, especially recently by the use of modern
materials and computer-aided design. For example, the conventional design of
the saddle or the seat of the bicycle has remained more or less the same.
Though there have been experiments with noseless seats, people still prefer the
conventional size.
Lights are another important yet ignored factor in bicycles.
Even if one does not intend to use ones bicycle during the dark, one must have
a precautionary lighting system. Lighting in the bicycle will serve the purpose
of seeing others and making yourself visible to others both of which will help
in avoiding any possible casualty in the dark.
As far as the frames are concerned, different materials have
come to be used. Carbon, aluminum and magnesium are frames which are very
popular. Even titanium frames have been promoted but as they are quiet
expensive, they are used only by the cream.
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