1817 Hobby Horse Bicycle: Two wheels the same size added to essentially a modified hobby horse. The alignment of the front wheel is fixed. The are no peddles so the bike propelled by pushing off with your feet and the bike was steered by leaning. It was made entirely of wood. A model, invented by Baron von Drais, also known as a Draisienne, had a steerable front wheel. This enjoyed a short lived popularity as a fad, not being practical for transportation in any other place than a well maintained pathway such as in a park or garden.

1863 Bone Shaker or Velocipede: Made of stiff materials, straight angles and steel wheels make this bike literally a bone shaker to ride over the cobblestone roads of the day. The improvement is a front wheel with peddles. This machine was known as the velocipede ("fast foot"), but was popularly known as the bone shaker, They also became a fad, and indoor riding academies, similar to roller rinks, could be found in large cities.

1871 Ordinary: These are better know as the "high wheelers". It is more comfortable to ride than its predecessor, but it requires an acrobat so they popularity has always been limited. This was the first all metal machine to appeared. (Previous to this metallurgy was not advanced enough to provide metal which was strong enough to make small, light parts out of.) The pedals were still attached directly to the front wheel with no freewheeling mechanism. Solid rubber tires and the long spokes of the large front wheel provided a much smoother ride than its predecessor. The front wheels became larger and larger as makers realized that the larger the wheel, the farther you could travel with one rotation of the pedals. You would purchase a wheel as large as your leg length would allow. These bicycles enjoyed a great popularity among young men of means (they cost an average worker six month's pay), with the hey-day being the decade of the 1880's. Because the rider sat so high above the center of gravity, if the front wheel was stopped by a stone or rut in the road, or the sudden emergence of a dog, the entire apparatus rotated forward on its front axle, and the rider, with his legs trapped under the handlebars, was dropped unceremoniously on his head. Here the term "taking a header" came into being. This machine was the first one to be called a bicycle ("two wheel").

1880's While the men were risking their necks on the high wheels, ladies, confined to their long skirts and corsets, could take a spin around the park on an adult tricycle. These machines also afforded more dignity to gentlemen such as doctors and clergymen. Many mechanical innovations now associated with the automobile were originally invented for tricycles. Rack and pinion steering, the differential, and band brakes, to name a few!

1880 Bicycle Activism: Good roads society organized by bicyclist and lobbied for good roads.

1888 Pneumatic tire: First applied to the bicycle by an Irish veterinarian who was trying to give his sickly young son a more comfortable ride on his tricycle. This inventive young doctor's name was Dunlop. Now that comfort and safety could be had in the same package, and that package was getting cheaper as manufacturing methods improved, everyone clamored to ride the bicycle.

1890 Safety Bike: As the name implies the safety bike is safer than the ordinary. The further improvement of metallurgy sparked the next innovation, or rather return to previous design. With metal that was now strong enough to make a fine chain and sprocket small and light enough for a human being to power, the next design was a return to the original configuration of two same-size wheels, only now, instead of just one wheel circumference for every pedal turn, you could, through the gear ratios, have a speed the same as the huge high-wheel. Initially, the bicycles still had the hard rubber tires, and in the absence of the long, shock-absorbing spokes, the ride they provided was much more uncomfortable than any of the high-wheel designs. Many of these bicycles of 100 years ago had front and/or rear suspensions. These designs competed with each other, your choice being the high-wheel's comfort or the safety's safety, but the next innovation tolled the death of the high-wheel design -- pneumatic tires. This is basically the same design as standard contemporary bikes. The safety bike allowed large numbers of people to take up cycling. Bikes were relatively expensive so use was somewhat restrict to the elite.

1890 Mass Production: The bicycle was what made the Gay Nineties gay. It was a practical investment for the working man as transportation, and gave him a much greater flexibility for leisure. Women would also start riding bicycles in much larger numbers.

1894 Change In Social Order: Betty Bloomer's bloomers become very popular. Ladies, heretofore consigned to riding the heavy adult size tricycles that were only practical for taking a turn around the park, now could ride a much more versatile machine and still keep their legs covered with long skirts. The bicycle craze killed the bustle and the corset, instituted "common-sense dressing" for women and increased their mobility considerably. Victorian women cyclists. American Music and women bicyclists. Women and bicycles.

1896 "Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance." Susan B Anthony

1898, 1899, 1900 Major Taylor was the American cycling sprint champion, and he topped all European champions as well. Taylor was one of the first black athletes to become a world champion in any sport. (Taylor is celebrated in Andrew Ritchie's the book "Major Taylor", Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.) See also: The Major Taylor Association, The Major Taylor Society and The Major Taylor Velodrome.

1920 Kids Bikes: The focus of planning and development of the transportation infrastructure was the private automobiles. Bicycles use declined and the bicycle was considered primarily as children's toys. Kids bikes were introduced just after the First World War by several manufacturers, such as Mead, Sears Roebuck, and Montgomery Ward, to revitalize the bike industry (Schwinn made its big splash slightly later), these designs, now called "classic", featured automobile and motorcycle elements to appeal to kids who, presumably, would rather have a motor. If ever a bike needed a motor, this was it. These bikes evolved into the most glamorous, fabulous, ostentatious, heavy designs ever. It is unbelievable today that 14-year-old kids could do the tricks that we did on these 65 pound machines! They were built into the middle 50s, by which time they had taken on design elements of jet aircraft and even rockets. By the 60s, they were becoming leaner and simpler. Women bicyclists in the French Resistance. by Rebecca G. Halbreich, published in Ex Post Facto, 1994.

1962 Renaissance: President's Council of Physical Fitness. Renewed interest in bicycle for recreation and fitness. This was the seed of a new major bicycle boom that accelerated through the 60's. The "English 3-speed" was the fancy consumer model of the time. Before the end of the decade it was the 10-speed derailleur "racing bike" which dominated the American market (the derailleur had been invented before the turn of the century and had been in more-or-less common use in Europe since).

1970 Earth Day: Increased awareness of westerns civilization's level of consumption of natural resources, air pollution, and destruction of the natural environment. This generated a new spurt in the growth of bicycle sales and bicycling, especially around college campuses.

1973 Oil embargo: Fuel shortages and shifts in relative price of transportation options created an environment which encouraged bicycle commuting. Many of the new recruits to bicycling stuck to it after the end of the embargo and became enthusiasts.

1978 A new round of steep oil prices increases further encouraged bicycling. More bikes than car were being sold in the USA. Triple chain-ring cranks had become widely available, adding to the range of situation that bicycle were practical.

1980's Renewed interests in health and fitness, by the middle and upper class perpetuated the acceptance and growth of commuting, recreational and touring bicycling.

1984 Successes by American racing cyclist in the 1984 Olympics drew attention and added prestige to cycling. The ranks of racing cyclists grew substantially. Cogs began to be added to the rear gear cluster the number of speeds increase from 15 to 18, 21 and 24.

1996 Mountain Bike compete at the Olympic Games for the first time in Atlanta, GA USA.

1986 Department of the Interior and Nielson surveys show that bicycling is the third most popular participatory sport after swimming and general exercise.