A boneshaking tour de force that became the bike is 200 years old
Historian sheds light on curious and comic roots
DOMAZAN, FRANCE // For the next month, the eyes of the sporting world will be on the Tour de France, yet few people know what a significant year this is for the bicycle.
Much to the chagrin of amateur historian Claude Reynaud, the 200th anniversary of the invention of the bicycle is likely to pass by with little fanfare as millions of pairs of eyes gaze at television screens or from the roadside to watch Chris Froome and his rivals battle for yellow jersey glory.
And yet, the 104th edition of the world’s most prestigious cycle race starts in Dusseldorf on Saturday, in the country where Baron Karl Drais invented the bicycle.
Billions of people use bicycles, many on a daily basis, and yet few are aware of this milestone.
“No one is celebrating it because the information is unknown,” said Mr Reynaud, a viticulturist from south- east France. “While the Tour de France starts in Dusseldorf, when the Grand Boucle presented its route, no one evoked the bicentenary – it is unknown outside of a small circle of initiates.” Mr Reynaud has fought a 50year battle to defend the memory of the invention of the bicycle. He even houses a museum in its honour at his chateau in Domazan, in the Occitanie region of France. Mr Reynaud said it was on June 12, 1817 that “for the first time, a man took a two-wheeler and went on a road” in the Mannheim region of what was then the Grand Duchy of Baden, now part of south-west Germany.
Drais’ “velocipede” ( nicknamed the “dandy horse”) had no pedals or chain and required the rider to propel his Laufmaschine (running machine) by pushing off the ground with his feet.
But the baron’s genius was that “he discovered balance on two wheels”, Mr Reynaud said.
“Like all inventions, it seems obvious, but someone had to think of it. He invented the two-wheeler.”
However, the running machine had its faults, notably proving difficult to control on bumpy surfaces. When Drais organised a demonstration of the velocipede at the Jardin de Luxembourg park in Paris in 1818, “it was a disaster”.
“People thought it was ridiculous and made cartoons about it,” said Mr Reynaud, who has included some of those caricatures in his museum.
“At first, it didn’t work, he couldn’t sell it, people made fun of it.”
But the idea had taken root and was soon being copied, particularly in France, although many draisines (as it was known there) were adorned with horses’ heads.
In 1866, it was Pierre Lallement who attached pedals to the draisine.
The next stage in the development of the bicycle involved a huge front wheel combined with a small rear wheel, but it was a machine that was far from stable and resulted in some spectacular crashes.
It was not until 1885 that two similar-sized wheels were attached to the velocipede.
“After that it was just a case of technical improvements, but all the ideas already existed – brake cables, pedals, chains,” Mr Reynaud said.
“The bicycle enjoyed an exponential success, especially from 1890 onwards with the invention of the tyre.”
The story of the bicycle’s distant origins is known to a very small group of people