who invented the bicycle?

There are some evidence that thousands of years back the Egyptians had some sort of two-wheeled contrivance that was set in motion by the feet of the rider. But for all practical purposes, use of bicycles began in the year 1817. In that year, "Baron Vaon Drais", a German introduced "The Draisine" named after, himself & its two wheels were connected by a wooden bar. The rider rested part of his weight on a wooden arm rest infront & propelled himself by kicking the ground with his feet one after the other. He steered by turning a handle on the pivoted front wheel. Being so expensive, this was nicknamed "The Dandy Horse". About 1840, a Scotsman called "Macmillan" put cranks on the axe of the rear wheel of an old dandy horse. These were connected by driving rods with pedals in the front. He went too fast with it to be arrested for furious driving. The name "Bicycle" was first used in the year 1865. A Frenchman named "Lallement" attached cranks & pedals to the front wheel of a "Velocipede" much like the dandy horse. These bicycles were called the "Boneshakers" because they had heavy wooden frames & iron tyres. In the year 1868, light metal wheels with wire spokes & solid rubber tyres were introduced. Later, a new type of bicycle called "The Ordinary" appeared in which the front wheel grew larger & larger say upto 1.5 meters while the rear wheel was only 30 centimeters across! Unless the rider was very skillful, he was often tossed over the handlebars head first! Finally, around 1885, the modern "Safety bicycle" was developed. Its wheels were of equal size, & the rider's seat was slightly forward of the rear wheel. Other improvements were made with time to produce the bicycle which we have today.
 
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