1 Today, there are more than a billion bicycles in the world. It is one of the most popular ways to travel. But the first bicycle looked very different from the one you ride today. In fact, it did not even have pedals!
2 The first bicycle was built in 1817 by a German inventor named Karl Drais. It was made of wood, and it had two wheels and a seat. To move, the rider sat on the seat and pushed the ground with his feet, like a child on a balance bike. People called it the “running machine.”
3 In the 1860s, inventors in France added pedals to the front wheel. Now riders could keep their feet off the ground. However, these bicycles were very uncomfortable. They had wooden wheels with iron around them, and every stone on the road shook the rider. That is why people gave them the nickname “boneshakers.”
4 Next came the penny-farthing, a bicycle with a huge front wheel and a tiny back wheel. The big wheel made it fast, but it was also dangerous. The rider sat high above the ground, and if the bicycle hit a rock, he could fall on his head.
5 Finally, in 1885, an English inventor named John Kemp Starley built the “safety bicycle.” It had two wheels of the same size and a chain that connected the pedals to the back wheel. It was safe, comfortable and easy to ride. Soon, millions of people were riding bicycles to work and to school. Almost every bicycle today is based on his design.
6 Bicycles are still changing. Today there are electric bicycles, folding bicycles and bicycles made of very light materials. But the idea is the same as it was two hundred years ago: two wheels, one rider, and the joy of moving forward.