Bicycle Wheel History
From GICLWiki
Invention of the Wheel
An exact date for the invention of the wheel does not currently exist, but the earliest known wheels date back to 3500 - 3000 BC in ancient Mesopotamia. Although these first wheels were used primarily for making pottery, wheeled vehicles later appeared, replacing sleds and other less effective means of transportation with wheeled carts. The first wheels were extremely simple - often taking the form of a solid wooden disk mounted on a round axle secured with wooden pins. By around 2000 BC, large sections were taken out of the wooden disks to reduce weight, creating the first spokes. One of the greatest inventions in the history of human civilization, the wheel continues to have almost infinite applications in today's modern world.
Evolution of the Bicycle Wheel
The first bicycle was the Baron von Drais's running-machine, invented in 1817. After improvements were made to the design in England, it became known as the hobbyhorse. It was the first successful steered two-wheeler and also utilized some of the first wheels specifically designed for a bicycle. The rim and spokes were made entirely out of wood, with a band of metal wrapped around the circumference of the wheel in order to protect the softer wood from road damage. Both the front and rear wheels were the same size, with a diameter of 0.725 meters and had a tire thickness of 20 millimeters. The combination of materials in these wheels provided for a very rugged riding experience, leading to the development of a better and more comfortable wheel design.
With the invention of the high wheeler in the 1870's, the bicycle wheel experienced a great deal of improvement. The bicycle wheels evolved to have metal rims and spokes with solid rubber tires. These wheels were of suspension type making them much lighter than the wheels used in the running-machine. It had larger front wheels of 1.27 meters in diameter (giving it the name "high wheeler") and rear wheels of 0.44 meters in diameter. Similar to the running-machine, the high wheeler had a wheel thickness of 20 millimeters. This use of a better and lighter material for the wheels allotted for a much smoother riding experience. Although the wheel material was improved, the large wheel caused several problems, such as placing the rider too high off the ground and requiring extensive force to pedal.
Wheel design further evolved in the 1890's with the invention of the pneumatic-tyred safety (PTS). It had metal spokes, rims and pneumatic tires - a major improvement in bicycle wheel design. These tires absorb road irregularity allowing for a significantly improved riding experience. The PTS design had the same size front and rear wheels with a diameter of 0.71 meters. This design experienced the first change in tire thickness from 20 millimeters to 40 millimeters. There have been only a few slight improvements to the PTS leading to the modern bicycle.
The modern bicycle that was developed in the 1980's has metal spokes and rims with pneumatic tires similar to the PTS. The difference in the designs is that the wheel diameter for the modern day bicycle is slightly smaller with a diameter of 0.64 meters. The tire thickness also changed from 40 millimeters to 45 millimeters. There are two types of modern bicycles, the mountain bike and the racing bicycle. The difference between these modern day bicycles is the width of the wheel. The wheels of a racing bicycle have a smaller width in order to produce less friction on the riding surface. On the other hand, the mountain bike has wider wheels because it is designed to ride off-road.
References
The Evolution of the Bicycle: A Dynamic Systems Approach
From Bipedalism to Bicyclism: Evolution in Energetics and Biomechanics of Historic Bicycles
