"A vehicle with two wheels tandem, a steering handle, a saddle seat, and pedals by which it is propelled." Webster 's dictionary Fair enough, this is true for the contemporary view of this vehicle. But actually the bicycle has evolved from different stages and forms before reaching our view of the "modern" bike. A long time ago bicycles did not have chains or even pedals to propel it. And you may have seen in movies with old plots bicycles with large front wheels and small rear wheels. And you may wonder that with the large types of bikes we have now have evolved from the bicycles I have mentioned. How about the parts? Isn 't it amazing how simple they are yet sufficient enough for us to use the whole bicycle? From the wheels to the pedals to the and to the gears, they all have their functions and parts. And we sometimes wonder about the future of the bicycle. What would it be like, its benefits, and how would it help our environment. Unlike cars, bicycles does not pollute in any way. With more innovations to come in the future, bicycles will surely have its own.
I. History and Evolution the Bicycle and Types
A. before the 1800 's
Surprisingly already before the 1800 's, evidences of draft of bikes were found among Da Vinci 's writings for the Italian government. This rough draft was made by one of Da Vinci 's students in 1490 's and only discovered by a group of monks in 1966. But bikes were not made then due to insufficient technology with materials that can be used for the parts required.
After a few centuries in 1649 a compass maker in Northern Europe by the name of Johann Hautsch made a carriage that went 2000 paces per hour stopping when you wanted to. He created his carriage to work like a clock since he was a compass maker. It was a little more like a motorcar
Bibliography: www.enviroment.ucf.edu/bikepath Philippine Daily Inquirer www.caree.org www.wikipedia.org The Bicycle Book Microsoft Encarta www.library.thinkquest.org www.pedalinghistory.com www.jimlangley.net/ride/historywh