We know how bikes can change lives, be used to improve daily life and be a way to becoming a more mindful person, but bikes have helped more than just the folks zooming along on them. Ironically, from technology to roads to even the first innovators of the automobile, cars have a lot to thank bikes for.
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Bikes and cars have co-existed since the late 1800s. However with the internal combustion engine proving tricky to nail down, bicycles proliferated while cars still plodded along and often only in the hands of the wealthy.
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When the safety bicycle was created with two equal size wheels and a chain-driven gear it took the place of the high wheeler, a bike with a monstrous front wheel with the pedals directly attached to the front hub, and cycling exploded and was everywhere. In fact, the bike became the first mass produced product ever, with around a million bikes being made by roughly 300 American manufacturers in the 1890s.
Innovation
Bikes brought about many innovations that we now take for granted in our daily lives. Even on cars, where technology seems light years ahead of the simple bike nowadays, many of its fundamental attributes can be traced back to the bike. Here are some examples:
Pneumatic tires
The first air-filled tires were created by John Boyd Dunlop to prevent his 10-year old son from having headaches while riding his tricycle on rough roads. His patent application stated interest in only cycles and light vehicles.
Lightweight tubing
Roads and highways
Ball bearings
Wire spinning and wire spokes
Inventors and innovators
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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