Revolutions in Bicycle History Since 1817
Europe has 19 EuroVelo cycling routes that span 42 countries, stretching from the Iberian Peninsula to Turkey, and from Greece up to the northernmost point of Norway, embodying the spirit of Revolutions in Bicycle History. As of January 2022, France boasts 25,670 kilometers of bike paths across 58 routes, including 10 EuroVelo routes. Bicycles have become more popular since the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis. For over a century, bicycles have continued to evolve through numerous historic “revolutions.”
French has two words for bicycle: “vélo” and “bicyclette.” However, on France Culture radio on June 16, 2020, economist Frédéric Héran, author of Retour de la bicyclette (The Return of the Bicycle, published by La Découverte), explained that “the two terms are completely interchangeable. ‘Bicyclette’ sounds a bit more elegant and urban, while ‘vélo’ carries a more sporty connotation.”
The Technological Revolution
Revolutions in Bicycle History Since 1817
The bicycle originated from an urgent need following the crop failure of 1816, caused by natural disasters in Europe and North America. As horses were slaughtered for food, there was a pressing demand for an alternative to horse-drawn transport. Later, the bicycle became the result of a century of continuous innovations in speed and engineering to meet evolving needs. Economist Frédéric Héran summarized it as follows:
“The context of the Enlightenment was very favorable to the emergence of such an idea, with a strong desire to accelerate transportation — a concept born in the 18th century. First, the Industrial Revolution was in full bloom at the time. Second, for decades, people had been trying to lighten the load of transport vehicles. A horse-drawn carriage weighed up to three tons and typically required two to four horses to pull it. It was in this context that the idea of balancing on two moving wheels came to be seen as credible.”
The “velocipede,” ancestor of today’s bicycle, was officially introduced on July 12, 1817, by German baron Karl Drais. The term comes from “veloce” (fast) and “pède” (foot), meaning “to allow humans to go faster.” Patented in France in 1818 under the name draisienne, this vehicle was even faster than a horse-drawn carriage, covering 14 kilometers in one hour. It attracted thousands of curious onlookers in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. However, no matter how strong the rider, pushing the draisienne for 25 kilometers left users exhausted and with sore feet.
It wasn’t until more than 20 years later that a revolutionary invention appeared: pedals, added to the front wheel in 1839 by blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan in Scotland. However, his design required back-and-forth pushing, which was quickly tiring, quite different from the circular pedaling motion we know today.
Another two decades passed before a breakthrough occurred. In 1861, French father-and-son mechanics Pierre and Ernest Michaux, while repairing a broken draisienne, installed a set of circular pedals directly on the front wheel. This innovation launched their business to great success. About 400 “Michaudine” bicycles were produced in 1865. By 1867, following their success at the Paris World’s Fair, the Michaux workshop was overwhelmed with orders and hired up to 500 workers to produce nearly 200 bicycles a day.
At that time, the bicycle became one of the most complex objects of manufacture, alongside the sewing machine and the steam engine. According to economist Frédéric Héran, many European countries joined the race to improve the bicycle:
“Britain, Germany, and France were the only major powers with the industrial capacity and sufficient engineers to take on the challenge of improving the bicycle. The three nations competed fiercely for around 30 years to develop the modern bicycle, with hundreds of patents being filed.”
A Leisure Vehicle for the Speed-Loving Elite
Revolutions in Bicycle History Since 1817
The wealthy, fascinated by speed, began organizing bicycle races as early as 1868. It was also because of these speed-obsessed riders that the “penny-farthing” bicycle was born in 1870. This model became especially popular in races in Britain, even in races against horses.
However, it had no long-term future due to the extreme danger it posed. Its front wheel could reach up to 1.5 meters in diameter, as larger wheels meant faster speeds with each pedal rotation. To mount and balance on such a bike, the rider needed the agility of a circus performer. Around this time, bicycles also began featuring solid rubber tires. In 1877, British engineer James Starley invented the tubular steel frame, making bikes more durable.
Two years later, in 1879, Henry John Lawson became the first to install a chain drive, connecting the pedaling mechanism to the rear wheel. Though the front wheel was still larger, this innovation brought the bicycle closer in form to what we recognize today. Continuous improvements aimed to make bicycles lighter, more comfortable, and faster.
In 1884, British inventor John Kemp Starley, nephew of James Starley, equalized the size of the front and rear wheels for greater stability and mounted the pedals and chain to drive the rear wheel. With the rider positioned further back and less likely to fall forward, his model was called the “Rover Safety Bicycle.”
This marked the birth of the modern bicycle, with two wheels of equal size, a chain drive, and detachable pneumatic tires. The air-filled inner tube was also a major innovation, greatly improving comfort, especially at a time when roads were rough, cobbled, and full of potholes and wheel ruts.
Another revolutionary invention was the gear system. On France Culture radio, historian Philippe Tétart, a lecturer at the University of Maine specializing in the history of sports, explained:
“The idea of changing gears dates back to as early as 1860. But due to various industrial and technical reasons, as well as resistance from sporting institutions, the gear system was not widely developed until the 1920s–1930s. The main reason lies in the social history of cycling, which is tightly linked to racing. There was reluctance to let racers take advantage of a system that could make pedaling easier. Up until the 1920s, whether amateur, professional, or casual rider, everyone had to stop at the foot of a hill to manually change the rear wheel to climb more comfortably.”
From Official Transport to Women’s Liberation
In France, as early as 1900, bicycles became a means of transportation for the police. They were called “Hirondelles” (swallows) because they rode bicycles of the same brand name, manufactured by the Manufrance company in Saint-Étienne, and their capes fluttered in the wind like swallow wings.
In the City of Light, women did not immediately try out the first bicycle models; the scientific community at the time believed bicycles were too dangerous for women. Not long after, bicycles were considered a fashion accessory of the aristocracy, a symbol of elegance and a mark of upper-class status. It was not until the end of the 19th century that bicycles became a common means of transportation for women, following a persistent struggle to break the stereotype of women riding bikes. In 1895, American women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony declared:
“The bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world.
Gradually, bicycles became a common mode of transport as their price dropped tenfold between 1895 and 1935. According to historian Philippe Tétart, the development and popularization of bicycles are closely linked to social history and to the lives of workers:
“In 1890, there were only about 50,000 bicycles in France, but by the end of the 19th century, that number had exceeded one million, and by around 1914, there were nearly 3.5 million. Who was buying bicycles? Mostly workers and people living in rural areas, quite different from the initial elite clientele. There is a real overlap, though not necessarily in timing, between the rise of the working class as a major component of France’s salaried workforce and bicycle ownership, which made commuting easier. A telling example: in 1936, instead of demanding paid vacation, employees at Renault requested the construction of roofed bicycle parking to keep their bikes dry.”
The passion for speed continued to be expressed through bicycle races, now organized by the manufacturer Peugeot itself to demonstrate its superiority. Historian Philippe Tétart explained:
“As early as the 1880s, Peugeot began manufacturing in the suburbs of Montbéliard—first dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of bicycle frames and bikes. The car manufacturer invested to the point of building its racetracks and organizing competitions that allowed large audiences to feel as though they were part of the race. Of course, Peugeot benefited, becoming one of the biggest brands during the interwar period, thanks especially to its strategy of attracting large crowds to competitions—something not all brands were able to do at the beginning of the century.”
The races began to go beyond the scope of individual manufacturers with the creation of the Tour de France, the bicycle race around France. This sporting event quickly became a platform for political campaigning, which General Charles de Gaulle was the first to take advantage of. Historian Philippe Tétart explained:
“To celebrate the Tour de France, one had to connect with the crowds, meet the cyclists, and shake hands with the spectators. In this respect, General De Gaulle was the first to adopt this approach clearly. The bicycle became a tool of political communication. During the interwar period, politicians typically turned to football—the top sport—to express their connection and win public support.”
It was also in pursuit of speed that the bicycle was gradually pushed out of the race, replaced from 1945 onwards by the car, which was faster, more comfortable, and more prestigious. The bicycle continued to evolve with history. According to economist Frédéric Héran on Europe 1:
“In the 1950s and 1960s, bicycle use declined dramatically in many European countries—including the Netherlands, where it dropped threefold, and in France, sixfold. Then came the 1994 energy crisis, and bicycle usage slowly began to rise again—first in the Netherlands, then Germany, followed by Denmark, and finally France around the 1990s, especially from the 2000s onward.”
A wave of strikes in France, followed by three years of the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy crisis, brought bicycles back in large numbers to major cities. In 2021, the French bought approximately 2.7 million new bicycles—more than the number of cars sold. Virgile Caillet, a representative of the Union Sport & Cycle organization, said: “France is rediscovering that the bicycle is a daily means of transportation and a true tool for society.”
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