Safety bicycle
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The safety bicycle is a type of bicycle that became very popular beginning in the late 1880s. The first safety was invented by John Kemp Starley in 1885. "Safeties" are characterized by having a diamond-shaped frame, two wheels of identical - or nearly identical - size, and a chain driven rear wheel.
The safety bicycle was a big improvement on the previous penny-farthing design which it replaced. The chain drive, coupled with gears to multiply the revolutions of the pedals, allowed for much smaller wheels, and replaced the need for the large, directly pedaled front wheel of the "penny-farthing" or "ordinary". The smaller wheel gave a harder ride, thus hastening the replacement of solid tires with pneumatic ones. The safety made cycling much safer, and therefore much more popular. The same basic design of bicycle is still in common use today.
[edit] See also
[edit] External Link
- Rover safety bicycle often thought of as the icon of safety bicycles.
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