Have Bicycle, Will Revolt
Why does a bicycle have a kickstand?
Because it’s “two-tired” to stand by itself.
Okay, that’s an ancient joke, the relevance of which is complicated and reaches back more than a century....
In the summer of 1817, impatient travelers had reason to celebrate: there was a new option for getting around that didn’t involve horses or wagons. German inventor Karl Drais had created what was called by various names—a hobbyhorse, a velocipede, a Draisine—or, sometimes, a Laufsmachine, which is German for “running machine.” This name stuck because, literally, that’s how the running machine worked: a man (more on that later) literally straddled a wooden beam attached to two wheels and, keeping his feet on the ground, he propelled himself as if he were running.
Good idea, iffy execution, since the running machine still lacked finesse: while it could be steered, its rudimentary seats were almost begging for injuries where injuries shouldn’t ever happen, and there were no brakes. If that sounds dangerous, well, it probably was. Despite that Europeans were crazy in love with the running machine, in 1827 New York City banned the use of them on public sidewalks.
How could such a fun device go un-tinkered-with?
It couldn’t, and within a generation or two, a number of French inventors began adding pedals to the front wheels of what were then called “boneshakers.” Again, the name fit because seats were not very comfortable, tires were made of iron or wood, and a rider felt every single pothole and stone.
It boggles the mind, then, that other inventors in the mid-1870s made things even more uncomfortable with the invention of “penny farthings,” as bicycles with gigantic front wheels were called. This goes double when you consider that the seats of penny farthings were four feet off the ground and rubber bicycle tires hadn’t been invented yet, nor had brakes.
Ah, but kickstands? Yep, Alfred Berruyer added them to bicycles in 1869, although his was attached near the handlebars and not down by the pedals.
You might imagine the sigh of relief when the “safety bicycle” was invented in 1885 by English inventor John Kemp Starley. He made the wheels of equal size, and he added brakes and a chain attached to the rear wheel to propel the bike via pedals. Pneumatic tires followed, as did lighter materials.
Looks like a bike, rides like a bike.
This was all well and good—for men.
And, increasingly, for women, who’d previously had to make do with three-wheeled machines that kept them closer to the ground with skirts modestly lowered and knees together. The safety bicycle meant that daring women could take up bicycling with impunity. Sharp-shooter Annie Oakley became a big proponent of the bicycle. So did suffragists like Susan B. Anthony, who believed that suffrage and the establishment of women’s rights would have taken much, much longer without the bicycle. Truly, the bicycle was revolutionary.
Riding allowed Victorian women, who were formerly mostly homebodies, to explore their worlds, to get involved socially and politically, and to secure some independence. New fashions were created to enable them to straddle a bicycle and retain their modesty, though some women didn’t give a whit about that. In response, male doctors often claimed that bicycles would harm a woman’s health and sexuality. Gasp, clutch pearls.
Throughout the late 1800s and into the new century, riding clubs sprang up—mostly for men, but some forward-thinkers allowed female members. In 1926, the kickstand was moved down by the pedals. The bicycle played a big part in American society, in mail delivery, sports, and war. Bicycles then were adults-only but that changed in the 1940s, when automobiles started clogging American roads and younger riders were targeted, and embraced the bike.
If you want sustainable, “green” transportation today, you have good options. A brand-new racing bike can start at around $2,000; a high-end road bike can weigh less than 15 pounds. Compare that to a new bike in 1957: it would’ve set you back about $30 but it would’ve weighed a little more than 50 pounds.
A hundred years ago, the average bike weighed around 80 pounds.
Just thinking of pedaling that should make you two-tired. ▼
Terri Schlichenmeyer’s second book, The Book of Facts and Trivia: American History, came out in January 2024.