Knowra Bicycle boom Bicycle boom A period of rapid growth in bicycle popularity, production, and use. Several distinct booms occurred as bicycle designs, prices, and social uses changed.
Penny-farthing : A nineteenth-century bicycle with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel. Its risky ride helped spur demand for a safer bicycle design.
Bicycle chain drive : A transmission that transfers pedal power to a wheel through a chain and sprockets. Chain drive let bicycles use practical wheel sizes while preserving efficient pedaling.
1890s bicycle boom : A major late nineteenth-century surge in bicycle production and use, especially in Europe and North America. The safety bicycle and pneumatic tire helped make this the defining early boom.
Bicycle commuting : Regular travel between home and work or school by bicycle. Booms turn cycling from a novelty or pastime into a routine transport choice.
Safety bicycle : A bicycle with two similar-sized wheels, chain drive, and a low frame, designed for stable riding. This design made cycling accessible to far more people in the 1880s and 1890s.
Bicycle manufacturing : The industrial processes used to make bicycle frames, wheels, drivetrains, and other components. Factory production increased supply and lowered prices during periods of rapid adoption.
Bicycle boom of the 1970s : A surge in bicycle sales and recreational cycling in the United States during the 1970s. Fuel concerns, environmentalism, and exercise culture revived mass bicycle demand.
Women's emancipation : The expansion of women's legal, social, and personal autonomy. The late nineteenth-century bicycle gave many women greater independent mobility and became a symbol of freedom.
John Kemp Starley : An English inventor whose 1885 Rover is widely regarded as the first successful modern safety bicycle. His Rover brought the practical bicycle form that helped ignite the late-century boom.
Mass production : The manufacture of large quantities of standardized goods using specialized processes and machinery. Standardized parts and higher output helped bicycles become affordable to wider markets.
Show all 20