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The very first machine that looked a bit like a bike was the walking machine. About two hundred years ago, someone decided they could get along faster with wheels and a seat they could sit on if they were going down hills. There were no pedals though - you had to walk or run to get the wheels moving, or go up a hill. It was more like a scooter than a bike, and most people thought it was pretty silly. |
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One of the first real bikes (invented about 130 years ago) was the penny farthing. It was called that because the front wheel was huge (like a penny coin) and the back wheel was tiny (like a farthing coin). The front wheel was so big because there were no gears, and if the wheels were the same size you had to pedal like mad to make the thing go! |
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It was very difficult to balance on a penny farthing and what do you think happened when you wanted to stop? (This girl is sitting on a penny farthing bike in a bicycle museum, so she doesn't need to worry!) There were a lot of accidents with penny farthings - can you think why? |
