Was the bicycle invented for cheap riding?

Whenever there is an increase in inflation and petroleum products in Pakistan, social media platforms are buzzing with bicycles and people jokingly share photos of the ride and say that now they will have to ride bicycles instead of cars.

Few people probably know for what purpose the bicycle was actually invented. Independent Urdu has tried to look back on the history from the invention of the bicycle till now.

It was in 1815 that a volcano erupted in Mount Tambora, Indonesia, which affected the whole world. Volcanic eruptions caused global temperatures to drop, causing crops to fail to grow and draft horses to die of starvation.

During this period, a German man, Carl von Dries, who was very fond of horses, started thinking of traveling from one place to another, so he made two wheels out of wood and fitted a frame between them. It weighed about 23 kg.

The inventor fitted a saddle between the two tires and the rider sat on the same saddle and turned the wheels on his hands and the ‘cycle’ went on and thus the world’s first bicycle was invented.

However, there is a dispute about the invention of the bicycle as to which year it was invented by whom. According to a study by Live Science magazine, the bicycle was invented by Italian engineer Giovanni Fontana in the 14th century.

The bicycle that the Italian engineer invented consisted of four wheels and according to historians, it was the world’s first human-powered bicycle, but it was clear that the bicycle of that era was completely different from the bicycle of today. .

According to the magazine iBike, the wooden bicycle that Dres made only lasted for a few years and was not popular with the public because it was made of wood, which caused it to vibrate too much while moving, and it also It was also a danger to pedestrians, so it was banned after a few years.

Invention of the ‘Bone Shaker’

After the invention of the German Dries, the era of bicycle invention that resembles the modern era began in 1860 when the ‘Bone Shaker’ bicycle was invented. This bicycle was a modern day style of children’s saddle-style bicycle, but there is disagreement about its inventor. Some historians believe that it was invented by Karl Kächs of Germany while some historians claim that it was invented by Pierre Lallement of France.

However, this bicycle also did not last long as it was very difficult to ride on the bad road and that is why it was given the name ‘Bone Shaker’ because it shook a lot while riding on the bad road.

Use of bicycle name

Now let’s come to the period when the name bicycle was first used. According to the website Bicycling, in 1869, the first modern bicycle-style bicycle was invented and became very popular among people.

According to a study by the National Museum of American History, the bicycle invented during this period had two tires of the same size, along with a gear and chain fitted between the two wheels, similar to what we see in modern bicycles. was further modernized by John Boyd Dunlop in 1890 with the addition of rubber tires. Remember that Dunlop is still present in the market for good quality car tires.

According to the research, this bicycle became so popular among the people that the production of bicycles increased from two lakh in 1889 to one million in 1899. According to research during this period, traveling by horse-drawn carts and horses became difficult as the population increased and driving in crowded places became inevitable. Hence the bicycle became more popular among the masses and was also used as a cheap ride.

During this period, the cycle was so popular that a union was formed in the United States called the League of American Wellmen, which began with 1900 members and exceeded one hundred and fifty. During this time, Charles Dory, Alexander Winton, Colonel Albert, Wellbore and Orwell Wright were prominent among the bicycle manufacturers.

Bicycle use began to decline in the late 19th century

According to research written on the history of the bicycle by the National Museum of American History, from 1900 to 1905, the number of bicycle manufacturing companies decreased from 312 to 101, and one of the reasons for this decrease, in addition to the increase in automobiles, was that the bicycle used at that time The route was taken by a railway track which was mainly built for bicycles.

According to research, cycling was limited to children for almost half a century, but after 1960s, the trend of cycling again increased. There was a resurgence in the use of bicycles because people believe that bicycles are the best ride for the environment because they do not pollute and avoid rush hour.

How was the bicycle used in World War I and II?

Many people may be familiar with the use of tanks, armored vehicles, warships and other war equipment in wars, but the bicycle was also used in the major wars fought in the world, World War I and World War II, and both wars. Regular cycle infantry was deployed.

According to BiCycling.com, mobility was very important in the war front in the beginning and that is why the army in this world war regularly deployed bicycle infantry on which they could move easily. Similarly, one of the reasons for the use of the bicycle was that oiling and maintaining the vehicles while managing the fodder for the horses was difficult during the war, so the bicycle was a convenient vehicle for transportation during the war. could have been used.

The use of folding French bicycles was very common during the war, and soldiers would use the bicycle whenever they saw a smooth road and carry the bicycle on their shoulders to travel over rough roads. According to an organization called The World Wars, bicycles were used in World Wars I and II, sometimes called the ‘Cyclist Corps’, but the use of bicycles in wars began in the 18th century, when soldiers traveled and carried supplies. Also used to supply.

World War I and Boyhood

According to a study by the City University of New York, it was the use of bicycles by soldiers in World War I that led to the bicycle being depicted as a ride mostly for men, and when advertisements came out about it. Boys were shown in it.

Now in the modern world the use of bicycle is very common in Europe and other countries. According to the data of iBike, about one billion people in the world today use bicycles for riding or exercise, and now cycling has also been introduced as a sport in the world.

Cycle and Sohrab cycle boom in Pakistan

The bicycle was invented in the world about a century ago, but after the partition of India, there was no bicycle manufacturing factory in Pakistan and no one to manufacture its spare parts. Most of the people who were interested in buying bicycles used to export them from foreign countries and sell them to people and their dealers were mostly located in Neela Gambat, the big market of Lahore.

Later, about 22 people from the same market got together and founded a cooperative society and decided to build a bicycle manufacturing factory in the same Gambat market. According to the information available on the website of Sohrab Company, in the beginning, this society used to produce about ten percent of bicycle spare parts locally, while the remaining 90 percent was imported.

Later the members of this society increased from 22 to 228 while the land purchased for the factory expanded from three kanals to 25 acres where initially only five cycles were produced daily but now two thousand cycles are produced on a daily basis. are manufactured and the number of workers in the factory is more than 2300.