history - bicycles electric bikes |
| Welcome history notes bicycles bikes electric vehicle transportation. |
| home page bike smart bike facts quadricycle |
EVs appeared shortly after 1830 when Joseph Henry invented the first dc-powered motor. Thomas Davenport is credited with
building the first practical EV In 1834. In 1847 Moses Farmer built a two-passenger electric car and in 1851 Charles Page invented a 20-mph electric car.
 Gaston Plante paved the way for early electrics when he built a "rechargable" battery in 1859. In 1899 EVs captured world attention when Camille Jenatzy's "Jamais Contente" set the first land speed record of 66 mph in a streamlined vehicle powered by two 12 volt motors. The first distance record was set in 1900 when the BGS Company's electric car was driven 180 miles on a single charge. Early in 1897, Morris and Salom formed the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company, which ran twelve electric cabs on the streets of New York City. In 1899, ninety percent of the cabs in New York City were electric. By 1900, the Electric Vehicle Company had put hundreds of its electric Hansom cabs, modeled after the design of its horse-drawn predecessors, on the streets of the metropolis. The Hansoms eliminated the need for a differential by providing a separate motor and axle for each rear wheel. For three years, Canadian Motors Limited produced a small two-seater electric called the "Motette," beginning in 1900. The same company also manufactured an electric bus called the "Tallyho." Henry and Clem Studebaker had begun their wagon manufacturing business in 1852, and supplied wagons to the Union Army during the Civil War. In 1902, the company decided to enter the electric car market, producing a light, conservative runabout. But after manufacturing electrics for six or seven years, they switched to internal combustion. By 1912 there were 34,000 electric cars registered in the U.S. and almost 50 companies producing
electric vehicles from 1895 to 1920. Popular models of the time were the Baker and Detroit Electric. Women liked the electric cars because they didn't need to be cranked and doctors preferred them
for their reliability. Electric vehicles had many advantages over their competitors in the early 1900s. They did not have the vibration, smell, and noise associated with gasoline cars. Changing
gears on gasoline cars was the most difficult part of driving, while electric vehicles did not require gear changes. While steam-powered cars also had no gear shifting, they suffered from long
start-up times of up to 45 minutes on cold mornings. Although the early gasoline-powered cars were noisy and often broke down, their range was better than that of electric cars. The demise of
the electric cars came in 1912 when Charles Kettering invented the electric starter. The Model T revolutionized mass production and gasoline was plentiful. The Golden Age of the gasoline-powered
car had begun. |
| Hub Motors are not new. Around the turn of the century 1902 Ferdinand Porsche at age 27 working for Lohner developed hub motors which initially ran on lead acid batteries and soon after had a petrol generator to charge the batteries: the first Hybrid vehicles. The same Mr. Porsche who founded the famous car company. Apparently there were a lot of companies around this time or slightly later who were building electric motor vehicle transportation, it seems that before the internal combustion engine took off there was for some time the possibility that electric vehicles would be the way to go. How different history would be if the electric vehicle had succeeded. Below is a collage of Porsche designed vehicles from this era early 1900's, you will see the hub motors in the vehicle wheels. |
 |
| Several Italians recorded designs for wind driven vehicles. The first was Guido da Vigevano in 1335. It was a
windmill type drive to gears and thus to wheels. Vaturio designed a similar vehicle which was also never built. Later Leonardo da Vinci designed a clockwork driven tricycle with tiller steering
and a differential mechanism between the rear wheels. A Catholic priest named Father Ferdinand Verbiest has been said to have built
a steam powered vehicle for the Chinese Emporer Chien Lung in about 1678.
February, 1893 and ready for road trials by September, 1893 the car built by Charles and Frank Duryea, brothers, was the first gasoline powered car in America. The first run on public roads was made on September 21, 1893 in Springfield, MA. They had purchased a used horse drawn buggy for $70 and installed a 4 HP, single cylinder gasoline engine. The car (buggy) had a friction transmission, spray carburetor and low tension ignition. It must not have run very well because Frank didn't drive it again until November 10 when it was reported by the Springfield Morning Union newspaper. This car was put into storage in 1894 and stayed there until 1920 when it was rescued by Inglis M. Uppercu and presented to the United States National Museum. Ransom Olds produced a small number of electric cars around the turn
of the century. Little is Who invented the bicycle? No one really knows. It seems the original bicycle, of course we are speaking of the non electric
variety, dates back into the late 1700s and was known as velocipedes |
bi·cy·cle n. A vehicle consisting of a light frame mounted on two wire-spooked wheels one behind the other and having a seat, handlebars for
steering, brakes, and two pedals or a small motor by which it is driven. |
| http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_69_1.html |
bicycle, light, two-wheeled vehicle driven by pedals. The name velocipede is often given to early forms of the bicycle and to its
predecessor, the dandy horse, a two-wheeled vehicle moved by the thrust of the rider's feet upon the ground. Probably the first practical dandy horse was the draisine, originated c.1816 by Baron
Karl Drais von Sauerbronn, chief forester of the duchy of Baden, to facilitate his inspection tours. Introduced into England in 1818, it was slowly improved, and c.1839 Kirkpatrick MacMillan, a
Scottish blacksmith, developed a machine propelled by foot treadles and incorporating cranks, driving rods, and handlebars. The French inventor Ernest Michaux introduced in 1855 a heavy
crank-driven bicycle. This was perfected c.1865 by Pierre Lallement, whose velocipede, known as a boneshaker,ran on ironclad wooden rims, the front wheel larger than the rear. Major improvements followed rapidly, including a light, hollow steel frame, ball bearings, tangential metal spokes, and solid rubber tires. By the 1880s the front wheel attained a diameter up to 64 in. (163 cm). Although the larger the wheel, the greater the potential speed, size was limited by the length of the rider's legs, and speed by their strength. The safer tricycle, a three-wheeled vehicle similar to the bicycle, also enjoyed a vogue in the 1880s, especially among women and short men. The safety bicycle, with wheels of approximately equal diameter and a sprocket-chain drive connecting the pedals with the rear wheels, was first manufactured at Coventry, England, c.1885 by the English machinist James Starley; following the invention of the pneumatic tire in 1888 by the Scot John Dunlop, the safety bicycle superseded the high-wheel form. Subsequent modifications include the freewheel (a rear wheel that turns freely when the pedals are stopped), the coaster brake, the hand brake, variable drive gear, and adjustable handlebars. In the 1880s cycling became a fad of major proportions in the United States and Europe. Bicycle clubs were formed; both sexes participated in rides into the country, often on tandem bicycles. The League of American Wheelmen, organized in 1880, was a leader in the agitation for good roads. Although cycling declined in the United States with the introduction of automobiles, it has recently grown in popularity, notably since the introduction in the 1970s of wide-tired, off-road mountain bikes.In many parts of the world the bicycle remains a more important means of transportation than the automobile. |
gardens faster: two same-size in-line wheels, the front one steerable, mounted in a frame which you straddled. The device was propelled by pushing your feet against the ground, thus rolling
yourself and the device forward in a sort of gliding walk. The machine became known as the Draisienne or hobby horse. It was made entirely of wood.
This enjoyed a short lived popularity as a fad, not being practical for transportation in any other place than a well maintained pathway such as in a park or garden. 
known about them and none survive. The picture ar left is the only known picture of one of these rare cars. It was taken at was taken at Belle Island Park, Michigan. In 1899 and 1900, electrics
outsold all other type of cars and the most popular electric was the Columbia built by Colonel Albert Augustus Pope, owner of American Bicycle Company. 
The dwarf ordinary which had a
smaller front wheel, a seat further back and gears came into the picture. Further down the road James Starley's nephew JH Lawson brought about even more change. They addressed the difficulty of
front wheel steering and propulsion with a real advancement, putting the drive wheels in back. So in 1885 the drive wheels moved to the back, a chain was employed to turn the back wheels and the
Rover was born. This modernized version of todays bicycle were called Safeties or Safety Bicycles. Of course there was a bit more to it all than I've portrayed, but hey, this is just a quick
history of the bicycle for you to peruse.
came John Dunlop who gave us the
pneumatic tire. Many changes occured to our bicycles during this time which really brought them into something that we would recognize today, with brakes, handrails and hand operated brakes.
Racing and bicycling clubs became popular and the bicycle was not the main mode of transportation for many, many people.