Book Description

The safety bicycle, with front-wheel steering and pedal-driven rear wheel, has existed in some form since the experiments of Kirkpatrick Macmillan in 1839, but his ideas were almost forgotten when the front-wheel driven boneshakers and penny farthings reigned supreme. Then, in the 1870s, experimental safeties appeared, culminating in Henry Lawson's Bicyclette of 1879. Within ten years the modern bicycle had developed, to remain basically unchanged for over seventy years. Ian Jones looks into the intriguing history of this niche subject, accompanied by numerous images and photos.