It seems to me that pneumatic tires were the missing piece of the bicycle puzzle, and that required vulcanization to first be invented. The first bikes didn't h

It seems to me that pneumatic tires were the missing piece of the bicycle puzzle, and that required vulcanization to first be invented. The first bikes didn't have chains (rather they employed direct drive, ie pedals attached to the front wheel) so the author is pretty far off base in trying to draw that connection.