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The bicycle was, arguably, a bit too late. Imagine how cities would be constructed today if bicycles (with modern functionality and affordability) had predated
by forapurpose 8y ago
The bicycle was, arguably, a bit too late. Imagine how cities would be constructed today if bicycles (with modern functionality and affordability) had predated cars by 50 years.
Imagine people trading in their horses for bicycles, for much easier care, less pollution, much smaller and flexible (it seems to me) alternatives. Imagine the variety of bikes people would come up with, lacking alternatives: Personal transport, of course, but also cargo, long-haul, rough terrain, tandem/triple/etc when more power is needed, rickshaws, etc.; with bikes already being the established 'first mover', would we use cars for as many purposes as we do today? Imagine how cities would be constructed, providing for bikes first, with the car fitting in later - from roads to locations of retail and transit.
For some things you still may have needed horses, such as pulling heavy loads. Also, I wonder if the terrain and roads would have suited bicycles (cobblestones and muddy roads probably aren't so great to ride on) and, if not, if people would have invested in the infrastructure; beware the modern myopic perspective about cities - back then almost everyone lived in rural areas. Finally, in some less economically developed parts of the world bicycles did become immensely popular before cars, IIRC; I wonder how these issues played out there.
- Xylakant 8y ago> Imagine the variety of bikes people would come up with, lacking alternatives: Personal transport, of course, but also cargo, long-haul, rough terrain, tandem/triple/etc when more power is needed, rickshaws, etc.; with bikes already being the established 'first mover', This did happen: Bicycles used to be the primary mode of transport for many many people even in Europe. It certainly was in China and other parts of Asia. Long John Style Cargo bikes - the type that Bullit for example builds - were conceived in the early 1920ies. Butchers/Barkes Bicycles were common until the 1950ies in Europe. Cars were a luxury back then, common people used bicycles, walked or used public transport. I think that electric assistance is what will drive a renaissance of cycling as a mode of transport if infrastructure can be provided that makes cycling in cities safe and enjoyable. It allows sufficiently high speeds to achieve reasonable transport times even on medium distances for most people.
- mikestew 8y agoImagine people trading in their horses for bicycles, for much easier care, less pollution, much smaller and flexible (it seems to me) alternatives. You've just copy-and-pasted Columbia's ad text from the late 1800s. The problem was not that bicycles were too late, but that bicycles were out of reach for the common working man for quite a while. Multi-speed, shaft-drive bicycles with pneumatic tires were available in the 1890s. They were also priced like Teslas. Source: have been a member of the U. S. counterpart to the Veterans Bicycle Club (where this article came from) since I was a kid.
- bluntfang 8y ago>The problem was not that bicycles were too late, but that bicycles were out of reach for the common working man for quite a while. What's the difference?
- mikestew 8y agoThere were tons of bicycle manufacturers, so the bicycle wasn't "late", there were plenty of them. The difference is that they were luxury items. "The problem with the airplane was that it was late..." No, we've had airplanes since 1903. The problem is that I can't afford, even as an upper middle class software engineer, to keep one in the air.
- forapurpose 8y agoThanks. > have been a member of the U. S. counterpart to the Veterans Bicycle Club What is the club? An historical society? Whence the name?
- mikestew 8y agoThe Wheelmen: http://www.thewheelmen.org http://www.thewheelmen.org (Not to be confused with the League of American Wheelmen, the old name of what is now the League of American Bicyclists.)