Ve-loc′i-pede.
A species of carriage impelled by the rider.
Blanchard and Magurier's velocipede was described in the “
Journal de Paris,” 1799.
Known as the accelerator, 1819.
At the beginning of the century it was called a “dandy horse” ; this was operated by the thrust of the feet on the ground.
That of the
Baron de Drais, invented at
Mannheim, 1817, had but two wheels, and was moved by the thrust of the feet on the ground.
Subsequently those driven by a crank movement connected with the wheels and operated by the hands through the medium of cranks or wheels were introduced.
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Steam-monocycle. |
The bicycle, patented in
England by
Johnson, was said to have been invented in
Baden.
Known in
England as a
hobby.
Subsequently, the bicycle, propelled by treadles operating cranks on the axles of the front wheel, and which created such a furore some six or eight years since, was introduced from
France.
Propulsion by treadles was applied to a three-wheeled velocipede by
McKenzie, as early as 1864; while the
French bicycle of
Lallemant was patented in this country in 1866.
Numerous modifications and improvements followed, forming the subjects of patents, a list of some of which is appended.
The speed attained by the swifter kinds of velocipedes averages from 12 to 13 miles an hour; 50 miles in 5 hours may be attained without the rider alighting from his vehicle; 123 miles within 24 hours has been accomplished.
On one occasion, a party of nine, mounted on velocipedes, leaving
Rouen early in the morning, arrived at
Paris in time for dinner; the distance is 85 miles, and the rate of travel, exclusive of stoppages, was between 10 and 11 miles an hour.
Grades exceeding 1 in 25 are said to be impracticable to the velocipede, and the rider in this case must dismount and lead his factitious steed, which, however, displays great docility on such occasions.
Fig 6926, from
Stewart's “Anecdotes of the steam-engine,” published in 1829, illustrates a sort of steam-monocycle; the mode of propulsion is not very obvious.
Fig. 6927 is the bicycle of the
Baron de Drais, as improved in
England by
Louis Gompertz, shown in the Repertory of Arts in 1821.
It is propelled by a segment rack gearing in a pinion on the driving-wheel and operated by a handle in front of the rider's seat or by the feet alternately touching the ground.
McKenzie's “cantering propeller” (
Fig. 6928), patent, 1864, embraces “a cranked axle, arms and foot rest, so arranged that power applied by the feet of the driver shall give motion to the vehicle.”
This, of course, had two front wheels, but the mode of propulsion is the same as in
Lallemant's and other more recent bicycles.
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Velocipede. |
Fig. 6929 is also driven by the feet.
The rear axle is in two parts, the inner ends of each formed into toothed segments which engage a small gear in a box, to which they and the reach are pivoted.
The end of the reach is also a toothed segment engaging with the small gear.
The inclination of the rider's body when turning a curve partly rotates the gear, elevating one and depressing the other axle, thus inclining the wheels toward the center of the curve and facilitating the turning.
In
Fig. 6930, the drivingwheel is operated by handcranks.
To the stirrups for the rider's feet are attached cords leading to the two rear wheels, by which the machine is steered.
Pickering's (
Fig. 6931) is a bicycle.
The tiller is sufficiently elevated to permit a perfectly upright position in riding.
The stirrups or crank-pedals are three-sided, and turn on the crank-pins, so that the pressure of the foot always brings one of the three sides into proper position, and are so shaped as to be operated by the fore part of the foot, bringing the ankle-joint into play and relieving the knee.
[
2698]
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Velocipede. |
In
Fig. 6932, the small rear wheel is only used as a point of support for the reach and for a friction-wheel.
The drivingwheel, which is also the steering-wheel, is worked, not by direct connection of the feet with the treadles, but by the hands and feet, both through the medium of connecting-rods between the cranks and a walking beam.
The reach is so hinged that the wheel may be brought directly under the seat for attaining great speeds on level ground, or thrown forward when descending a slope.
A pivotal arrangement permits of guiding the wheels to the right or left.
In
Fig. 6933, the rear seat may be used either as a sidesaddle for ladies or as an ordinary seat for gentlemen, both riders assisting in the propulsion.
The monocycle (Fig.
6934) is propelled by a hand-wheel, from which belts or ropes pass around pulleys on the axis of the main wheel, and thence around the axis of the small wheel, seen beneath the rider, which acts by friction.
The small pulleys, attached to arms emanating from the axis of the main wheel, serve as guides to keep the driving-mechanism in place.
The steering is effected either by inclining the body to one side or by touching a foot to the ground.
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Bicycle. |
Fig. 6935 represents an ice-velocipede It has a spiked driving-wheel in front, and two runners attached to the bottom of the reach behind.
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Bicycle. |
Fig. 6936 illustrates a water-velocipede.
The main wheel, which the driver bestrides, passing through a casing below, is the means of propulsion.
The rudder is operated by two cords passing from the steering-bar beneath pulleys on each side to the rudder-head.
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Monocycle. |
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Ice-velocipede. |
Patents on Velocipedes from 1819
to 1868
| No. | Name. | Date. |
| — | W. K. Clarkson | June 26, 1819. |
| — | G. Parker | November 21, 1825. |
| 19,092. | L. Kelner | January 12, 1858. |
| 30,192. | S. W. Barr | October 2, 1860. |
| 35,583. | H. Boyd | June 17, 1862. |
| 36,160. | A. Longett | August 12, 1862. |
| 41,310. | P. W. Mackenzie | January 19, 1864. |
| 44,256. | J. Goodman | September 13, 1864. |
| 46,705. | H. A. Reynolds | March 7, 1865. |
| 47,220. | W. Quinn | April 11, 1865. |
| 53,209. | J. G. Wilkinson | March 13, 1866. |
| 54,207. | H. A. Reynolds | April 24, 1866. |
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Water-velocipede. |
[
2699]
| No. | Name. | Date. |
| 59,915. | P. Lallemant | November 20, 1866. |
| 64,416. | F. G. Hoeppner | May 7, 1867. |
| 71,561. | C. A. Way | November 26, 1867. |
| 71,562. | C. A. Way | November 26, 1867. |
| 73,029. | M. Newman | January 7, 1868. |
| 74,058. | L. Deroyier | February 4, 1868. |
| 75,331. | W. G. Crossley | March 17, 1868. |
| 77,478. | O. F. Gleason | May 5, 1868. |
| 79,533. | B. P. Crandall | July 7, 1868. |
| 79,654. | Hanlon Brothers | July 7, 1868. |
| 80,425. | H. A. Reynolds | July 28, 1868. |
| 81,603. | A. Christian | September 1, 1868. |
| 82,319. | D. Hunt, Jr. | September 22, 1868. |
| 83,035. | C. K. Bradford | October 13, 1868. |
| 83,695. | C. N. Cutter | November 3, 1868. |
| 84,163. | E. H. W. Blake | November 17, 1868. |
| 85,337. | S. M. Skidmore | December 29, 1868. |
| 85,501. | S. A. Wood | December 29, 1868. |
