Name: History of the Bicycle | practice English with Spotlight
Uploaded: 2024-04-17T03:51:41.000Z
Duration: 14 min 15 s
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Suddenly, hundreds of people riding 2-wheeled bicycles fill the street.

After many minutes, the bicycles have all passed by.

' A critical mass is any large group of people riding bicycles together for one purpose.

In China, the idea of a critical mass started for safety.

Bicycle riders would stop at street crossings.

They would wait until more bicycle riders stopped too.

Soon, a large number of bicycle riders gathered.

Then they all crossed the street together.

It is difficult for one bicycle rider to cross a busy street alone.

But, it is easy for car drivers to see a large group of bicycle riders.

Today, there are critical mass bicycle rides all over the world.

But sometimes, they are just to show the importance of bicycles!

Bicycles are important for transportation around the world.

Today's Spotlight is on the history of the bicycle!

Instead, many people worked together over time.

Experts say that the first plans came from Leonardo da Vinci.

This famous inventor and artist wrote plans for a modern bicycle hundreds of years ago.

But inventors did not create the first working bicycle until the early 1800's.

But it did not have pedals to move the wheels.

The rider pushed the bicycle forward by pushing his feet against the ground.

People called these bicycles 'pushbikes'.

In the 1850's and 60's French inventors changed the design of the bicycle.

Riders used their feet on the pedals to push the bicycle forward.

They made this bicycle with a heavy steel frame.

And they made the wheels out of wood and iron.

People called this bicycle the 'boneshaker'.

On the stone streets of that time, the bicycle shook the rider very hard.

Over the next ten years, inventors changed the design of the bicycle even more.

They also added rubber tires on the wheels.

People called this bicycle 'the ordinary'.

But these kinds of bicycles were difficult to ride.

And it was difficult to change directions while riding.

In 1885, JK Starley invented the first modern bicycle.

It looked very similar to the bicycles people ride today.

Starley put similar sized wheels on the front and back of the bicycle.

He also added a thin metal chain that worked between the pedals and the wheels.

The chain let bicycle riders use the back wheel to change directions.

Starley's bicycle design was a large improvement from the old kind of bicycles.

But it was still difficult to ride a Starley bicycle.

But in the 1890's inventors made more improvements to the bicycle.

They developed good brakes to stop the bicycle.

It was not long before people all around the world used bicycles for sport and play.

People also started using bicycles as their main form of transport.

Bicycles helped people get from place to place easier.

People also say that making bicycles helped scientists and inventors make better machines.

In fact, famous inventors like Henry Ford and the Wright Brothers used bicycle technology

Bicycles also had large effects on societies around the world.

For example, the bicycle changed life for women in many ways.

Before bicycles were invented, in Western countries women usually wore large, close-fitting

But when women started riding bicycles, they started wearing different clothes.

They wore trousers like men usually wear.

They also stopped wearing such close-fitting shirts or tops.

Bicycles also made it possible for women to get around more.

Some experts say that bicycles made women feel more independent.

They made more women desire and demand freedom and respect.

Bicycles also changed the lives of people in cities.

Then they could ride bicycles into the city to work.

Bicycles also made it easier for men and women to meet and marry.

It expanded families because men and women could meet people who lived outside their

Many things have changed since the first bicycle.

More people use cars, buses and trucks for transport now.

But inventors have made great improvements to the bicycle.

Bicycles continue to be a popular form of transportation in many parts of the world.

In fact, in many places, bicycles are still the main form of transportation.

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History of the Bicycle | practice English with Spotlight

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