The bicycle is one of the most useful machines ever invented. It is simple, cheap and clean, and people all over the world use bicycles every day to travel to school, to work or just for fun. The bicycle we know today did not appear all at once, however. It was the result of many small ideas, added together over about 200 years.
The first bicycle was built in Germany in 1817 by Karl Drais. It had two wheels made of wood and no pedals. The rider had to push the ground with his feet to move forward. Drais called his machine a "running machine," and it became popular for a short time among rich young men, but it was tiring to use on long trips.
In the 1860s, a new version appeared in France. This bicycle had pedals on the front wheel, so the rider could now turn the wheel directly with his feet. People called it the "bone-shaker" because riding it over stone streets was extremely uncomfortable. Still, it was much faster than Drais's design.
The modern bicycle, with equal-sized wheels and a chain that turns the back wheel, was developed in Britain in the 1880s. It was far safer and easier to ride than earlier types. Within a few years, millions of people owned bicycles.