Why weren't bikes invented earlier?

[Plotinus]

Yes, and would you want to ride that?

 

[Sharwood]

Yes, and would you want to ride that?

HELL YES! Didn't you see the episode of The Amazing Race with wooden bikes? Fun, fun, fun! Although not as much fun as watching people hurt themselves losing control of them, and likely not too gentle with the old scrotum. But hell, I've had worse things happen down there. Couldn't be much worse than riding an angry horse.

 

[frekk]

Keep in mind that in addition to having no rubber, the Romans may have had alot of roads but they weren't asphalt roads. They were stone cobbled. That's unpleasant enough on a regular bike, can't imagine on one with wooden wheels.

 

[aluka]

Big horse breeders were keeping them down.

 

[aronnax]

I dont think bicycles can move faster than horses.

 

[Agent327]

Bicycles are stationary, so it depends on the cyclist.

How about: Why wasn't the wheel invented earlier??

 

[Bugfatty300]

Seems to me bikes could have been invented a long time before they were, pretty much all of the requisite tech was there for a long time before...

Well think about it. There wasn't a necessity for them. Early bikes where invented simply as play things for the rich and kooky inventors. What would have been it's advantage over a horse and cart? Practical ones that could be generally used where not feasible until modern inventions such as alloys, pneumatic tires and gear systems.

With no pneumatic tires, alloys, gear system, handling one away from paved roads on rough terrain would have been nightmare and would have been thrown away. Would you seriously push a heavy primitive bike up hills and terrain for miles and miles just to ride them down the other side while sacfricing other more important things you could be carrying?

 

[dido]

The Romans are one of the few people that could actually have pulled this off, having an excellent road system.

I'd say the primary reason was simply that inventions are usually either accidental, or out of necessity. It's only in the modern entrepreneurial era that people have sought to invent things purely for profit or pleasure. What area does the bicycle cover that wasn't already served by horses, asses, etc? None, except areas that didn't really exist until around about the time it was invented. Sure, the bicycle actually serves some of those areas better, but people couldn't know that until it was invented.

Roman roads are remotely close to what we call "good roads" in the 20th/21st century

 

[Naskra]

Wouldn't the unicycle have to be invented first?

 

[bob bobato]

Seems to me bikes could have been invented a long time before they were, pretty much all of the requisite tech was there for a long time before...

There's probably hundreds of simple machines that haven't been invented yet (and might never be), even though we have the technology.

 

[AndrewG]

I can just see it, legions of roman soldiers riding by on bicycles..... one question would they be singe bikes or multi-seaters?

Well, Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court had King Arthur's knights on single-seaters...

 

[frekk]

Roman roads are remotely close to what we call "good roads" in the 20th/21st century

No they weren't ... they were cobbled (there was a sort of pavement, but it went under the cobblestones to fix them in place - wasn't durable enough to resist traffic and ruts from wagon wheels).

 

[Elta]

I dont think bicycles can move faster than horses.

IIRC the world record for a man on a horse, a dog and a bike rider are all 45 mph at top speed.


In any cace as far as war goes; depending on the terrain it could be cheaper to attach some serfs/slaves to a bike/cart and have them pull stuff since they eat so much less than a horse.

I can't see bikes taking part in actual war since it is so difficult to fire anything from on top of one while moving. Though you could have some lightly armoured (since it is hard to ride with armour on) dragoon units.

Ride in on bikes/ dismount and use crossbows. That could work

 

[Infantry#14]

b/c people were lazy. When you ride a bike, you do the work, but when you ride the horse, it does the work.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

. . . I am willing to bet the average person of 150 years ago did a lot more physical labor on a daily basis than almost anyone in today's society.

 

[Patroklos]

I'd imagine it was the chain gearing and being able to do it small enough and light enough.

 

[philippe]

if I recall correctly bicycles have had their use in the first and second world war as means of transportation

 

[Patroklos]

Germany had whole bike battalions in WWI. In WWII they were used for messangers. By then the motercycle was far more developed and played a dignificant role in HQ and recon units though.

 

[Sharwood]

The Japanese used bicycles extensively for intracity city transport during WWII. Only officers and people on legitimate military business got to use cars or motorcycles, everyone else was limited to bicycles or walking.

 

[IIDX]

To the old world, it wasn't practical. In paper, yeah it sounded wonderful, but oh come on.. Knights clad in armor, riding BIKES. Not exactly what I call practical.