I am fascinated by the evolution of the bicycle, intrigued that it took as long as it did to arrive on the scene, and then the way ideas and materials changed every part of it, until we got what we have today. My friend Phil contends that even today’s bicycle is still this Victorian invention warmed over a few times, but ultimately hampered in its progress by the UCI who rushed to define exactly what a bike could be, for competition purposes, the big bike companies then producing sanctioned race bikes for ordinary people, so that the entire iterative path of cycling technology has very much been a case of a strange, Swiss tail, wagging a global dog.
Anyway, here’s a video that shows the progression of early “bicycle” technology from running-horse, through high-wheelers and eventually to the safety bicycle. The commentary is in Dutch, so good luck with that. Nonetheless, the video snippets are illuminating.
I think the video forgot the add the final clip of a 21st century hipster riding a “Tall Bike” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_bike
I would love for someone to explain the appeal of the tall bike. I have yet to figure it out.