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The world's fastest bicycle is a recumbent bicycle but this type was banned from competition in 1934 by the Union Cycliste Internationale. This design, referred to as a step-through frame or as an open frame, allows the rider to mount and dismount in a dignified way while wearing a skirt or dress. The top tube connects the head tube to the seat tube at the top, and the down tube connects the head tube to the bottom bracket.

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Starley's 1885 Rover, manufactured in Coventry is usually described as the first recognizably modern bicycle. The dwarf ordinary addressed some of these faults by reducing the front wheel diameter and setting the seat further back. The French vélocipède, made of iron and wood, developed into the "penny-farthing" (historically known as an "ordinary bicycle", a retronym, since there was then no other kind). Several inventions followed using rear-wheel drive, the best known being the rod-driven velocipede by Scotsman Thomas McCall in 1869. Another French inventor named Douglas Grasso had a failed prototype of Pierre Lallement's bicycle several years earlier. It is regarded as the first bicycle and von Drais is seen as the "father of the bicycle", but it did not have pedals.

• Bicycles allowed people to travel for leisure into the country, since bicycles were three times as energy efficient as walking and three to four times as fast.
• Without a freewheel, coasting is impossible, so when the rear wheel is moving, the cranks are moving.
• Some, mainly utility, bicycles use hub gears with between 3 and 14 ratios, but most use the generally more efficient dérailleur system, by which the chain is moved between different cogs called chainrings and sprockets to select a ratio.
• The United Kingdom has a tax break scheme (IR 176) that allows employees to buy a new bicycle tax free to use for commuting.

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Bicycle lights, reflectors, and helmets are required by law in some geographic regions depending on the legal code. Toe-clips and toestraps and clipless pedals help keep the foot locked in the proper pedal position and enable cyclists to pull and push the pedals. Bicycles can also be fitted with a hitch to tow a trailer for carrying cargo, a child, or both. The chainguards protect clothes from oil on the chain while preventing clothing from being caught between the chain and crankset teeth.

Tools

Most of the bearings on a modern bike are sealed and grease-filled and require little or no attention; such bearings will usually last for 10,000 miles (16,000 km) or more. Some components are easy to handle using relatively simple tools, while other components may require specialist manufacturer-dependent tools. European cycle standards tend to describe minimum safety requirements, while ISO standards have historically harmonized parts geometry.note 1 Some CEN cycle standards were developed before ISO published their standards, leading to strong European influences in this area. Their mandate states that EN cycle standards shall harmonize with ISO standards. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) also has a specific Technical Committee, TC333, that defines European standards for cycles.

Types

Although, without pneumatic tires, the ride of the smaller-wheeled bicycle would be much rougher than that of the larger-wheeled variety. It featured a tubular steel frame on which were mounted wire-spoked wheels with solid rubber tires. In that same year, bicycle wheels with wire spokes were patented by Eugène Meyer of Paris. Its rider sat astride a wooden frame supported by two in-line wheels and pushed the vehicle along with his or her feet while steering the front wheel. The basic shape and configuration of a typical upright or "safety" bicycle, has changed little since the first chain-driven model was developed around 1885. Most bicycles have serial numbers that can be recorded to verify identity in case of theft.

Experiments done in Africa (Uganda and Tanzania) and Sri Lanka on hundreds of households have shown that a bicycle can increase the income of a poor family by as much as 35%. Some students who commute several miles drive a car from home to a campus parking lot, then ride a bicycle to class. There are towns in some countries where bicycle culture has been an integral part of the landscape for generations, even without much official support. In the Netherlands, all train stations offer free bicycle parking, or a more secure parking place for a small fee, with the larger stations also offering bicycle repair shops. The United Kingdom has a tax break scheme (IR 176) that allows employees to buy a new bicycle tax free to use for commuting. A number of cities around the world have implemented schemes known as bicycle sharing systems or community bicycle programs.

In a lower gear, every turn of the pedals leads to fewer rotations of the rear wheel. A very small number of bicycles use a shaft drive to transmit power, or special belts. ] More expensive bikes use carbon fibre due to its significantly lighter weight and profiling ability, allowing designers to make a bike both stiff and compliant by manipulating the lay-up. These are inherently more aerodynamic than upright versions, as the rider may lean back onto a support and operate pedals that are on about the same level as the seat.

In 1868, Rowley Turner, a sales agent of the Coventry Sewing Machine Company (which soon became the Coventry Machinists Company), brought a Michaux cycle to Coventry, England. The first mechanically propelled, two-wheeled vehicle may have been built by Kirkpatrick MacMillan, a Scottish blacksmith, in 1839, although the claim is often disputed. The word was first used in 1847 in a French publication to describe an unidentified two-wheeled vehicle, possibly a carriage. These have allowed for a proliferation of specialized designs cycling classes orlando for many types of cycling.

Bicycle suspensions are used primarily on mountain bicycles, but are also common on hybrid bicycles, as they can help deal with problematic vibration from poor surfaces. A recumbent bicycle has a reclined chair-like seat that some riders find more comfortable than a saddle, especially riders who suffer from certain types of seat, back, neck, shoulder, or wrist pain. Suspension seat posts and seat springs provide comfort by absorbing shock but can add to the overall weight of the bicycle. For racing bikes where the rider is bent over, weight is more evenly distributed between the handlebars and saddle, the hips are flexed, and a narrower and harder saddle is more efficient.

Another basic maintenance item is regular lubrication of the chain and pivot points for derailleurs and brake components. Bicycle tires usually have a marking on the sidewall indicating the pressure appropriate for that tire. The most basic maintenance item is keeping the tires correctly inflated; this can make a noticeable difference as to how the bike feels to ride. Bicycle helmets can reduce injury in the event of a collision or accident, and a suitable helmet is legally required of riders in many jurisdictions. A pair of wheels may be called a wheelset, especially in the context of ready-built "off the shelf", performance-oriented wheels.

Most bikes have two or three chainrings, and from 5 to 12 sprockets on the back, with the number of theoretical gears calculated by multiplying front by back. Bamboo, a natural composite material with high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness has been used for bicycles since 1894. Historically, materials used in bicycles have followed a similar pattern as in aircraft, the goal being high strength and low weight.

Among the earliest clubs was The Bicycle Touring Club, which has operated since 1878. This, in turn, required gearing—effected in a variety of ways—to efficiently use pedal power. His uncle, Josiah Turner, and business partner James Starley, used this as a basis for the 'Coventry Model' in what became Britain's first cycle factory.