Pediatrics

Keeping kids safe outside during summer play

Summer vacation for kids is well underway. Finding activities to keep the kids busy and destinations to visit can be on many parents' list. There is one place Mayo Clinic's Dr. Steven Maher hopes they don't have to visit—and ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Cycle power: Bikes emerge as a post-lockdown commuter option

Halfway through his 30-minute bike ride to work, police ordered Juan Pasamar to dismount, accusing him of breaking Spain's coronavirus lockdown rules by exercising in public. The officers were not buying his explanation he ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Care less with helmet

The significance of some objects is so deeply entrenched in our psyche that we rely on them even when they are not actually helpful. This is the case with a bike helmet. Since our childhood, we learn that we are more protected ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

The happiest mode of transportation? That would be cycling.

When it comes to a daily commute, what makes a person happier? That's the question a University of Minnesota researcher asked as she sought to better understand the connections between daily travel behavior and emotional ...

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Bicycle

A bicycle, bike, or cycle is a pedal-driven, human-powered vehicle with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist or a bicyclist.

Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now number about one billion worldwide, twice as many as automobiles. They are the principal means of transportation in many regions. They also provide a popular form of recreation, and have been adapted for such uses as children's toys, adult fitness, military and police applications, courier services, and competitive sports.

The basic shape and configuration of a typical bicycle has changed little since the first chain-driven model was developed around 1885. Many details have been improved, especially since the advent of modern materials and computer-aided design. These have allowed for a proliferation of specialized designs for particular types of cycling.

The invention of the bicycle has had an enormous impact on society, both in terms of culture and of advancing modern industrial usage. Several components that eventually played a key role in the development of the automobile were originally invented for the bicycle - e.g., ball bearings, pneumatic tires, chain-driven sprockets, spoke-tensioned wheels, etc.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA