For much of man’s history on earth, he had two choices for getting around, either on foot or on the back of an animal (such as horses, mules, and wooly mammoths). Bicycles were developed to add another transportation option that multiplied human efficiency by a factor of approximately five.

But the history of bicycles is very fuzzy. Sources often disagree as to the names of the inventors and the dates of their inventions. Leonardo DaVinci sketched a facsimile of the modern bicycle in 1490. It was way ahead of its time and, as far as we know, never left the drawing board.

Around 1790 a French craftsman named de Sivrac developed a “Celerifere” running machine, which had two in-line wheels connected by a beam. The rider straddled the beam and propelled the Celerifere by pushing his feet on the ground, scooter fashion.

n 1817 German Baron Karl von Drais added steering. Several versions appeared around France and England by the early 1800s. As a replacement for the horse, these “hobby horses” became a short-lived craze. The roads of the time were too rutted to allow for efficient wheeled transport.
Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan developed a rear-drive bike in 1839 using a treadle and rod for the rear drive mechanism. But, he lived in the Northern British Isles where people and ideas traveled slowly, so his invention didn’t spread. R.W. Thompson patented a pneumatic tube in 1845. Prior to this invention, bikes had metal wheels.

The French anointed Ernest Michaux “father of the bicycle,” as he and his brother Pierre added cranks and pedals. Their Velocipede started a bicycle boom. The larger front wheel made it faster but less stable. The war of 1812 brought an end to the French bicycle boom.

British engineers were next to pick up the design and improve upon it by adding ball bearings, pneumatic (Dunlop) tires, wire-spoked wheels, chain drive, variable gears, and cable controls. Over a twenty-year span, the British brought the bicycle to its present form, thanks mainly to James Starley of the Coventry Sewing Machine Company. In 1885 the Starley Rover safety bike was born, returning wheels to a reasonable size and improving the bike’s stability.
In the early days, women’s dress (corsets, pointed shoes, and voluminous skirts) limited their participation in this new sport. Newspapers of the day railed against the “sorcers” or bicycle speedsters.

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Hmmm? Interesting tandem and as far as I can tell...the wood it is made out of is Oak...So guess what...I feel like dancing with my man Morris Day from back in the day again...since the bike is made of Oak...I'm getting ready to do that Morris Day dance called THE OAK TREE!

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Category: transportation
Type: bicycles & motorcycles
Origin: America
Year: 1890 - 1900
Circa 1895 wooden bicycle handlebars, tapered with stem.

CONDITION: available on full record.

PRE-SALE ESTIMATE: available on full record.

PRICE REALIZED AT AUCTION: available on full record.

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I posted ,many months back about a wood framed bicycle. That was then people...I will not tell you that I am fan of Road Bikes and I certainly could never bring myself to buy one because let's face it...that just 'Ain't my type of hype BABY!' However, there is a company called Renovo Bikes (http://www.renovobikes.com/) that caught my attention with their current line up of Road Bikes.
They use not just wood on their frames yall....they use LUXURY WOODS! In 2003 as some of you know, I helped launch a Jewelry Company called 'Banneker', named after Benjamin Banneker the 1st African-American Scientist and Inventor. What the CEO envisioned doing was laying down Luxury Woods in the dials of wrist watches, rings and jewelry. People laughed at him and even people that have launched and manage large jewelry companies laughed and said it couldn't be done. (I challenge any of you to find ANY wrist watch with any kind of wood in the face between the early 1970s and 2004). It got done and now everyone is doing it!
Renovo, has done this thing in bicycle design and their designs are nice (cluttered but nice). I guess they have to be cluttered because the folks who ride these machines need all of those gadgets....I guess. Road Bike Companies other than Renovo........know this.....As Felt Racing before them, Renovo receives my 2nd 'BOW DOWN' Award......which, for other Road Bike manufacturers means......BOW DOWN WHEN RENOVO COMES TO YOUR TOWN!

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Designer Roland Kaufman is responsible for this bicycle (pictured below). When I 1st saw this it took me awhile to process what I was seeing. This is the 2nd bicycle I have seen with wood used in such an extensive way. How do I feel about it? Hmmm? DAAAAAAAANNNNGGGG! The use of wood here is certainly different and is to be commended and I rather enjoy just thinking about the possibilities with wood overlaid on a frame.

Now the other design I ran across was about 95% wood which to me just looked, well……….stupid. I have been imagining what wood would look like if designed on a bicycle, as overlay with different colored woods. Never one to just imagine where design is concerned, I put my thoughts into action and came up with a designn called ‘P Funk’ and laid down some ‘Purple Heart’ wood stripping throughout the frame and it is nice!

The pictured design could be so much funkier IF the designer would’ve used different colored would over lays on the frame. For instance, what would it look like to be overlaid with ‘Purple Heart’ wood or ‘Canary Yellow’ ‘Egyptian Tiger Wood’ ‘Green Poplar’ or even a beautiful red wood called ‘Padvk Red’? At the very top of this posting are various colored wood samples, any of which would look hot on this bicycle.

Only 1 small other change I would have made and that is regardless of the color of wood used on the overlay here, the spokes (not necessarily the whole rim) need to be the same color as the wood over lay. Come on yall, how nice would that look with let’s say a ‘Yellow Wood’ overlay on the frame and ‘Yellow Spokes’ that would pop with the rest of the rim being chrome coupled with chrome handle bars? In closing, nice going designer Roland Kaufman!

In the meantime....back at the ranch...all I could say when I saw this wood creation (pictured below) was "Dum,de-Dum,Dum.....Duuuuuummmmm" Just silly!

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