200 years on two wheels

Why the bicycle, and why now

The bicycle is often cited as the most efficient means of transport humankind has ever built. Compared by the energy a person spends to cover the same distance, a cyclist travels several times farther than a walker on far fewer calories. This efficiency, achieved with no engine or fuel, using nothing but muscle, gears and turning wheels, is the most fundamental reason the bicycle has endured from its invention 200 years ago to the present.

But the history of the bicycle can't be explained as mechanical progress alone. In late 19th-century Europe and America, the bicycle was a tool of liberation that let women shed their corsets and roam the streets under their own power; in the 20th century, it was how workers got to work and how postmen and newspaper sellers earned their living. In Korea, too, Eom Bok-dong's race victories under Japanese colonial rule became a symbol of national pride, and after the war, heavy-duty cargo bicycles weaving through alleys with sacks of rice on their racks filled the landscape of industrialization.

Today the bicycle stands at another turning point. Carbon fiber, hydraulic disc brakes and wireless electronic shifting have turned racing bikes into precision machines, while lithium-ion batteries and compact motors have brought people who had given up on cycling because of hills or distance back into the saddle. Cities are adding bike lanes and introducing public bike-share, trying to return car-dominated streets to a human pace.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”— Albert Einstein, letter to his son Eduard (1930)

How to enjoy this site

Bicycle Atlas was built to be both an encyclopedia you read and one you can touch. Each chapter combines in-depth explanation with tools you can operate yourself to get a feel for how things work. In the Anatomy chapter, for example, you can tap each part on the bike illustration to see its role and signs of trouble, and move a slider to watch the bike come apart component by component. The diagnostic tool in the Repair chapter starts from a symptom such as “it squeaks” and narrows down the cause with a few questions.

If you're buying your first bike, start with the ‘Find the right bike for you’ quiz in the Bike types chapter; if you already own one, try the saddle height calculator in the Assembly & fit chapter. Considering an e-bike for commuting? In the E-bikes chapter you can calculate range by battery capacity and your commuting costs.