Hobby Horses

The first machine we would recognise as a two-wheeler had no pedals at all. The rider sat astride a wooden beam between two wheels in line and pushed along the ground with both feet. This chapter covers its inventor, the machine, the short-lived craze it started and the reasons it faded. As promised in The History of the Bicycle 1, each claim is flagged for checking.

Karl von Drais

Karl von Drais was a German official and inventor from Baden. In 1817 he is recorded as riding a "running machine" (Laufmaschine) in Mannheim, and in 1818 he received a patent for it (check the dates and the patent's exact status). A famous early ride is said to have covered several miles in under an hour (check the distance and time). One background cause often suggested is the "year without a summer" of 1816, after which many horses died or were underfed, which made a horseless vehicle attractive (check how strong the evidence for this link is).

The Machine

• Frame. A wooden frame, with two wheels of roughly equal size set in line (check the wheel size).
• Steering. The front wheel pivoted, and the rider steered with a handle. This was the key idea: balance could be kept by steering into a lean.
• Drive. None. The rider pushed against the ground with the feet, as in a long, gliding stride.
• Brake. At most a simple lever acting on the rear wheel (check), so slopes were descended with the feet down.

The Craze

The machine spread quickly to France and Britain, where it was sold under several names: dandy horse, hobby horse, velocipede (check each name and its use). In Britain, a London coachmaker, Denis Johnson, made and sold an improved version from 1818, with a lowered frame, and the machines were popular with young men of fashion, hence "dandy horse" (check the details). Cartoons of the time mocked riders, and the machines were used in London parks and on smooth roads (check).

Why It Faded

• Roads. Roads of the time were rutted, muddy or stony, and the hobby horse was most useful on a smooth surface. Riders began using the pavements, which led to complaints and local bans (check).
• Effort. Pushing a heavy wooden machine along the ground was tiring, and the machine's advantage over walking was small on anything but a smooth flat.
• Novelty. It was a fashion, and fashions pass. By the early 1820s the craze had largely died away (check).
• Mockery and cost. The machines were expensive for most people, and the satire did not help.

The idea survived with a few enthusiasts, and it returned in a new form in the 1860s (Chapter 3). A modern echo is the balance bike for small children, which is a hobby horse by another name.

Exercises