Pedals and Boneshakers

The History of the Bicycle

Course 1 · Chapter 3 · Pedals and Boneshakers

The next big step was to fit cranks and pedals so the rider's feet could leave the ground. Who did this first is one of the most argued questions in cycling history, and this chapter is a good test of the record-versus-legend method from The History of the Bicycle 1. It covers the pedal claims, the 1860s craze in France and Britain, and the harsh machine that earned the name "boneshaker". Names and dates are flagged for checking.

Who Added the Pedals?

Several claims compete (check all of them):

Kirkpatrick Macmillan

A blacksmith from Dumfriesshire, said to have built a rear-driven pedal machine in the 1830s. The evidence is debated (check).

Pierre Michaux

A Paris carriage maker, whose workshop sold pedal-driven machines in the early 1860s (check the date and his own role).

Pierre Lallement

A French mechanic who later emigrated to the United States, and took out a US patent for a pedal velocipede in 1866 (check).

Others

Various claims for earlier or independent pedal machines in several countries (check).

The Scottish Story

The Macmillan story is told widely in Scotland. In it, a blacksmith at Keir in Dumfriesshire made a machine with swinging pedal rods driving the rear wheel, and rode it long distances, once reportedly causing an accident in Glasgow for which he was fined (check all of these details). The difficulty is that the main written accounts date from decades after the 1830s, and no surviving machine is certainly his (check; a replica and a later copy exist). It is therefore best described as an attributed claim, and not as settled fact.

Applying the method The Michaux claim is better documented, because there are 1860s sales and press reports, but even there the credit has been disputed between Michaux, Lallement and others. A careful sentence says "pedal machines were being sold in Paris by the early 1860s" and leaves the individual credit open.

The Velocipede Craze

By the mid-1860s the Michaux firm was making many machines, and the 1867 Paris exhibition brought them wider attention (check). The craze that followed in France in 1867 to 1869 was far larger than the hobby horse fashion of Hobby Horses (The History of the Bicycle 2). Riding schools opened, races were held, and machines were exported to Britain and America (check). In Britain the word "velocipede" was used, and the first British road races date from about 1868 (check).

The Boneshaker

  • Drive. Cranks and pedals fixed directly to the front wheel's axle, so one turn of the pedals was one turn of the wheel.
  • Frame. A heavy iron or wooden backbone, with a saddle on a spring (check).
  • Wheels. Wooden wheels with iron tyres, which on rough roads gave the nickname "boneshaker" (check the origin of the name).
  • Limits. Because the pedals turned the wheel directly, the only way to go faster was to enlarge the front wheel, which led straight to the high wheeler (The History of the Bicycle 4).

Why the Craze Faded, Again

The craze cooled by about 1870, for reasons that echo the earlier one: the machines were heavy, tiring and uncomfortable, roads were bad, and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871 disrupted French makers (check). But this time the pedal idea was not forgotten, and the next decade improved the design (check).

A British comparison Coventry, which had a tradition of watch and ribbon making, turned to cycle making after a firm there began copying imported French machines in the late 1860s (check the firm and the date). The city was to become the centre of the British cycle industry, which Chapter 4 follows. In Scotland, Macmillan's story is told in the Dumfries area and in museums, so a visit gives a chance to see the debate at first hand (check what is displayed).
Check the details Pedal-invention credit is among the most disputed in cycling history. Treat every name and date in this chapter as a claim to verify, and prefer wording that leaves the credit open.

Exercises

Exercise 1

Classify the Macmillan and Michaux claims as documented, attributed or legendary, and justify each choice.

→ Solution
Exercise 2

Explain why a front-wheel drive led to larger front wheels.

→ Solution
Exercise 3

Compare the 1860s craze with the hobby horse craze, listing two similarities and two differences.

→ Solution

Quick Reference

  • Pedal claims: Macmillan, Michaux, Lallement (check)
  • Craze: France, about 1867 to 1869 (check)
  • Boneshaker: pedals on the front wheel, iron tyres
  • Consequence: bigger front wheels for more speed
  • British hub: Coventry (check)