You want to invest in a high-quality bicycle that will serve you well for many years and allow you to go where you need to go quickly and easily. Many of the most prestigious cycling companies were founded by former racing greats with strong links to the cycling world.
A Brief History of Bikes and Bicycling
When was the first bike built and who built it?
That knowledge has been lost to the ages. It’s quite hard to pinpoint a single individual as the bike’s inventor, as the Smithsonian Institution points out.
Evidently, the use of two-wheeled vehicles had become commonplace by the turn of the nineteenth century. While the precise origin of the bicycle remains a matter for debate, some have suggested that it was first used in the early 1500s. The International Bicycle Fund claims that Leonardo Da Vinci’s bicycle design sketch from the 1490s.
To add intrigue, one of the earliest bikes may have been inspired by a volcanic explosion. Baron Karl or Baron Charles Von Drais created the first automobile with a steerable front wheel in the early 1800s. Drawings also incorporated a cushioned seat and an armrest into his design, which helped him maintain his equilibrium while he drove.
Apparently, Draws built the vehicle, which the French dubbed a velocipede, after the mass hunger and death of horses that followed the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia.
The velocipede’s rapid rise to fame belied the fact that it lacked a modern bike’s most essential component: a chain. Pedals are absent from this vehicle. People would use their feet as pedals to propel the bike ahead, much like the Flintstones’ archaic vehicle.
Only until 1863 did pedals become standard on city bikes. And even back then, the pedals weren’t exactly like the ones today. You may find them fastened to the car’s front wheel.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, American engineers and designers set out to develop a bicycle that would be less dangerous for riders. One model that was quite well-liked at the time was also exceptionally risky. High wheel bikes, sometimes known as Ordinaries, were notoriously difficult to ride safely. People frequently fell over the front of their “Ordinaries,” often landing on their heads. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a bicycle accident, please contact the Kaplan Law Firm.
Modern-style bicycle components characterised the safety bike. It had uniformly sized wheels and a chain to turn the gears. There was a time when the safety bike’s tires were made of hard rubber, but those were quickly replaced with airfield tires.
There was a rise in bike-centric businesses as cycling gained popularity and became a practical mode of transportation for people of all income levels and backgrounds. Bianchi is still one of the most well-known names in cycling after all these time. Some others, like Schwann, have changed a great deal during the past century and are no longer industry leaders.
What Makes a Good Bike Brand?
Defining what makes a good cycling brand may be difficult. Sometimes, one’s own preferences and viewpoints are the deciding factors. Despite Trek’s and Bianchi’s stellar reputations, a single rider’s negative encounter with either brand might permanently turn them against them.
A solid cycling company will often have many bike designs at various price points. Models that employ basic parts and retail for a few hundred dollars nonetheless have a satisfying riding quality. For the most part, the top-of-the-line models from a reputable manufacturer represent the finest bicycles available at any price.
A great bike brand usually has some sort of historical or cultural ties to riding. Some popular brands, for instance, were developed by retired professional cyclists who know a thing or two about what makes a good bike.
How We Choose the Top Brands
Multiple criteria were considered while deciding on the best bike manufacturers. One of these was the range of bicycles available from the manufacturer, or the number of different models they offered. For this reason, we focused on manufacturers that make both road and mountain bikes rather than those that specialize in just one discipline.
We compared the prices of different brands’ motorcycles and analyzed the quality of the parts utilized. In this case, we didn’t want to even consider brands that make cheap, low-quality bikes. We didn’t want to limit ourselves to the “caviar” of bicycle manufacturers, even though we’re well aware that some cyclists are drawn to the “fancy” brands.
