Most people don’t know how unstable and dangerous early bicycles used to be. Riders had to pedal nonstop because the pedals were directly fixed to the wheel axle. As inventors tried increasing wheel size for more distance per pedal, bicycles became harder to control — and falling off was common.
Even the early gear systems failed, because the gears rotated backward, causing the bike to move in the wrong direction. The breakthrough finally arrived with the chain-drive system, which maintained stable forward rotation and completely solved the directional power-transmission problem.
This innovation transformed bicycle design forever — giving birth to the safe, balanced, and comfortable modern bicycle we use today.
bicycle evolution, chain drive invention, early bike design, mechanical innovations, cycling history, power transmission system
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