How much do you know about bicycles and cycling? Even those who know a lot may be surprised to discover some of these facts, starting with how long they’ve been around.

 

Bike Bicentennial
Most scholars credit the German nobleman Karl von Drais with the invention of the bicycle in 1817. That means bicycles have existed for over 200 years. While they have changed somewhat over two centuries (von Drais’ cycle did not have pedals), what is perhaps more striking is how little bikes have managed to change in that time.

 

Two-Wheeled Planet
Next month, the world population is expected to reach 8 billion. That’s a lot of people. Fortunately, there are also a lot of bikes, with over 100,000 manufactured each year. The world bike population is now believed to be over a billion, which means that about one in every eight people owns one. More than half of those bikes can be found in China.

 

Pedaling Popularity
Bicycles save over 238 million gallons of gas each year, though their popularity varies by country. In the US, less than 1% of trips are made by bike, and despite the more than 20 million bicycles in the UK, they’re only used for about 5% of travel. In the Netherlands, that number jumps to 30%. Bikes are used for 40% of all commutes in Amsterdam, and 36% of commutes in Copenhagen, but only 10% of commutes in New York City. Time to step it up, America!

 

The Anti-Car
Bicycles save more than just gasoline, too. A 10-mile bike ride will burn at least 360 calories and save over 11 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The energy and resources to make a single car can be used to make about 100 bikes. The same space taken by a single parked car can contain up to 20 bikes.

 

Knock on Wood
Believe it or not, the first bicycles were made entirely out of wood. They were considered so dangerous that they were eventually banned. When Arthur Dunlop invented the pneumatic rubber tire, it was for bicycles, not cars. In fact, it took another 10 years before the innovation was adopted for automobiles.

 

Rider not Required
Many people are taught to maintain their balance when learning to ride. But perhaps the oddest fact about bicycles is the fact that they don’t really need you to balance them. All a bike needs to do is reach a speed of at least 8 MPH before the laws of physics are able to keep it rolling without a rider keeping it upright.

 

So what do you think? Did you find these facts surprising? Do you have any shocking facts of your own to share?