The bicycle is now about two centuries old. The first proper bicycle was built in 1817 and was called a 'running machine' or 'velocipede'. It was also nicknamed the hobby-horse and dandy horse.

It was made of wood except for the middle of the wheels (the bearings) and the rims of the wheels, which were made with iron rims. In fact, the rims were made by the people who made wheels for carts - the cartwrights - using the same methods.

It did not have any pedals. It was close enough to the ground for the feet to touch the surface.

By 1863 pedals were put on the front wheel, so that the wheel could be turned by pushing on the pedals. That was the first bicycle as we think of it today.

The problem was that the machine had no gears (like a fixed-wheel bicycle today), so the bicycle could not easily be stopped and the speed was limited by pedalling. However, unlike the velocipede, people no longer wore out their boots by pushing the machine along.

But it was very difficult to steer a machine where the pedals were on the front wheel as well. To get a bit more speed, the front wheel was made larger, and this is how the penny-farthing was invented. However, getting on and off a penny-farthing was a challenge.

These early bicycles did not have any springs, so many were called boneshakers.

But the idea of a bicycle was set. All that was needed was a chain to drive the back wheel and some brakes.