Famous People and Bicycles

Certainly on the short list of famous people who had ties to cycling and the cycling industry are the Wright brothers. They bought their first bicycles in 1892 and in 1893 they started a repair and rental business in Dayton, Ohio. Expansion was next for the brothers as they started manufacturing their own line of bicycles. It is here where they started creating and building their flying machines. Ultimately using this knowledge and experience in their design and construction of the airplane.

 

 

 

From the Air and Space Website:

“In designing their airplane, the Wrights drew upon a number of bicycle concepts:

The Wright Brothers Bicycle Store Dayton, Ohio

•             The central importance of balance and control.

•             The need for strong but lightweight structures.

•             The chain-and-sprocket transmission system for propulsion.

•             Concerns regarding wind resistance and aerodynamic shape of the operator.”

From: https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/wright-brothers/online/who/1895/biketoflight.cfm

The Wright Brothers journey is truly fascinating and the bicycle played a major role in their lives. Obviously there is a ton of material about them so I won’t go on but I do highly recommend David McCullough book “The Wright Brothers” if you want to dig deeper into their story. Also the Air and Space Museum has some great information that can be found from the link above.