History of the bicycle: The pedal-powered draisienne in 1839

The first real bicycle was invented around 1839 by Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan.

It consisted of an improved draisienne to which MacMillan had fitted an ingenious pedal system. Unlike the draisienne, it was now possible to ride without the feet touching the ground.

We put our feet on the pedals and moved our legs back and forth (rather than rotating). This activated the rigid rods, which were attached to cranks to rotate the rear wheel.