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A bicycle is a small land vehicle with two tandem wheels (hence the name) powered by a seated human rider. Cycling or riding bicycles, is one of the principal forms of transportation in several parts of the world. It is also a common recreation and popular sport.

Typical speeds for bicycles are 10-15 mph or 15-25 km/h. On a fast racing bicycle, a reasonably fit rider would be able to ride at 30 mph or 50 km/h on the flat for short periods. The highest speed ever attained on the flat, without riding behind a wind-block, is by Canadian Sam Whittingham, who in 2001 set a 80.55 mph or 142.51 km/h record on his highly aerodynamic recumbent machine. This stands as the record for all human-powered vehicles.

Note that under international cycling federation rules, not every human powered vehicle is a bicycle. The above vehicle would not be allowed in cycling races.

The bicycle is the most efficient means of transportation ever devised by humans, see Science of Cycling: Human Power: page 1.

Social & Historical aspect

The social implications of the bicycle. It helped to strengthen the gene pool for rural workers. It tripled their courting radius on the one day per week they had off and thus were a factor in reducing rural inbreeding. The two-wheeled, diamond-frame safety bicycle (basically the same one we ride today) gave women unprecedented mobility, freed them from corsets, and contributed to their emancipation.

In cities, bicycles helped reduce the crowding in inner-city tenements by allowing workers to commute from single-family dwellings in suburbs. They helped reduce people's dependence on horses. They allowed people to travel in the country. They are three times as efficient as walking and three to four times as fast. Moreover, in terms of distance and speed traveled compared to energy consumed, the bicycle is the most efficient machine yet created.

As a historical note, the development of the modern bicycle had two important implications. First, manufacture of the double-diamond-frame safety bicycle required the development of advanced metalworking techniques to produce the frames and components such as ball-bearings, washers and sprockets. These techniques later enabled skilled metalworkers and mechanics to develop the components that were used in early automobiles and aircraft. The best example are the Wright Brothers, who got their start as bicycle mechanics.

The second major implication of the bicycle was the political organization of bicycle riders and enthusiasts in such groups as the League of American Wheelmen, in order to persuade local and state governments to create a system of well-maintained and mapped paved roads. Both the model of political organization and the roads themselves later facilitated the growth in the use of another type of wheeled vehicle, the automobile.

What we really need is a picture:

Technical aspect

And an article on bicycle repair and maintenance.

The picture should label the following parts: frame, top tube, down tube, seat tube, seat post, headset (head set?), handlebars, front forks, rear forks, chain stay, rear stay, wheel, wheel rim, wheel axle, spoke, spoke flange, brakes, brake levers, saddle, bottom bracket, crankshaft, cranks, pedal, chain, chainring, rear gears. Also the parts which vary a bit more: toe clips, cleats, gear changers, hub gears, derailleur gears, front gear block, rear gear block (aka cassette), mud guards, chain guards (both on the stay and around the chain), lights, panniers.

An article on bicycle brake systems might be useful.

Variations

Variations on the bicycle include:

• more wheels: tricycles and so on
• one wheel: unicycle
• more passengers: tandem bicycle
• pedal location: recumbent bicycle
• seatless: scooter

And maybe at least one reference to a sports science article that explains how cycling is the most efficient form of human powered transport.

It has often been observed that a fish is as likely to need a bicycle as a woman is to need a man. (http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/3255/herstory.htm)

A bike can be an insulting term for a locally-promiscuous woman as in the phrase "she's the town bike" (ie, "Everybody's taken her for a ride").

Powered bicycles are also known as motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters. Another form of two-wheeled vehicle is the push cycle.