The history of the bicycle is full of fascinating twists, with different sources offering somewhat conflicting accounts about who invented what, when it happened, and even which country could claim the credit. Dates shift, names overlap, and in some cases the same invention seems to appear in more than one place at the same time.
Instead of presenting yet another interpretation of bicycle history, we’d like to highlight a couple of intriguing loose ends and disputed claims:
- Some sources allege that as early as 1801 a device resembling a bicycle was invented in Russia by Efim Artamonov. There are also numerous reports of a similar contraption created in France by Comte Mede de Sivrac around 1791 — nearly 30 years before Karl Drais’ famous “Running Machine.”
- Another fascinating tale connects the bicycle to none other than Leonardo da Vinci. According to this story, Leonardo was the true inventor of the first pedal-powered bicycle some 500 years ago. This claim is linked to a sketch found in his famous “Codex Atlanticus”. However, most historians agree that the drawing was almost certainly added much later, possibly during restoration work on the Codex in the 1960s.
By time this webpage has been drafted, we came across a mesmerizing video collection on this very topic at YouTube. Specifically this episode supports the Comte Mede de Sirvac story:
And, this episode looks into Leonardo da Vinci’s alleged bicycle:
Amidst this tangle of references, one figure stands out: Baron Karl Fridrih Kristian Ludvig Drais Von Sauerbronn. He is widely celebrated as the inventor not of the modern bicycle, but of the ingenious “Running Machine,” better known as the “Dandy Horse.” When Karl Drais patented his creation in 1818, its popularity quickly spread across Europe, turning his idea into an early commercial success and laying the groundwork for the bicycles we know today.