The passage
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The first machine that looked a little like a modern bicycle appeared in Europe in the early nineteenth century. It had two wheels and a seat, but no pedals. Riders sat on it and pushed themselves along the ground with their feet, which is why it was often called a running machine. It was heavy, made mostly of wood, and very uncomfortable on rough roads.
Pedals were added several decades later, but at first they were fixed directly to the front wheel. Because one turn of the pedals produced only one turn of the wheel, manufacturers made front wheels larger and larger in order to travel faster. The result was the famous high-wheeler, a bicycle with an enormous front wheel and a tiny back one. It was fast, but riders sat so high that a small stone in the road could throw them forward over the handlebars. For this reason the high-wheeler was mostly ridden by young men who enjoyed taking risks.
The design that changed everything was the so-called safety bicycle. It had two wheels of equal size and a chain that connected the pedals to the back wheel. The chain meant that the wheels no longer needed to be huge, so riders could sit close to the ground and put their feet down easily. Soon afterwards, air-filled tyres made journeys much smoother.
The safety bicycle quickly became popular with a much wider group of people. It was cheaper than a horse and needed no food or stable. For many women in particular, the bicycle offered a new kind of independence, and it even influenced fashion, as lighter and shorter clothes became more practical for cycling.