Early Pedal Bike-Photo, Jared Bloch

Geneva, Switzerland – As a sometime bike mechanic and general fan of two-wheeled vehicles, I was thrilled to walk into Planet Charmilles last week to find an exhibition on the history of bicycles. The exhibit titled Le Velo, Deux Siecles d’Histoire, or The Bicycle, Two Centuries of History, showcased 30 bicycles dating from 1817 to the present.

In 1817, the German Baron and inventor, Karl Drais von Sauerbronn forever changed the geography of footpaths and horse tracks when he invented the Laufsmachine or Running Machine in English. It was so called because it resembled the side view of a horse cart which the rider straddled while propelling himself by his legs; the notion of gears and pedaling was yet to be incorporated.

Swiss made Fredy Ruegge-Photo, Jared Bloch

In addition to the Running Machine, the history of Swiss bicycle production is well represented (Fredy Rüegg, Cilo, Mondia, Cosmos, and Aarios) with a number of handsome machines on display with information panels alongside. I found this particularly noteworthy given Switzerland’s small population base (estimated at 1.7 million the year Drais’ running machine was introduced, and 2.4 million by mid 19th century).

All of the bicycles on display were on loan from a private collection in Zurich.

One of my favorites was a shaft driven bicycle with the transversal gears mounted in the crank case. As far as I know, this design did not survive into the modern era, and yet it provided the basis for motorcycle drivetrains designed years later by amongst others, BMW and Harley Davidson.

Other gems included a Swiss Military bike produced by Cosmos (1908 model) and the famous Swiss Post bike in, yes, canary yellow.

The last two bikes amazingly appear to have remained virtually unchanged over the last 100 years.

Dürkopp Kardan produced 1899-1938-Photo, Jared Bloch

Another surprise was a drawing of a two wheeled bicycle with gears and pedals, credited to Leonardo da Vinci and dated 1493.

As per the historical notes however, the veracity of the document might be questioned given that pedals and gears did not appear on bicycles for another 400 years.

According to Planet Charmilles Director, Jean-Pierre Wyss, the exhibit was intended for a wide audience including young viewers as well as adults.

Indeed, the interactive nature of the historical exhibit is one of its salient features. On the day I visited, I witnessed one teenager engaged in a virtual bike race, where a stationary bike is rigged to play-station type controls.

The exhibit also included an obstacle course navigated on a bicycle which steered against the direction of the handle bars – imagine an Escher drawing where every left turn goes right.

Exhibit presenter Salvatore with counter-intuitive bike - Photo, Jared Bloch

Salvatore, the display organizer, gave me a quick demonstration and encouraged me to try my luck on the course. “No thanks,” I replied, appreciating the biologically intuitive engineering of bicycles more than ever.

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