Michauline

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Michauline (1868) with Ernest Michaux
Michaux badge
U.S. Patent No. 59915 issued November 20, 1866 to Pierre Lallement

The Michauline is a pedal-crank bike and a direct forerunner of the penthouse bike , which was built from 1861/63 to 1870. The Michaulinen are the first bicycles that were manufactured in large numbers.

history

The wheelwright Pierre Michaux (1813–1883) came up with the idea of ​​installing cranks on the front wheel in March 1861, together with his son Ernest Michaux (1842–1882), while repairing the hatmaker Brunel's trolley . According to other information, Pierre Michaux only built the first pedal crank bike in 1863, or Pierre Lallement , then (1863) employee at Michaux, is said to have built the first pedal crank bike. The Michauline only really became known to the public after its presentation at the World Exhibition in 1867 . By April 1868, however, only a few hundred copies with the snake-shaped frame were made in Paris. The Olivier brothers became financially strong investors in May 1868 as donors. The company, now renamed Michaux et Cie , at 27 Rue Jean-Goujon, was run in May 1869 - after Michaux left - now under the name Ancienne Maison Michaux & Cie Parisienne (Compagnie Parisienne). In 1868 300 workers are said to have built five michaulines a day. The production reported in the peak period of 1869 - 500 workers are said to have made 200 michaulines a day - seems rather unlikely. French manufacturers such as Meyer & Cie, Truffault and Rousseau appeared as competitors, but Compagnie Parisienne was and remained the market leader. Heinrich Büssing manufactured in Germany, the Coventry Sewing Machine Company in England and the Wood Brothers in New York in the USA who built Michaulinen. Using the serial numbers, Kobayashi determined the number of michaulines made with diagonal frames:

Company name Head office Period Quantities
Michaux Avenue Montaigne, 29
Rue Jean Goujon, 19		 until April 1868 ≤ 1000
Michaux et Cie. Rue Jean Goujon, 27 May 1868 - April 1869 1860
Cie Parisienne
Ancienne Maison Michaux et Cie		 Rue Jean Goujon, 27 May 1869 - July 1874 2940
Michaux Père et Cie Avenue Montaigne, 29 May 1869 - January 1870 324
total ≤ 6124

The Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) ended production and further development in continental Europe. In the United States, the Michaulinen made their social breakthrough in December 1868, and in England at the beginning of 1869, who were called "French bicycles" or Boneshakers ; the rapid drop in the price of a boneshaker from $ 125 to  $ 12 in a year was remarkable. After the first high bike was brought onto the market, the Michaulinen only had the function of a learning device and soon disappeared from the market.

technology

The first Michaulinen had a snake-shaped wooden frame that was reminiscent of the Célérifèren . In 1864 this was partially replaced by wrought iron. In 1867 a diagonal wrought iron frame was introduced. The front wheel with wooden spokes and shrunk-on iron band could be supplied with a diameter of 75 to 100 cm, the rear wheel between 60 and 80 cm, while a seat height of 60 to 100 cm was possible. The wheels were guided in bronze plain bearings . The 1867 models already had a block brake on the rear wheel, which was operated by means of a cable. The pedal cranks could be adjusted depending on the length of the leg and the pedals always fell into a horizontal position (thanks to patented weights on the underside). The saddle was sprung via a leaf spring suspension. The weight of the first models was between 25 and 27 kg, the wrought iron Michaulinen weighed between 30 and 40 kg, depending on the source. Driving the Michauline was "uncomfortable, hard and bumpy". The steering angle was limited due to the design. Since there was no gear ratio, the front wheel diameter and the crank rotation were used to determine the driving speed. With the Michaulinen, a speed of 13 km / h could be achieved over a good distance.

The Hanlon Brothers received a patent for a solid rubber tire on February 9, 1869 , and Eugène Meyer in Paris patented a Michauline with solid rubber tires (4 mm wire spokes and iron rim) on August 4, 1869. However, this was only introduced into series production with the Ariel penny farthing in 1871.

Social development

The first known bicycle race with only Michaulinen took place on November 1st, 1868 in the park of Bordelais near Bordeaux , in which four women took part in Michaulinen and in which Mademoiselle Julie won against Mademoiselle Louise . In 1869 a “real bicycle boom” broke out. The royal prince Napoléon Eugène Louis Bonaparte and his friend, Duke Alberto di Roccagiovine, drove publicly on Michaulinen. The magazine Le Vélocipède illustré appeared on April 1, 1869, with a woman cycling on the front cover of the first issue. On November 7, 1869, the first city-to-city cycle race - Paris to Rouen - in the history of cycling took place. This is considered to be the birth of road cycling . The Englishman James Moore won the 123 km race with an average speed of 12 km / h on a Michauline prepared by Eugène Meyer (Paris). The French newspaper Le Parlement wrote enthusiastically:

“O Vélocipède, chameau de l'Occident! (O bicycle, camel of the West!). "

- Le Parlement 1869.

During the siege of Belfort (1870), the French army first used bicycles or Michaulinen for military purposes.

  • First bicycle race (November 1, 1868)

  • Le Vélocipède illustré (April 1, 1869)

  • Napoléon Eugène Louis Bonaparte (left) and Alberto di Roccagiovine (right) on Michaulinen. In the background left Napoleon III. (1869)

  • James Moore (November 7, 1869)

  • Le Vélocipède illustré (July 16, 1870)

See also

Web links

Commons : Michauline  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Max JB Rauck, p. 37.
  2. ^ Ritchie, p. 54.
  3. ↑ Woodeford, p. 18.
  4. ^ Wiebe E. Bijker, p. 26.
  5. ↑ a b Kobayashi, p. 61.
  6. ↑ Kobayashi, p. 54.
  7. ^ Ritchie, p. 57.
  8. ↑ a b c Wiebe E. Bijker, p. 28.
  9. ↑ a b c d Max JB Rauck, p. 38
  10. ↑ Max JB Rauck, p. 41.
  11. ^ Clayton, p. 7
  12. ↑ Kobayashi, p. 56.
  13. ↑ Max JB Rauck, p. 39.
  14. ^ Clayton, p. 8
  15. ^ Clayton, p. 11.
  16. ^ Ritchie, p. 148.
  17. ↑ Ludwig Croon, p. 182.