WA bicycle, also called a bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
WThe following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to bicycles:
WAn autobike is a bicycle with an automatic transmission that shifts gears without intervention from the rider.
WBamboo bicycles are pedal-and-chain-driven, human-powered, single-track vehicles that have two wheels attached to a bamboo frame. Because of its light weight, vibration damping, and sustainability, bamboo is slowly starting to be used in bicycle frame production, though the industry is still dominated by aluminium frames.
WA bicycle library is a facility for lending bicycles and cycling accessories to riders for trial or use.
WBicycle poverty reduction is the concept that access to bicycles and the transportation infrastructure to support them can dramatically reduce poverty. This has been demonstrated in various pilot projects in South Asia and Africa. Experiments done in Africa and Sri Lanka on hundreds of households have shown that a bicycle can increase the income of a poor family by as much as 35%. Transport, if analyzed for the cost–benefit analysis for rural poverty alleviation, has given one of the best returns in this regard. For example, road investments in India were a staggering 3–10 times more effective than almost all other investments and subsidies in rural economy in the decade of the 1990s. What a road does at a macro level to increase transport, the bicycle supports at the micro level. The bicycle, in that sense, can be one of the best means to eradicate poverty in poor nations.
WThe Bicycle Wheel is a treatise on wheelbuilding by Jobst Brandt.
WBike Arc LLC, located in downtown Palo Alto, California, is a Silicon Valley startup that designs secure bicycle parking racks and systems. It was founded by Joseph Bellomo and Jeff Selzer in 2008. Jeff Selzer sits on the Board of Directors of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and is the General Manager of Palo Alto Bicycles. Joseph Bellomo, a California-licensed architect, is the founder and owner of Joseph Bellomo Architects, Inc. in Palo Alto, which he founded in 1986. In addition to collaborating on Bike Arc, Mr. Bellomo and Mr. Selzer also worked together on the Palo Alto Bikestation at the Caltrain depot.
WA cardboard bicycle is a bicycle composed mostly of cardboard. Only prototypes have been made as of 2012. Reported benefits include low cost, and construction from recyclable and renewable materials. The low cost is also expected to act as a theft deterrent.
WThe chukudu is a two-wheeled handmade vehicle used in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is made of wood, and is used for transporting cargo.
WBicycle drivetrain systems are used to transmit power on bicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, unicycles, or other human-powered vehicles from the riders to the drive wheels. Most also include some type of a mechanism to convert speed and torque via gear ratios.
WA gearbox bicycle is a bicycle that uses a gearbox to convert torque and rotational speed from the power source, usually the rider's legs, to what is desired at the drive wheel. The gearbox is usually incorporated into the frame near the crank, and it may be used in addition to or instead of derailleur gears or a hub gear. Cited advantages include improved shifting performance, protecting the gearing from damage and exposure to dirt and moisture, as with hub gears, plus locating the additional mass between the two wheels and on the frame where it may be suspended, unlike with hub gears.
WThe Hotchkiss Bicycle Railroad was a purpose-built monorail on which a matching bicycle could be ridden. It was invented by Arthur Hotchkiss, and the first example was built between Smithville and Mount Holly, New Jersey, in 1892. It closed in 1897. Other examples were built in Norfolk from 1895 to 1909, Great Yarmouth, and Blackpool, UK from 1896.
WAn ice cycle, ice bike, or icycle is a bicycle adapted for use on ice, usually by replacing the front wheel with an ice skate. Versions exist with and without additional skates to provide lateral stability, that have been based on upright and recumbent bikes, and that have been used for racing. Ice cycles have been in use since at least the 1890s, and theory predicts that a bicycle with a front skate can exhibit riderless self-stability similar to the same bicycle with a front wheel. At least one example has been made with both the front and the rear wheels replaced by skates.
WThe proper Islamic bicycle for the Muslim women is a topic of heated discussion in both Sunni and Shia Islam. Concerns centre around modesty and mobility.
WA mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain. These typically include a suspension fork, large knobby tires, more durable wheels, more powerful brakes, straight, extra wide handlebars to improve balance and comfort over rough terrain, lower gear-ratios for climbing steep grades and sometimes rear suspension to really smooth out the trail.
WA police bicycle is a land vehicle used by police departments, most commonly in the form of a mountain bicycle. They are designed to meet the requirements unique to each department.
WPublic bicycle rental services are available in several cities across South Korea, each managed by their respective city governments. Bicycles can be used and paid for through an existing transportation card system or by mobile phone.
WA recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons: the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks. On a traditional upright bicycle, the body weight rests entirely on a small portion of the sitting bones, the feet, and the hands.
WA rowbike is an example of a rowing cycle, hybrid fitness/transport machine that combines a bicycle, and a rowing machine. "Rowbike" is a trademark of the Rowbike company. The Rowbike was invented by Scott Olson, the creator of Rollerblade inline skates. "Rowling" is a combination of rowing and rolling and is sometimes used in place of rowing when describing a Rowbike.
WA scraper bike is a bicycle that has been modified by its owner, often with decorated spokes with matching body and wheel colors, using tinfoil, re-used cardboard, candy wrappers and paint. The bike frames themselves are also modified with BMX frames, heightened seats, or custom pieces to create unique bicycles. Scraper Bikes are an offshoot of the 90's era scraper culture of car modification.“A scraper bike is a piece of art, every artist builds up their bike from scratch using different material, different colors to customize it to fit the artist inside.” - Baybe Champ, 2016.
WThe tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement, not the number of riders. Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the mid 1880s. Tandems can reach higher speeds than the same riders on single bicycles, and tandem bicycle racing exists. As with bicycles for single riders, there are many variations that have been developed over the years.
WA treadle bicycle is a bicycle powered by a treadle instead of the more common crank. Treadles were one of the mechanisms inventors tried in order to position the pedals away from the drive wheel hub before the development of the bicycle chain or instead of it. Treadles have also been used to drive tricycles and quadracycles.
WA wheelie bike, also called a dragster, muscle bike, high-riser, spyder bike or banana bike, is a type of stylized children's bicycle designed in the 1960s to resemble a chopper motorcycle and characterized by ape hanger handlebars, a banana seat with sissy bar, and small wheels. Notable examples include the Schwinn Sting-Ray and Krate lines and the Raleigh Chopper line. Other notable manufacturers and retailers that offered models include AMF, CCM, Columbia, Huffy, Iverson, J. C. Penney, Malvern Star, Monark, Murray, Ross, Sears, and Vindec.
WWhike is a brand of recumbent tricycles with a sail, manufactured in the Netherlands.
WWhippet was a brand of safety bicycle designed by C. M. Linley and manufactured by Linley and Briggs in London. Examples exist from 1885 and 1888. They are notable for their use of springs to suspend the frame. An early external derailleur, that enabled two gear ratios, was available only on Whippet bicycles. | pages = 58–61
WA wooden bicycle is a bicycle constructed either mostly, or entirely from wood. Wood was the material used in the earliest bicycles, and is also used by modern builders, especially in balance bicycles for children. The wood can be either solid or laminate.
WIn April 2018, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 3 as International World Bicycle Day. The resolution for World Bicycle Day recognizes "the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transport."
WWorld Bicycle Relief is an international, non-profit organization based in Chicago, IL that specializes in large-scale, comprehensive bicycle distribution programs to aid poverty relief in developing countries around the world. Their programs focus primarily on education, economic development, and health care. As of February 2020, World Bicycle Relief has distributed 500,000 bicycles in 21 countries and trained more than 2,300 bicycle mechanics in the developing world. Within their largest program, the Bicycles For Educational Empowerment program, nearly 70 percent of the student bicycles are designated for girl students.
WThe Zombie Bike Ride is a celebration of the bicycle on last week of October in Key West, Florida. Rock and roll, zombie bikes and costumes of all types and a one-mile leisurely ride along the Atlantic Ocean.