The name of the modern vehicle dates from 1869. Various precursors of this machine were known as velocipedes, from a French name dating from the late 18th century.

Crude two-wheeled vehicles propelled by the feet were popular as early as the second half of the 17th century. In 1690 a Frenchman invented the celerifere, consisting of a wooden beam to which the wheels were affixed. The vehicle had no handlebar, the rider sat on a cushion on the beam and propelled and steered the machine by pushing his or her feet against the ground. In 1816 a German nobleman designed the first two-wheeled vehicle with a steering device. This machine, named the draisine (after the inventor), had a handlebar that pivoted on the frame, enabling the front wheel to be turned. Improvements were later developed by French, German, and British inventors. In England these early models were known as hobby horses; the name dandy horse was applied particularly to the expensive pedestrian curricle, invented in 1818. The curricle was lighter in weight than the draisine and had an adjustable saddle and elbow rest. It was patented in the United States in 1819 but aroused little interest. In 1839 driving levers and pedals were added to a machine of the draisine type by Kirkpatrick Macmillan of Scotland. These innovations eanabled the rider to propel the machine with the feet off the ground. The driving mechanism consisted of short cranks fixed to the rear wheel hub and connected by rods to long levers, which were hinged to the frame close to the head of the machine. The connecting rods were joined to the levers at about one-third of their length from the pedals. The machine was propelled by a downward and forward thrust of the foot. In 1846 an improved model of this machine, designed by a Scotsman, acquired the name dalsell and was widely used in England.

The direct precursor of the modern bicycle was the French crank-driven, loose-pedaled velocipede, which became popular in France about 1855. The frame and wheels were made of wood. The tires were iron, and the pedals were attached to the hub of the front, or driver, wheel, which was slightly higher than the rear wheel. In England this machine was known as the boneshaker, because of its effect on a rider pedaling over a rough road or a cobblestoned street. In 1869 in England, solid rubber tires mounted on steel rims were introduced in a new machine, which was the first to be patented under the modern name bicycle. In 1873 Jamse Starley, and English inventor, produced the first machine incoporating most of the features of the so-called ordinary, or high-wheel, bicycle. The front of Starley's machine wasas much as three times as large in diameter as the rear wheel.

The modifications and improvements of the next 15 years included the ball bearing and the pneumatic tire. These inventions, along with the use of weldless steel tubing and spring seats, brought the ordinary bicycle to its highest point of development. The excessive vibration and instability of the high-wheel bicycle, however, caused inventors to turn their attention to reducing the height of the bicycle. About 1880 the so-called safety, or low, machine was developed. The wheels were of nearly equal size, and the pedals, attached to a sprocket through gears and a chain, drove the rear wheel.

The safety bicycle was universally adopted by manufactureres in the U.S. The improved safety machine had wheels of equal size, hollow steel tubing, coaster brakes, adjustable hadlebars, and other improvements. American cyclists increased greatly in numbers and became strong supporters of a nationwide movement for improved roads. In 1899 the American production of about 1 million bicycles a year was valued at more than $31 million. Yet by 1909, with the rise of the motorcycle and the automobile, the U.S. bicycle industry was nearly nonexisten.

In the 1960s and'70s, as air pollution from automobile exhaust caused great concern, and the energy crisis worsened, the popularity of the bicycle increased tremendously. Some areas set up bike lanes and special bike paths. An emphasis on physical fitness in the 1970s and '80s added to this popularity, and an estimated 82 million bicycles were in use in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. Most popular was the lightweight ten-speed touring bike, modeled after European racing models, with cable-and-caliper hand brakes and narrow, high-pressure tires. For recreation, the all-terrain bike, with waffle-tread tires and a heavier frame, was rugged, safe, and maneuverable.