History of the Bicycle and Isaac Johnson's Revolutionary Bicycle Frame

On October tenth, eighteen ninety nine, Isaac Johnson was granted a patent on his bicycle frame, changing the bicycle to a more modern bicycle that we know today, making bicycling even easier, growing as a transportation and a sport, changing the world forever. And all this was done despite the fact that Jonathan Isaac was being persecuted against at the time as he was a black man in America. And we're going to dive into the history of the bike on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge. And today's trivia question to listen out for is who were Buffalo Soldiers? Now, we first talked about bicycles all the way back in our second episode when in eighteen eighty six Thomas Stevens rode a bicycle across the world and he had to do so on a Pennyweather bicycle. Now, if you haven't listened to that episode, that's now. That bicycle is one of those old school bicycles with the giant wheel in front, in the little wheel and back as that was the most popular bicycle at the time. As in the history of bikes actually goes back to the seventeen hundreds. In seventeen ninety they invent a two wheeled vehicle with a seat in the middle, but there was no steering, but it looks like the basic of a bicycle. And a few years later, in eighteen seventeen, Carl Duras invents something with a steerable component, being what is widely thought of it as the first bike, but it also has no pedals. The pedal system wasn't invented until eighteen thirty nine, and this invention actually used a small wheel in front and a big wheel and back, but this was still done manually with your feet, and pedals weren't actually added until eighteen fifty eight. Then, in eighteen sixty six a British engineer invented the Penny feathering bike which we know today, which is that big wheeled bike and a small tire at the front. Now, interestingly enough, this does not have a chain system. You're mainly just pedaling that big wheel to help you move. Then in eighteen sixty eight, the first rubberized wheel was invented. In the following decade, the first unicycle was invented using the penny wise method, which is only one wheel and a seat on top. Then in eighteen seventy six they evitted the first caliber brake, which is one of those brakes that holds onto the wheel to break it like we see today. And in eighteen seventy nine the first real wheel chain system was invented, and in eighteen eighty nine the back pedal brake was invented that we see often on children's bike to this day. And there had been other small advances, but those were the advances up until eighteen ninety nine when Isaac Johnson put together his frame which is what we know today as a bicycle. And in the nineteenth century there was actually several African American inventors with significant roles involving the cycling industries. As you can see, there was many different iterations and there were some I didn't even go into of how the bicycle slowly evolved to what it is today, and that was all in the eight mostly in the eighteen hundreds and after the Silvil War, the United States military formed several all black infantries commonly known as Buffalo soldiers, who would actually ride bicycles across the country instead of riding horses. And there was actually an all black infantry known as the twenty fifth Industry Bicycle Corp. That was tasked to ride from Montana to Missouri on a bicycle, which is nineteen hundred miles and it took them forty one days, showing the human strength and resolve to get through these treacherous conditions which included the rocky mountains and there was zero road at the time. And these were not mountain bikes, these were just basic And Isaac Johnson continued the African American contribution to the bicycle when he patented the folding bicycle, which was the first to have the recognizable diamond or triangle shaped frame that we have on our bicycles today, which has the bar that goes between your legs connecting the front and to the back, and the two bars that go below connecting to the pedals, which is what we commonly see today now. He had some additions to include folding because he grew up in New York in the city where you needed to be able to store a bike, and if you had one of those big pennyfeather bikes with a huge wheel, where were you going to put that? Even a small apartment, you needed someplace to compactly put your bike, and that's why he created it out of necessity, and he really changed the game. And his version of the bicycle is basically what we have today with a few minor tweaks, and the folding part really not used. But there are folding bicycles today which are mainly used for the same reason for small spaces in storage. So he really changed the game of bicycles. And we actually don't know very much more about him, as the only really documentation we have from him is what he put on his application for his patent. So he changed the game and something we have all used our entire lives, but many of us never heard of him, and his recognition is very limited. And it goes to show you that even if you make a small contribution, you can change the world that you may not even know about. And over the next century or so, the bicycle hasn't changed very much, at least the bicycle frame. It's gotten better material and more aerodynamic. The gear system was invented to make it easier to ride for longer distances, and it's been more customizable whether you're doing mountain biking, cycling for speed, or if you're just daily riding and you need a basket in front to get your daily groceries from the store. There have been so many iterations of the bicycle. It has become a sport where we try to check our speed and endurance and also something that is thought of as a toy that kids get early in their lives to learn how to ride and is used as a symbol of freedom. Although it is made less popular by the invention of the automobile, it is still around to this day and so a great way of transportation and exercise, and part of that is due to Isaac Johnson's patent of the bicycle frame that we know today. And if you want to learn more about getting into cycling, check out the buzz Along Cycling podcast where host Sherry takes you through all you need to know about getting into cycling and ultracycling so that you can have the best experiences in up your cycling game. I've never wondering how far you'll buy I could take you. Join me on the Basalon Cycling podcast where we talk all things adventure, races, gear and epigrites. Tune in wherever you listen to podcasts or catch all the highlights on YouTube. And if you enjoyed this episode, please send it to a friend let them know about all the sports history you're learning about, because one of the best ways for us to grow is word of mouth, and if you vouch for us, we'll keep growing and giving you more daily sports history and the answer today's trivia question, who were Buffalo Soldiers? Buffalo Soldiers were all black bicycle infantries that were created after the Civil War to traverse the country. Inn Tamning