Bicycle showcases classic and cutting-edge bicycles and traces the evolution of cycling from the nineteenth century to today. From BMX and mountain biking to track and road racing, this comprehensive full-color guide features the latest high-performance bikes and cycling technology, as well as key models from eras gone by. Virtual tours showcase important bike designs, like the Bianchi Paris Roubaix, and close-up photographs focus on design elements,...

Cycling is hugely popular nowadays. Since 2003 more than 100 million bikes have been produced each year, more than twice the amount of cars. And in 2011, more than 741,000 people cycled to work, an increase of 90,000 from 2001. The Splendid Book of the Bicycle is a wide-ranging celebration of the bicycle and cycling, incorporating social history, sport and science. It covers the bicycle's invention and subsequent historical development, stories of...

"The modern bicycle as we know it today was developed in England in the 1880s. A decade later, cycling was already a popular spectator sport and a recreational fashion across western society. Women's rights, class mobility and a modern spirit of individualism helped fuel this bicycle boom. In China, on the other hand, the bicycle's ubiquity reflected state-controlled social uniformity. Briefly, it became a symbol of resistance in Tiananmen Square...