Question: Who built the first bicycle?
Answer: The first true bicycle—two wheels in a line with steering—was built in 1817 by Karl Drais, a German inventor. His invention, called the laufmaschine (“running machine”) or Draisine, had no pedals; riders propelled themselves by pushing off the ground with their feet. It was designed as a faster alternative to walking, especially useful during a horse shortage at the time. Though others would later add pedals, chains, and rubber tires, Drais’s design is widely recognized as the foundation of the modern bicycle. (And no, despite the myth, Leonardo da Vinci did not invent it—those famous sketches were almost certainly faked centuries later.)
