Changes

In the 1870s, cycling was focused on delivering faster speeds and was mostly a young man's sport, as it was often seen as dangerous and not suitable for the elderly or women. The so-called high-wheel bikes became popular (Figure 2), which often had a very large front wheel and small back wheel. Such bikes did make it possible to attain very high speeds, but the were notoriously unsafe with many fatal and major accidents having taken place. The main problem was these bicycles placed the driver high up, which meant that any bump or uneven surface made the cyclists loose control. In the 1880s, the so-called safety bicycle was developed which emphasized greater steering control and more even wheel sizes, giving the rider not only greater control but greater comfort was also given to the driver through by now giving the back wheel chain control. By improving safety and comfort for cycling, these new so-called safety bikes also became the first bikes to be popular among both sexes and for different age groups. It is at this point that cycling begins to be pervasive among the wider population and at different age groups, including the elderly. In the late 1880s, improvements with the use of rubber wheels made bicycles also more able to travel rougher surfaces. The oldest cycling club in the US was soon established, in 1887, in St. Louis, called the St. Louis Cycling Club. In the 1890s, the roadster bike became among the most popular designs, which saw now bicycles developed for men and women, where women's bikes accommodated the fact they wore skirts and dresses which could get caught on the back wheels, thus a design to prevent this was developed.<ref>For more on how the modern style road bikes developed after the introduction of the high wheel bikes, see: Clayton, Nick. (2016). <i>The Birth of the Bicycle</i>. Amberley Publishing. Gloucester. </ref>

In parts of Europe, there were declines in the use of bicycles after World War 2. For the most part, most countries began to focus their transport spending on building roads or rail throughout the second half of the 20th century, and in particular as part of the reconstruction period after the war. In the Netherlands, in the 1960s it was evident cycling did begin to decline as cars displaced cyclists from roads. In the early 20th century, the Dutch had among the highest per capita use of bikes in the world. By 1970, it was evident that motor deaths began to become a leading cause of death for young people, which led to a reemergence of the importance of the bicycle in the Netherlands as a means for transport. Major campaigns began pressure politicians to develop specific infrastructure that segregated cyclists from motor traffic. This led to one of the first nation-wide master plans for cycling that focused on developing nation-wide bike routes and protected areas. The led to also dedicated bicycle garages, changing facilities, and parking areas throughout the country. The transformation and campaigns by Dutch activists to make cycling part of an integrated transport planning became the model where other countries have since tried to replicate, where now cycling is often seen as one of the best transport options or at least part of other options for short distances in urban regions and the countryside.<ref>For more on the Dutch cycling transformation, see: Norcliffe, G. B. (2015). <i>Critical geographies of cycling: history, political economy and culture</i>. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company. </ref>

In the 1980s, what began as mainly an upper class interest in health and fitness in the United States, began to renew interest in cycling. While overall, the number of adult cyclists were low in the United States, weekend, recreational use began to make a comeback among some adults. By the 1980s, mountain biking was a new sport that helped to help put interest back in forms of cycling. In the 1990s, renewed interests in bicycle racing also helped Americans once again take more interest in cycling. During the first decade of the 2000s, it was high oil prices that made urban cycling become more popular in US cities. Dedicated bicycle lanes began to reappearas pressure groups formed in American cities. The rise of oil prices, high traffic, coupled with increased interests in health, with obesity becoming a major problem, has now led to cycling being of high interest in many countries in Europe, the United States, and East Asia. Almost every major city now has a master plan for integrating cycling with urban transport. The biggest recent trends have been urban communities introducing docking stations and dock-less bicycles as part of their urban transport plans.<ref>For more on the history of cycling in the United States, see: Reid, C. (2017).<i> Bike boom: the unexpected resurgence of cycling</i>. Washington, DC: Island Press. </ref>