Luisito Cuica

· 06 Aug 2022

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Advances transmission chain

#history In 1834, watchmaker Julien-Benjamin Roussel was the first person to try to make the velocipede move using a rotating transmission chain. He filed the patent on April 8, 1835, with the title “Walking Vehicle with Manual Mechanism”.

Although it was probably too heavy to use on the street, it meant the presentation of this idea and was the first vehicle built with a transmission chain.



Pedaling with reciprocating motion

Alexandre Mercier, mechanic at Amiens, was the first to use the idea that each of the wheels of the velociped should have a function: the front should drive and the rear should drive. Until then, manufacturers had not differentiated the two wheels.

On May 1, 1843, he presented his mechanical assembly to the mayor of the city during the “king's festivities”, and days later he filed a patent. In this way, reciprocating pedalling was officially invented. In fact, current bicycles are still manufactured using the same principle as Alexandre Mercier's mechanical assembly.