Where did the bicycle start? The first steps took place around 3500 B.C.E. in the Middle East. Historians believe that people put potter’s wheels on carts.
Those would have been the first wheeled vehicles. Technology moved slowly for the next 53 centuries. Then came small but major changes: spoked wheels, gears, and lighter, stronger metals. Spoked wheels are lighter than solid wheels. They’re also more aerodynamic.
In 1817, German Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbronn created a “walking machine,” or “hobbyhorse.” It was used to move around in the royal gardens. It had no pedals. The rider sat on it and moved it with his feet. This is called the first bicycle-like device.