The bicycle is the only item in our world that is truly classless. Over a billion bicycles exist across the world and there is no one specific ‘type’ or ‘group’ of people that ride a bicycle; regardless of race, religion, colour, creed, age, sexual orientation, political beliefs or any other characteristics, it has always been, is, and will be perfectly acceptable for you to be riding a bicycle.

The invention of the bicycle and cycling (or velocipeding) was initially, for a short period of time a fad for the elite few, but the advent of John Kemp Starley’s safety bicycle in 1885 made cycling accessible for all, and had significant effects economically and on social attitudes that spready rapidly across the globe. The safety bicycle was a successful alternative to it’s predecessor, the penny farthing bicycle, which had quite a ludicrous design (seriously, google it).

Netherlands prime minister, Mark Rutte, cycling to the Royal Palace. October 15, 2017

The safety bicycle is now the most common type of bicycle, but more importantly it became more than a form of transport — despite being a simple device with wheels, pedals, gears and tubular frame, it was revolutionary for independent travel, and attracted all classes and types of people.

“Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammelled womanhood.” Susan B. Anthony

Probably one of the greatest social movements accomplished through the bicycle was for women’s rights. Before the safety bicycle, cycling was a predominantly male pastime.

There was masculine emphasis on speed and power to promote cycling, which was seen as inappropriate for feminine physiology. However, the smaller wheels and lower seating position of the safety bicycle permitted women in their long skirts to ride. By 1896, a third of bicycles ordered were for women (compared to 1 in 50, before the safety bicycle).

Women were increasingly independent and Victorian society could not come to terms with mixing of sexes in cycle clubs and women outside the home, and the majority of women were not radicals in the sense of promoting political agenda; just like males the increased freedom from the bicycle attracted them. More femininity was seen in bars, design, social spaces and women were shown to be reshaping their identities, emphasising ideas of independence and mobility beyond the domestic realm.

The bicycle was also used as a tool for rising political activism beyond women’s rights. The Clarion Cycling Club founded in Birmingham in 1894 spread socialist ideologies, and had branches across the Midlands and North, consisting of over 8,000 members; the club represented the link between cycling fellowship and rising political activism, as the bicycles enabled clarion scouts to hold gatherings, and in case of being dispersed by local police, they were able to regather somewhere else on their bicycles.

For the women’s suffrage movement, the bicycle played a part similar to the Clarion, as groups of activists were able to travel from place to place to spread suffragist propaganda.

Millicent Garrett Fawcett, leader of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage societies, remained committed to non-violent action in support of votes for women, and was a keen cyclist and organised women’s cycle outings and picnics. She strongly encouraged readers of the Wheelwoman magazine to donate their old bicycles to working-class women to participate in cycling events.

Asides from this, the impact womens’ cycling had on fashion was particularly interesting, as a new cycling dress code, a rational costume had been pioneered. Since women had long been held back by their long skirts (which used to get caught in the chain) women had began wearing split skirts, bloomers similar to male, and even short jackets.

Such dress was symbolically breaking norms, as simplicity and functionality were not seen to be feminine traits.

The YouTube channel Vox has a great video speaking further on the bicycles impact on women’s rights:

In fact, the use of bicycles for activism isn’t just a part of history, it’s still in action today.

In mid-2018, women in Saudi Arabia gained the freedom to ride a bicycle, and the efforts of women’s activists such as Baraah Luhaid played a part in this, as she established Spokes Hub, a gender-inclusive cycling community in Saudi Arabia. (I know, you’re also probably thinking holy s*** they weren’t even allowed to cycle until now?).

Moving on, you might be aware that the UK, particularly London, has a knife crime epidemic.

In 2018 alone, there had been 68 stabbings, a large number of which were teenage boys, and unfortunately the number of knife crime offences have been on an increase for the last few years.

In 2018, around 4000 young cyclists rode from London Bridge to Oxford Street, as part of their #BikesUpKnivesDown campaign, organised by 19-year old Jake O’Neill, who founded BikeStormz in 2015 to protest youth violence, aiming to give young people an alternative to crime through bike riding.

“No one cares where you’re from when you ride. No one cares about the colour of your skin, they just care about riding. The minute the wheel is in the air, it’s a total mind block of anything going on in your life.”

Unity: Metropolitan Police officers ride side by side with London’s youth (Adam Corbett/@adamcorbettphoto)

The bicycle has only been around for a little over a century, but has shifted social attitude indefinitely, and will remain a powerful tool to do so. Regardless of the different trends that come and go, a bicycle will always be a gift that will bring a gleaming smile to a child’s face, pedalling away at the age of 7 on the same thing, at the same time as an elderly couple cycling through a village in India, the Dutch prime minister riding his cherished bicycle to his regular meetings, a woman fighting for her deserved rights, a student on his way to his lecture, a teenager on his BMX spreading awareness of knife crime, an Olympic cyclist a mere yard away from the finish line.

We often see the bicycle just as a form of transport, but it’s much more than that — it’s a classless item that billions of different people across the globe own, and is a true symbol of unification.