"Push Bike" please explain? Here in the good 'ol USA we RIDE our bikes. Do you brits contantly have flats or can't you pedal uphill? Hope to hear from some of my favorites on this... Glen, I thought the early bikes you had to walk were called Hobbies or something like that. Ya think after a 100 years "push" would be dropped if not for anything else but abbreviation... "Push bike" or "Pushy " is not a term isolated to just the Brits. Many former English colonies also use the term. (Common here in Australia also) (a bit surprised the U.S. don't use it)
The English have a very long history with the bicycle and are largely responsible for it being popularised. (Penny farthing and the Rover). The origins of the term Push bike are generally belived to have derived from the (German) Baron Karl Drais von Sauerbronn machine. (It was presented at a Paris show in 1818.) This became quite popular in England. It had no pedals was straddled and pushed along with the feet.
So the term push bike was born and it stuck.
http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/of...
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Additional.... There were many names for these types of bikes including dandy horse, velocipede, draisine and hobby horse.
I first heard the story about pushies (without pedals) when I was a boy from an old bloke who was talking about something his grandfather had in his shed. I have heard similar stories since. Sorry I haven't been able to confirm it with anything on the net though.
Over hear the term "Push bike" is so firmly entrenched that almost everybody (except possibly a few imported Americans) knows what is being talked about. 'Two bits' I understand; No probs! Report It
Umm you push on the pedals. With thou feet. Wow ! You got me on this one?
I have absolutely no idea why they are called this, even though it's a term I've used, since I was a kid!
I will rank it alongside the other oxymoron we have in cycling - Clipless pedals!
EDIT: Actually M R "Push bike" is more often used to distinguish the two rather than "Pedal cycle" ! . .or indeed "Bicycle" for that matter!
EDIT2: I'm not so sure about Glenns' interpretation as the term "bike" wasn't coined until much later than the 'dandy-horse' days. But I hate to criticize unless I have an alternative, - which I don't!!
. Ok, I'm not a Brit but I do own a Triumph motorcycle and had a Triumph bicycle a few years ago :)
It is a term to distinguish a bicycle from a motorcycle.
Since I'm involved with both forms of bikes, I sometimes have to define which I'm talking about, Pedal bike or Motorbike. | 