1845 Gavin Dalzell Bicycle (replica)

WHO BUILT THE FIRST BICYCLE?

The question of whether or not a Scottish inventor made the first bicycle in 1839 (illustration above), or if it was first made by Michaux in the 1860s – probably depends on whether you are Scottish or French. According to the research of his descendant James Johnston in the 1890s, Kirkpatrick Macmillan (above) was the first to invent the pedal-driven bicycle. Johnston, a corn trader and tricyclist, had the firm aim, in his own words “to prove that to my native country of Dumfries belongs the honour of being the birthplace of the invention of the bicycle.”

Macmillan’s 1839 bicycle reportedly had iron-rimmed wooden wheels, a steerable wheel in the front and a larger wheel in the rear which was connected to pedals via connecting rods. According to a Glasgow newspaper article from 1842, an accident occurred in which an anonymous “gentleman from Dumfries-shire… bestride a velocipede… of ingenious design” knocked over a pedestrian in the Gorbals and was fined five British shillings. Johnston identified Macmillan as that gentleman. Nevertheless, no original Macmillan bicycle was ever found, and skeptics suggested that Johnson had a craftsman build one retrospectively using two velocipedes.

For over 50 years, the world’s first bicycle was believed to have been built by Gavin Dalzell, also from Scotland. It was only when one of his machines was exhibited at the 1888 Glasgow Exhibition by his son J.B Dalzell, and was challenged by James Johnston, that it was conceded that Dalzell had copied Macmillan’s design and had been building his own bicycles for sale in the local area at around £7 each. The result of his enterprise, however, meant that one of the original Dalzell machines has survived, and is on display at Glasgow Museum. So even if we can’t examine the 1839 Macmillan first-hand, at least we can see the subsequent version from 1845.

“Gavin Dalzell of Lesmahagow near Lanark made a copy of Macmillan’s design six years later, as Macmillan had not taken out a patent to protect his invention,” reported The Scotsman newspaper: “To this day, one of Dalzell’s metal and wood bicycles survives in the Riverside Museum of Transport in Glasgow as one of the oldest bicycles in the world (shown below). Alongside this creation, the controversy of who really did invent one of the world’s most popular methods of transport continues to rage on.”

1845 Gavin Dalzell Bicycle (replica)

Front wheel 30″

Rear wheel 40″

both wheels wooden with metal ‘tyre’

LENGTH: 88″

WIDTH: 23″ (Handlebar)

HEIGHT: 42″

Includes an exhibition stand

(Now sold)

An original Dalzell bicycle survives, though in poor condition, in Glasgow Museum. The example featured here was crafted in 2020 as a copy of Glasgow Museum’s machine. It was exhibited during August 2023 when Scotland hosted the UCI Cycling World Championships. It has a wooden body with its rear mudguard made of metal. The wheels, ie rims, spokes and hubs, are wooden, with a ‘tyre’ of metal. There are a few scratches to its paintwork, though it’s in overall excellent condition.

It was built to a very high standard as a functional bicycle. It can be ridden, so you can discover for yourself about this curious time in the evolution of the bicycle when, in a particular area of Scotland, craftsmen were building bicycles to MacMillan’s design, before the development of the velocipede in France by Michaux several decades later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXHIBITION STAND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos & info with thanks to “The Boneshaker” magazine, “L’Histoire du Cycle” and ‘The Strand’ magazine.