Velocipede

This velocipede was one of the first models developed by Pierre Michaux before his association with the Olivier brothers in Michaux & Cie in 1868. It has a curved malleable cast-iron frame, a hand-operated lever brake and the famous pedals with their acorn-shaped counterweights. In France Pierre Michaux and his son Ernest were the first to adapt the pedal to the velocipede in the spring of 1861. The Olivier brothers’ influence later steered production towards lighter models with a straight rather than curved frame, in forged steel and with the pulley brake (based on the reduction of movement) patented by Michaux père in 1868. This Michaux velocipede is one of the earliest cycles in the museum. It was already included in the retrospective bicycle exhibition in 1906, just before it was acquired by the museum.