How did the first bicycle move with no pedals, and what did high-wheel riders call a fall over the front wheel? These bicycle trivia questions cover the history, the parts and the physics, each answer with its source.
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Bike trivia questions and answers, round by round
Running machines and boneshakers is the story to 1869: the baron's wooden two-wheeler, the dandies and the first pedals. High wheels and safety bicycles covers the penny-farthing, the header and the chain that made cycling safe.
Parts, physics and people
Frame, chain, brakes and bell suits anyone who has mended a puncture. How a bicycle rides asks why a bicycle stays up and what a stoppie is. Bicycles in daily life has white bicycles in Amsterdam, bloomers and a bicycle named Gladys.
For a cycling club, play Frame, chain, brakes and bell first and let the mechanics argue.
Questions and answers
What are some easy bicycle trivia questions?
What is the penny-farthing named after? How does a rider work a coaster brake? What is a child's starter bike with no pedals called? The answers are two British coins, by pedaling backward, and a balance bike.
Who invented the bicycle?
The German baron Karl von Drais showed a two-wheeled running machine in Mannheim in 1817; its rider pushed along the ground with the feet. French makers put pedals on the front wheel in the 1860s, and the first successful safety bicycle followed in 1885.
Why is it called a penny-farthing?
After two British coins. Seen from the side, the big front wheel is the penny and the small rear wheel the farthing. The name is first recorded in print in 1891; before that the machines were simply called bicycles.
How were the answers checked?
On October 8, 2026, in the English Wikipedia articles Bicycle, History of the bicycle, Penny-farthing, Safety bicycle, Dandy horse and Bicycle bell. One figure was dropped because the main article gives it two ways: how much less energy cycling takes than walking.
A bicycle sketch dated to about 1500 was once credited to a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci. What is it now generally held to be?Answer: A deliberate fake. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
A Scottish blacksmith may have built the first mechanically driven two-wheeler in 1839, though the claim is disputed. Who was he?Answer: Kirkpatrick MacMillan. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
About how fast could a dandy horse go on level ground?Answer: 10 miles per hour. Source: Wikipedia: Dandy horse
The dandy horse lives on as a starter bicycle for small children. What is it called?Answer: A balance bike. Source: Wikipedia: Dandy horse
The English nicknamed the first two-wheeler the dandy horse. Who were the dandies?Answer: Fashionable men who often rode it. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
The first bicycle, of 1817, had no pedals. How did its rider make it go?Answer: By pushing along the ground with the feet. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
In 1865 the Olivier brothers rode velocipedes from Paris to which city, in eight days?Answer: Avignon. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
In which German city was the first two-wheeler, the running machine, shown to the public in 1817?Answer: Mannheim. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
The inventor of the first two-wheeler called it a Laufmaschine. What does the German word mean?Answer: Running machine. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
On the first reported ride of a two-wheeler, in June 1817, its inventor took less than an hour. How far did he go?Answer: About 8 miles. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
When French makers added pedals in the 1860s, where did they put them?Answer: On the hub of the front wheel. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
Which device, invented for the bicycle in 1869, lets a rider roll forward without pedaling all the time?Answer: The freewheel. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
Which German baron invented the first two-wheeler, in 1817, and is called the father of the bicycle?Answer: Karl von Drais. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
Which London maker announced an improved dandy horse, with a curved wooden frame, late in 1818?Answer: Denis Johnson. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
Which nickname did the velocipede of the 1860s earn for its rigid frame and iron-banded wheels?Answer: Boneshaker. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
Who filed the earliest American patent for a pedal-driven bicycle, in 1866?Answer: Pierre Lallement. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
Why did many towns pass laws against the dandy horse?Answer: Riders kept to the smooth footpaths, among people on foot. Source: Wikipedia: Dandy horse
Why, by one account, was the inventor of the first bicycle looking for something to take the place of the horse?Answer: Horses had starved after the harvest failed in 1816. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
High wheels and safety bicycles 17
A chain-driven bicycle of 1879 still had a huge front wheel and failed in the market. What did its detractors call it?Answer: The Crocodile. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
By which year had the safety bicycle completely replaced the high-wheeler in North America and Western Europe?Answer: 1890. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
For most of the years they were ridden, what were penny-farthings simply called?Answer: Bicycles. Source: Wikipedia: Penny-farthing
In which year was what is most likely the first electric bicycle built?Answer: 1897. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
The inventor Isaac R. Johnson lodged a patent in October 1899 for which kind of bicycle?Answer: A folding bicycle. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
On a safety bicycle of the 1880s, unlike a penny-farthing, what could the rider's feet do?Answer: Reach the ground. Source: Wikipedia: Safety bicycle
On which English city did British bicycle making center in the 1870s?Answer: Coventry. Source: Wikipedia: Penny-farthing
The penny-farthing is named after two of what?Answer: British coins. Source: Wikipedia: Penny-farthing
Queen Victoria owned a cycle made by James Starley, though there is no evidence she rode it. What kind was it?Answer: A tricycle. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
What did air-filled tires replace on the bicycles of the 1880s?Answer: Solid rubber tires. Source: Wikipedia: Safety bicycle
What did riders of high-wheelers call being thrown head-first over the front wheel?Answer: Taking a header. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
What set the limit on the size of a penny-farthing's front wheel?Answer: The length of the rider's legs. Source: Wikipedia: Penny-farthing
Which Parisian maker, who patented the wire-spoke tension wheel in 1869, is now regarded as the father of the high bicycle?Answer: Eugène Meyer. Source: Wikipedia: Penny-farthing
Which two features mark out the safety bicycle?Answer: Two wheels of about the same size and a chain to the rear wheel. Source: Wikipedia: Safety bicycle
Which war brought French bicycle making to a halt and sent mass production to Britain?Answer: The Franco-Prussian War. Source: Wikipedia: Penny-farthing
Who produced the first successful safety bicycle, in 1885?Answer: John Kemp Starley. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
Why did the front wheels of the 1870s grow so large?Answer: With pedals fixed to the wheel, a bigger wheel went farther with each turn. Source: Wikipedia: Penny-farthing
Frame, chain, brakes and bell 18
A single bicycle may be made of up to how many parts?Answer: A thousand. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
A track bicycle has no brakes. How does its rider slow down?Answer: By resisting the turning pedals. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
How does a rider work a coaster brake?Answer: By pedaling backward. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
How is the number of theoretical gears on a derailleur bicycle worked out?Answer: Multiply the chainrings at the front by the sprockets at the back. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
In a low gear, what does each turn of the pedals do?Answer: Turns the rear wheel fewer times. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Most bicycles send the power of the pedals to the rear wheel through what?Answer: A chain. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
What does a bicycle's headset do?Answer: It lets the fork turn smoothly for steering. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Where traffic keeps to the left, the bell is mounted on the left of the handlebars. Why?Answer: It leaves the right hand free to signal. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle bell
Which cables carry the pull of a hand lever to the brake pads?Answer: Bowden cables. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Which giant grass has been used for bicycle frames since 1894?Answer: Bamboo. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Which handlebars curve forward and down, so that a rider can crouch?Answer: Drop handlebars. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Which kind of brake has pads that act on a rotor fixed to the hub?Answer: A disc brake. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Which kind of frame has a lowered top tube, so that it can be mounted in a skirt?Answer: A step-through frame. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Which material is used for the frames of virtually all professional racing bicycles?Answer: Carbon fiber. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Which mechanism moves the chain from one cog to another to change gear?Answer: The derailleur. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Which part holds the cranks on their axis?Answer: The bottom bracket. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Who invented the bicycle bell?Answer: John Richard Dedicoat. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle bell
Why do some simple "ping" bicycle bells work poorly in the rain?Answer: Drops of water on the bell damp its vibrations. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle bell
How a bicycle rides 12
A cyclist riding at 10 to 15 miles per hour uses only about the power needed to do what?Answer: Walk. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Air drag on a cyclist rises in proportion to the square of what?Answer: Speed. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
By which method does a rider bring on the lean that a turn needs?Answer: Countersteering. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
How does a moving bicycle stay upright?Answer: It is steered so that its center of mass stays over the wheels. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
On which kind of bicycle is suspension mainly used?Answer: Mountain bicycles. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Up to what share of the energy a rider puts into the pedals reaches the wheels?Answer: 99 percent. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
What do cyclists call the speed at which they turn the pedals?Answer: Cadence. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
What do some off-road tires carry for riding on ice?Answer: Metal studs. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
What is a slick?Answer: A tire with no tread. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
What is a stoppie, also called an endo?Answer: Balancing on the front wheel with the rear wheel in the air. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
When a rider sits upright, what makes about three quarters of the air drag?Answer: The rider's own body. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Which kind of bicycle, on which the rider leans back, was banned from sanctioned racing in 1934?Answer: The recumbent. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Bicycles in daily life 17
Around 1900, how did the bicycle ease crowding in inner-city tenements?Answer: Workers could ride in from roomier homes in the suburbs. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
BMX bikes came out of which state in the early 1970s?Answer: California. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
By 1940, most bicycles in the United States were made for whom?Answer: Children. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
By the early 2000s, more than how many bicycles had been made around the world?Answer: 1 billion. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
The cycling craze of the 1890s fed a movement for rational dress. Which garment did it put in place of long skirts?Answer: Bloomers. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
The Dutch call a traditional upright bicycle with a step-through frame an omafiets. What does that mean?Answer: Grandma's bike. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
The first bicycle sharing scheme began in Amsterdam in 1965. What color were its bicycles?Answer: White. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
In 1895, 85 percent of the bicycles bought in the Netherlands came from which country?Answer: Britain. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
In a memoir of 1895 on learning to ride, Frances Willard gave her bicycle a name. Which?Answer: Gladys. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
In which year did the first mass-produced mountain bike appear?Answer: 1981. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
Under the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968, what does a bicycle count as?Answer: A vehicle. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Until the 1930s, European racers were not allowed derailleurs. How did a racer change gear?Answer: By stopping and turning the rear wheel around. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
What has the city of Trondheim, in Norway, built to encourage cyclists?Answer: A lift that helps them up a steep hill. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Which cause did American bicycle makers promote in the late 1800s, since it gave their buyers more places to ride?Answer: Good roads. Source: Wikipedia: History of the bicycle
Which of these was first invented for the bicycle and later became a key part of the car?Answer: The air-filled tire. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
Who said in 1896 that the bicycle "has done more to emancipate woman than any one thing in the world"?Answer: Susan B. Anthony. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle
The word bicycle was used in French in 1828, before the machine existed. What did it describe?Answer: A two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage. Source: Wikipedia: Bicycle