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Some of the other answers mentioned technologies that are prerequisites for bicycles. However, the deciding technology that prevented the widespread use of bicycle technology were cost effective methods to build durable and maintainable roads.

Karl Drais invented the Laufmaschine (aka vélocipède bicycle) as early as 1817, because he couldn't afford to feed his horse and because he was living near a stretch of excellent road going into Mannheim. He sold a couple of his inventions to nobility or the like. Think of (grown up) princes riding around in formal gardens. Except for Drais and a few others it wasn't even useful for most of the gentry. Bicycles were a fad in other nations in the following years, and then forgotten until the 1860s.

What changed in between were Macadam roads and railways. Up until the 1850 the ne plus ultra for goods transport were canals. In early industrialisation from 1600, digging canals was a priority for any prince or monarch developing their dominion. Railways were considerably cheaper and faster to build. They freed up funds and workforce for road building. But they also increased demand for overland transport, and thus made good roads economically feasible.

Before the development of Macadam roads, metalled (i.e. gravel roads) were possible but expensive and degraded very quickly. The key was water management by compacting the surface, camber, ditches, and stable foundations. If you have to rebuild the damn thing after every decent downpour, you don't have the funds or workforce to extend a road network.

When you imagine a 17c 'highway', think of two adjacent MTB single trails and not a rough gravel road. Old roads were built for carts. Two ruts for the wheels separated by a very nutrient-rich trampled morass. That's where the ox goes.

Bicycles don't do well on such rough terrain. Mountain bikes (MTB) with fat tyres are good for going downhill and having hilarious fun. Pneumatic tyres were invented is 1847. Until 1876, the Portuguese had a rubber monopoly and it was a rare commodity. Even with modern tyres, MTBs aren't much faster than trail hiking for long distances though.

Without any application, inventions are forgotten. At best they may become a fad, like Drais' 'dandy horse'. But they do not last.

Some of the other answers mentioned technologies that are prerequisites for bicycles. However, the deciding technology that prevented the widespread use of bicycle technology were cost effective methods to build durable and maintainable roads.

Karl Drais invented the Laufmaschine (aka vélocipède bicycle) as early as 1817, because he couldn't afford to feed his horse and because he was living near a stretch of excellent road going into Mannheim. He sold a couple of his inventions to nobility or the like. Think of (grown up) princes riding around in formal gardens. Except for Drais and a few others it wasn't even useful for most of the gentry. Bicycles were a fad in other nations in the following years, and then forgotten until the 1860s.

What changed in between were Macadam roads and railways. Up until the 1850 the ne plus ultra for goods transport were canals. In early industrialisation from 1600, digging canals was a priority for any prince or monarch developing their dominion. Railways were considerably cheaper and faster to build. They freed up funds and workforce for road building. But they also increased demand for overland transport, and thus made good roads economically feasible.

Before the development of Macadam roads, metalled (i.e. gravel roads) were possible but expensive and degraded very quickly. The key was water management by compacting the surface, camber, ditches, and stable foundations. If you have to rebuild the damn thing after every decent downpour, you don't have the funds or workforce to extend a road network.

When you imagine a 17c 'highway', think of two adjacent MTB single trails and not a rough gravel road. Old roads were built for carts. Two ruts for the wheels separated by a very nutrient-rich trampled morass. That's where the ox goes.

Bicycles don't do well on such rough terrain. Mountain bikes (MTB) with fat tyres are good for going downhill and having hilarious fun. Pneumatic tyres were invented in 1847. Until 1876, the Portuguese had a rubber monopoly and it was a rare commodity. Even with modern tyres, MTBs aren't much faster than trail hiking for long distances though.

Without any application, inventions are forgotten. At best they may become a fad, like Drais' 'dandy horse'. But they do not last.

Some of the other answers mentioned technologies that are prerequisites for bicycles. However, the deciding technology that prevented the widespread use of bicycle technology were cost effective methods to build durable and maintainable roads.

Karl Drais invented the Laufmaschine (aka vélocipède bicycle) already in 1817. Because he couldn't afford to feed his horse and because he was living near a stretch of excellent road going into Mannheim. He sold a couple of his inventions to nobility or the like. Think of (grown up) princes riding around in formal gardens. Except for Drais and a few others it wasn't even useful for most of the gentry. Bicycles were a fad in other nations in the following years, and then forgotten until the 1860s.

What's changed in between were Macadam roads and railways. Up until the 1850 the ne plus ultra for goods transport were canals. In early industrialisation from 1600 digging canals was a priority for any prince or monarch developing their dominion. Railways were considerably cheaper and faster to build. They freed up funds and workforce for road building. But they also increased demand for overland transport, and thus made good roads economically feasible.

Before developments of Macadam roads, metalled (ie gravel roads) were possible but expensive and degrading very quickly. The key was water managment by compacting the surface, camber, ditches, and stable foundations. If you have to rebuild the damn thing after every decent downpour you don't have the funds or workforce to extend a road network.

When you imagine a 17c 'highway' think of two adjacent MTB single trails and not a rough gravel road. Old roads were built for carts. Two ruts for the wheels separated by a very nutrient rich trampled morass. That's where the ox goes.

Bicycles don't do well on such rough terrain. Mountain bikes (MTB) with fat tyres are good for going downhill and having hilarious fun. Pneumatic tyres were invented 1847. Until 1876 Portuguese had a rubber monopoly and it was a rare commodity. Even with modern tyres, MTBs aren't much faster than trail hiking for long distances though.

Without any application inventions are forgotten. At best they may become a fad, like Drais' 'dandy horse'. But they do not last.

Some of the other answers mentioned technologies that are prerequisites for bicycles. However, the deciding technology that prevented the widespread use of bicycle technology were cost effective methods to build durable and maintainable roads.

Karl Drais invented the Laufmaschine (aka vélocipède bicycle) as early as 1817, because he couldn't afford to feed his horse and because he was living near a stretch of excellent road going into Mannheim. He sold a couple of his inventions to nobility or the like. Think of (grown up) princes riding around in formal gardens. Except for Drais and a few others it wasn't even useful for most of the gentry. Bicycles were a fad in other nations in the following years, and then forgotten until the 1860s.

What changed in between were Macadam roads and railways. Up until the 1850 the ne plus ultra for goods transport were canals. In early industrialisation from 1600, digging canals was a priority for any prince or monarch developing their dominion. Railways were considerably cheaper and faster to build. They freed up funds and workforce for road building. But they also increased demand for overland transport, and thus made good roads economically feasible.

Before the development of Macadam roads, metalled (i.e. gravel roads) were possible but expensive and degraded very quickly. The key was water management by compacting the surface, camber, ditches, and stable foundations. If you have to rebuild the damn thing after every decent downpour, you don't have the funds or workforce to extend a road network.

When you imagine a 17c 'highway', think of two adjacent MTB single trails and not a rough gravel road. Old roads were built for carts. Two ruts for the wheels separated by a very nutrient-rich trampled morass. That's where the ox goes.

Bicycles don't do well on such rough terrain. Mountain bikes (MTB) with fat tyres are good for going downhill and having hilarious fun. Pneumatic tyres were invented is 1847. Until 1876, the Portuguese had a rubber monopoly and it was a rare commodity. Even with modern tyres, MTBs aren't much faster than trail hiking for long distances though.

Without any application, inventions are forgotten. At best they may become a fad, like Drais' 'dandy horse'. But they do not last.

Some of the other answers mentioned technologies that are prerequisites for bicycles. However, the deciding technology that prevented the widespread use of bicycle technology were cost effective methods to build durable and maintainable roads.

Karl Drais invented the Laufmaschine (aka vélocipède bicycle) already in 1817. Because he couldn't afford to feed his horse and because he was living near a stretch of excellent road going into Mannheim. He sold a couple of his inventions to nobility or the like. Think of (grown up) princes riding around in formal gardens. Except for Drais and a few others it wasn't even useful for most of the gentry. Bicycles were a fad in other nations in the following years, and then forgotten until the 1860s.

What's changed in between were Macadam roads and railways. Up until the 1850 the non-plus ultra for goods transport were canals. In early industrialisation from 1600 digging canals was a priority for any prince or monarch developing their dominion. Railways were considerably cheaper and faster to build. They freed up funds and workforce for road building. But they also increased demand for overland transport, and thus made good roads economically feasible.

Before developments of Macadam roads, metalled (ie gravel roads) were possible but expensive and degrading very quickly. The key was water managment by compacting the surface, camber, ditches, and stable foundations. If you have to rebuild the damn thing after every decent downpour you don't have the funds or workforce to extend a road network.

When you imagine a 17c 'highway' think of two adjacent MTB single trails and not a rough gravel road. Old roads were built for carts. Two ruts for the wheels separated by a very nutrient rich trampled morass. That's where the ox goes.

Bicycles don't do well on such rough terrain. Mountain bikes (MTB) with fat tyres are good for going downhill and having hilarious fun. Pneumatic tyres were invented 1847. Until 1876 Portuguese had a rubber monopoly and it was a rare commodity. Even with modern tyres, MTBs aren't much faster than trail hiking for long distances though.

Without any application inventions are forgotten. At best they may become a fad, like Drais' 'dandy horse'. But they do not last.

Some of the other answers mentioned technologies that are prerequisites for bicycles. However, the deciding technology that prevented the widespread use of bicycle technology were cost effective methods to build durable and maintainable roads.

Karl Drais invented the Laufmaschine (aka vélocipède bicycle) already in 1817. Because he couldn't afford to feed his horse and because he was living near a stretch of excellent road going into Mannheim. He sold a couple of his inventions to nobility or the like. Think of (grown up) princes riding around in formal gardens. Except for Drais and a few others it wasn't even useful for most of the gentry. Bicycles were a fad in other nations in the following years, and then forgotten until the 1860s.

What's changed in between were Macadam roads and railways. Up until the 1850 the ne plus ultra for goods transport were canals. In early industrialisation from 1600 digging canals was a priority for any prince or monarch developing their dominion. Railways were considerably cheaper and faster to build. They freed up funds and workforce for road building. But they also increased demand for overland transport, and thus made good roads economically feasible.

Before developments of Macadam roads, metalled (ie gravel roads) were possible but expensive and degrading very quickly. The key was water managment by compacting the surface, camber, ditches, and stable foundations. If you have to rebuild the damn thing after every decent downpour you don't have the funds or workforce to extend a road network.

When you imagine a 17c 'highway' think of two adjacent MTB single trails and not a rough gravel road. Old roads were built for carts. Two ruts for the wheels separated by a very nutrient rich trampled morass. That's where the ox goes.

Bicycles don't do well on such rough terrain. Mountain bikes (MTB) with fat tyres are good for going downhill and having hilarious fun. Pneumatic tyres were invented 1847. Until 1876 Portuguese had a rubber monopoly and it was a rare commodity. Even with modern tyres, MTBs aren't much faster than trail hiking for long distances though.

Without any application inventions are forgotten. At best they may become a fad, like Drais' 'dandy horse'. But they do not last.