Did this never make it to the list? I sent it on Friday and everything has been said again, but if you want facts with sites here they are.
With a quick perusal of "Collecting and Restoring Antique Bicycles"
by G. Donald Adams come through with some more answers to the
questions asked. "In 1864, James Starley developed and important
innovation, the tangent spoke wheel." (P. 41) It doesn't say
anything about wire spokes being specifically invented for bicycles,
so unless someone can give more specific reference I'll still say
they came before. The real thing bikes have given to the world was
the pneumatic tire. "(. . .) Irish veterinarian John Boyd Dunlop in
1888 created a hollow tire which is filled with air under pressure."
(P. 141) In the next paragraph they discuss how Dunlop was
influenced by Robert Thomson who created a pneumatic tire in 1845.
Dunlop was the first person to see the future in an air cushioned
tire and started to push them in the cycling world. Everyone can see
where its taken us in 114 years.
http://www.reynoldsusa.com/
enjoy,
Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
Loving history in
Santa Barbara, Calif.