Drais was inspired , at least in part , by the need to develop a form of transit that did not rely on the horse . After the eruption of Mount Tambora and the Year Without a Summer ( 1816 ) , which followed close on the devastation of the Napoleonic Wars , widespread crop failures and food shortages resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of horses , which either starved to death or were killed to provide meat and hides . " In wartime , " he wrote , " when horses and their fodder often become scarce , a small fleet of such wagons at each corps could be important , especially for dispatches over short distances and for carrying the wounded . ” Several manufacturers in France and England made their own dandy-horses during its brief popularity in the summer of 1819 — most notably Denis Johnson of London , who used an elegantly curved wooden frame that allowed the use of larger wheels . Riders preferred to operate their vehicles on the smooth pavements instead of the rough roads , but their interactions with pedestrians caused many municipalities worldwide to enact laws prohibiting their use . Later designs avoided the initial drawback of this device when it had to be made to measure , manufactured to conform with the height and the stride of its rider . An example is Nicéphore Niépce 's 1818 model with an adjustable saddle for his ' velocipede ' built by Lagrange
Year Without a Summer
Year Without a Summer
Dandy horse