Hungary's First Bicycle Museum in Balassagyarmat

The country's first bicycle museum opened this Saturday in Balassagyarmat, northeast of Budapest. In the collection, visitors can follow the development history of bicycles, from the oldest foot-operated treadmills to modern racing bikes.

Founder Miklós Olexa, president of the Ipoly Tour Association, which runs the museum, told the Hungarian news agency MTI that among the more than a hundred bicycles, the largest group is made up by Hungarian products, manufactured by Weisz Manfréd Steel and Metal Works Co. Ltd. and Csepel Works,. There are also touring bikes from Europe and racing bikes from all over the world on display.

The exhibition traces the history of the development of the bicycle from the treadmill through the bicycle to today's bicycles, the first motorized bicycle, the Dombo motor-driven bicycle manufactured in the 1960s, and some motorcycles are also displayed. Special pieces of sports bikes have also been exhibited, including mountain bikes and BMX.
The founder stressed the materials displayed at the museum are the property of ten private collectors. Among them, he highlighted Márton Bálint, János Siklósi and Csaba Sajgó, who also took part in the creation of the museum.

The oldest bicycles come from England and France. Among the earliest are foot-operated treadmills made of iron by blacksmiths in the first half of the 1800s. These are followed by the Scottish-made, rod-powered Macmillan, then comes the huge-wheeled bicycle, and then, the bicycle as we know it today developed towards the end of the 1800s.