Which inventors secured a patent around 1897 for a mass-produced, gasoline-powered motorized bicycle?
Answer
The Beauchamp brothers
The credit for one of the earliest documented examples of a gasoline-powered motorized bicycle intended for mass production is often given to the Beauchamp brothers of France. They successfully secured a patent for their design around the year 1897. Their machine featured a relatively small internal combustion engine strategically mounted near the rear wheel, making it one of the first commercially viable attempts to bring gasoline power to the bicycle format. This event occurred concurrently with similar explorations in America and Germany, highlighting the intense period of innovation driven by the miniaturization of the combustion engine during the late 1890s.
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