A treadle bicycle is a bicycle

Bicycle

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

 powered by a treadle

Treadle

A treadle [from OE tredan = to tread] is a part of a machine which is operated by the foot to produce reciprocating or rotary motion in a machine such as a weaving loom or grinder...

 instead of the more-common crank

Crankset

The crankset or chainset , is the component of a bicycle drivetrain that converts the reciprocating motion of the rider's legs into rotational motion used to drive the chain, which in turn drives the rear wheel...

. Treadles were one of the mechanisms inventors tried in order to position the pedals

Bicycle pedal

A bicycle pedal is the part of a bicycle that the rider pushes with their foot to propel the bicycle. It provides the connection between the cyclist's foot or shoe and the crank allowing the leg to turn the bottom bracket spindle and propel the bicycle's wheels...

 away from the drive wheel hub before the development of the bicycle chain

Bicycle chain

A bicycle chain is a roller chain that transfers power from the pedals to the drive-wheel of a bicycle, thus propelling it. Most bicycle chains are made from plain carbon or alloy steel, but some are nickel-plated to prevent rust, or simply for aesthetics. Nickel also confers a measure of...

 or in lieu of it. Treadles have also been used to drive tricycle

Tricycle

A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...

s and quadracycle

Quadracycle

A quadracycle is a four-wheeled human-powered vehicle. It is also referred to as a quadricycle, quadcycle pedal car or four-wheeled bicycle, amongst other terms....

s.

History

Treadles were used before the advent of highwheeler

Penny-farthing

Penny-farthing, high wheel, high wheeler, and ordinary are all terms used to describe a type of bicycle with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel that was popular after the boneshaker, until the development of the safety bicycle, in the 1880s...

s on Thomas McCall

Thomas McCall

Thomas McCall was a Scottish cartwright. Born in Penpont he came to Kilmarnock at age 20, where he lived until his death ....

's velocipede, on highwheelers themselves in an to attempt to address safety issues, on alternative configurations of highwheelers, and on the first device called a safety bicycle

Safety bicycle

A safety bicycle is a type of bicycle that became very popular beginning in the late 1880s as an alternative to the penny-farthing or ordinary and is now the most common type of bicycle. Early bicycles of this style were known as safety bicycles because they were noted for, and marketed as, being...

by British engineer Henry J. Lawson in 1876. Some inventors even combined treadles and chains on the same bicycle.