It can be a topic of tension in Brisbane but the Queensland Museum is putting a positive spin on cycling.
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Brisbane is the first stop for Freewheeling, a National Museum of Australia touring exhibition about the history of cycling in Australia.
QM chief executive Suzanne Miller said bikes had been part of our lives for 140 years.
"This exhibition captures the essence of cycling history across 10 themes from the early penny-farthing to the iconic 1980s BMX, right through to the multi-million dollar operation that is professional racing today," she said.
"From its monumental impact on the women's suffrage movement of the 19th Century to its universal appeal as a means of freedom and escape, the exhibition gives visitors an insight into the powerful impact this simple, affordable machine has had in shaping our lives, and of course the possibilities it holds for the future."
QM creative producer of exhibitions Peter Tonkin said the exhibition featured everything from an 1884 penny-farthing to a Ridley Helium road bike used by Cadel Evans in the 2008 Tour de France.
"It does go into the technology... it tells a story over the past 100 years of how the bike developed," he said.
"We also have on display a four-person tandem solar bike, which is from the Museum's own collection."
Mr Tonkin hoped visitors would gain an insight into how the humble bike changed the way people moved.
"The bicycle is a valid and revolutionary mode of transport ... and it's been around long before cars."
Other highlights of the exhibition include:
- A Velokraft carbon fibre recumbent bike used by Peter Heal to set solo cycling records across and around Australia in 2009 and 2010.
- A blue beret worn by Hubert "Oppy" Opperman throughout his life as a tribute to the French for their support.
- A Malvern Star road racer presented to champion distance cyclist Ernie Old in 1956.
- An 1884 penny-farthing owned by champion racer Harry Clarke.
- The Ken Ross cycling collection: medals won by one of the few Australian cyclists in Europe after the First World War.
- A bicyicle made in Melbourne by Arthur Sutherland for his wife, Marion, in 1913.
Freewheeling: Cycling in Australia is on at the Queensland Museum, South Bank until June 2015.
