The invention of the bicycle came at a similar time like engine driven vehicles. Before those became popular, the direct competitor for bicycles (one person transportation) were horses.
There might have literally not been a need to invent a bicycle as horses fulfilled the same purpose and had the advantage that they fared better on the back then nearly non-existent infrastructure.
Also: a single person transportation vehicle was not something a lot of people needed in their lives. You needed something to move stuff, but the demand to move single people daily came into existence with the dawn of big cities.
The invention of the bicycle came at a similar time like engine driven vehicles. Before those became popular, the direct competitor for bicycles (one person transportation) were horses.
There might have literally not been a need to invent a bicycle as horses fulfilled the same purpose and had the advantage that they fared better on the back then nearly non-existent infrastructure.
Also: a single person transportation vehicle was not something a lot of people needed in their lives. You needed something to move stuff, but the demand to move single people daily came into existence with the dawn of big cities.