The bicycle was not an obvious postal tool at first. Early British Post Office trials before 1880 failed, but in 1880 two tricycle delivery routes were tried in Coventry. Their riders received a weekly allowance to buy and maintain the vehicles.
Bicycles and tricycles then became more common for carrying letters and telegrams. By 1895, 67 cycle posts had been established across the country. Riders initially supplied their own machines; in 1896 the Post Office bought its first 100 bicycles as it prepared for a wider free-delivery area for telegrams.
The shift shows how a working bicycle was shaped by practical demands: distance, the weight of the mail and the cost of upkeep. A simple means of travel became part of the delivery network because it could reach addresses that would take longer to serve on foot.