INSPIRED by the visit of the Tour de Yorkshire cycle race to Settle at the end of April, the new exhibition at the town's Gallery on the Green is titled Art and the World of Cycling.

With more than 100 exhibits, the gallery - housed in a former telephone box - makes maximum use of the limited space available for the exhibition which starts by taking visitors back to the cycling boom of late Victorian times.

It was in 1896, that science fiction writer and social commentator HG Wells turned his attention to the world of cycling and wrote a comic novel – ‘The Wheels of Chance a holiday adventure’. It was illustrated by the popular artist J Ayton Symington and his charming, but now rarely seen, drawings are reproduced at the gallery courtesy of the British Library.

The main section of the exhibition consists of postcards showing the changing design of the bicycle over the years. Two wheels are the one constant – but beyond that art and design have combined to produce a variety of shapes and sizes, some beautiful, some useful and others just odd.

Alongside these cards are others showing how artists and especially advertisers have used the bicycle over the years, while the final section consists of classic posters from around the world in the artistic styles of the 1920s.

The exhibition - which has been supported by Settle Town Council - opens on Saturday and runs until Friday, May 20.