Bicycle in the Shop Window

[LocktownDog]

There's a bike shop down the street and they have the most beautiful contraption I've seen in a long time. I need to go in this weekend and find out how much they want for it. I could ride to work in style!

Very similar to this one:

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Penny Farthing. Wonderful. I never understood its design, but I love the way it looks.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

I saw a modern version of one of those on the back of an RV, today.

 

[LocktownDog]

I'm not sure, however, if I'm limber enough to climb atop the blasted thing. lol

Is it called a penny farthing? Why?

 

[Miss Neecerie]

The classically oversized penny-farthing wheel refers to the British penny and farthing coins of the time; the former being much larger than the latter so that the side view of the bicycle resembled two such coins placed next to one another.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny-farthing

 

[Drew B]

penny....farthing

the name was inspired by the difference in size between a penny and a farthing.

a penny and a farthing.

 

[Drew B]

haha

we replied at roughly the same time... and used the same source to verify ourselves... thats quiet funny really. :eusa_doh:

 

[Smuterella]

I really do think the penny farthing is a ridiculous contraption, yes they get you where you want to go very fast due to the long circumference wheel, so you pedal less but....look at the darn thing. Its incredibly dangerous.

 

[LondonLuke]

How does it not fall over when standing still?

 

[Flivver]

How does it not fall over when standing still?

You had to jump off when you stopped!

Here in the U.S. these bikes were called "ordinaries". The large front wheel allowed great speed to be achieved in the era before the mechanical advantage of gearing was added to bicycles.

Geared "safety" bikes quickly replaced the ordinaries in the early 1890s. The addition of the pneumatic tire around 1893 made the transition to the modern bicycle almost complete.

The shift to the safety bike allowed women to ride for the first time. Bicycle dates without chaperones were enjoyed by the young people of the 1890s, much to the disgust of their parents. These bicycle dates as well as the bloomer pants worn by the girls so their skirts wouldn't get caught in the chain caused older folks to term the younger generation quite decadent!

I have an 1885 Century Columbia with a 56-inch front wheel. I've never ridden it because it's too large for me. A 52" bike would be more suitable for my 5'-9" height.

 

[LizzieMaine]

There is a guy here in town who has one of these bikes -- a rough, tough, biker-looking leather-wearing customer who usually rides a Harley. He makes a *very* striking image riding around on his bike -- and I don't imagine he has any trouble with kids trying to steal it!

 

[MrNewportCustom]

There is a guy here in town who has one of these bikes -- a rough, tough, biker-looking leather-wearing customer who usually rides a Harley. He makes a *very* striking image riding around on his bike -- and I don't imagine he has any trouble with kids trying to steal it!

I'd like to see that!

About seven years ago, I took a bike ride on the Historic Arroyo Seco Parkway (that's the 110 freeway) from Pasadena almost to Interstate 5. It was an historic ride, being it was the first time ever that the freeway was closed to automovite traffic for the purpose of bicyclists and runners to occupy it. It was the first of what was to become an annual event (it may have, but I never heard about another ride). At any rate, there was a man who rode one of these bikes, an actual vintage one, the entire route, which went down the hill, back up and then half-way down again, totalling, I think, seven miles. My hat goes off to the guy for having done that!

Lee

 

[Flivver]

One other thought on the high wheel ordinaries...they had only a relatively ineffective spoon brake on the front wheel...adding to the fun and danger of riding one.

When safety bikes appeared, the men's versions had no brakes at all...no fenders or chain-guards either. You stopped by trying to back-pedal. It was considered un-manly to ride a bike with these accessories in the 1890s. These were for ladies only.

But in 1898 when the coaster brake was introduced, men quietly started using these "invisible" coaster brakes.

 

[pgoat]

Essentially the larger the front wheel, the "bigger" or higher the gear, and hence the faster you could go. Obviously this made for increasingly dangerous mounting and dismounting. These bikes had steps on the rear to help one get onto the saddle.

It also favored taller riders with longer legs, since one with a shorter inseam could not pedal the larger wheels. The "safety" bicycle leveled the playing field for racers by using a standardized wheel size and using a variable chain (or shaft) drive to develop a specific gear. At which point leg strength and general fitness of the rider became the deciding factor, not physical size. For recreational riders, the safety bike's name says it all.

Most here probably know this but there was a tremendous bike boom in the US back around 1900. It was really after WWII that adults stopped riding bikes as utility transportation, and went with the automobile.

Subsequent bike booms occurred during the oil crisis of the early 70s and, to a more minor extent, BMX and mountain biking crazes of the 1980s and recent road racing due to the success of Lance Armstrong.

There are still reenactment clubs and somewhat insane individuals who tackle long cross country tours on these penny farthing/ordinaries, as well as races using early safety bicycles. Plenty of great period wool clothing is featured; indeed, guys like me who ride modern bikes like some of the 100 year old bits such as full leather saddles and wool jerseys for their timeless practicality.

Please feel free to PM me if you'd like more info.

 

[pgoat]

One other thought on the high wheel ordinaries...they had only a relatively ineffective spoon brake on the front wheel...adding to the fun and danger of riding one.

also, pneumatic tires were not yet the standard, so the ride was surely more harsh than any of us have experienced riding on two wheels filled with a cushion of air.

When safety bikes appeared, the men's versions had no brakes at all...no fenders or chain-guards either. You stopped by trying to back-pedal. It was considered un-manly to ride a bike with these accessories in the 1890s. These were for ladies only.

Interestingly enough, riding on fixed gear bikes - which are more or less identical to the 100-year-old safety models - has experienced a major renaissance especially amongst the young and the restlessly trendy who primarily want to emulate bike messengers.

But in 1898 when the coaster brake was introduced, men quietly started using these "invisible" coaster brakes.

Actually they are visible in the sense that there is a small metal tab which must be secured to the bicycle frame, but yes, it is a very discreet bit which is hardly distinguishable from a true fixed gear, and most young hipsters today would rather smash into something than be disgraced by installing brakes on their bikes.

 

[LocktownDog]

There are still reenactment clubs and somewhat insane individuals ...

I'm sure I fit into one group or the other. But which?