Photo Study The Penny Farthing

did you know that the schools say that people who dont get to ride a tricycle or bicycle might have learning problems - they say its a great developer of the brain, what then of all the previous Master Minds, what did they do to stimulate the brain if there were no bicycles

I find it difficult to ride a normal bike how much more this one. I think this bike is designed for riders with very long legs and for roads with no traffic at all.

I could not ride one of those. I don't know how they got away with it.

I remember seeing one of those when I was about 7, dad was stationed at Butzbach Army Base in Germany in the late 1950s and not too far from us was a makeshift museum that had one of them. To me it was HUGE, the big wheel was almost as big as I was.

How in the heck did they ever climb aboard one of those big wheelers?

If I'll riding on that bicycle, I have to make sure I had days and weeks of practice.

I can't believe the size of that wheel and it does look like something from out of a circus.

It's impressive to see how many different versions of bicycles they tried before the regular bicycle that we all use today was finalised as the most efficient design. I am guessing it would be very hard to learn how to ride this one.

I've never ridden one but the sources I've seen and heard from all say that it really wasn't that difficult to ride. The big wheel did serve the same purpose as the gears on a regular bike in a less mechanically complicated way. Balance was only a little trickier than a regular bike but obviously you would be more vulnerable to going for a header. One trip over the handlebars would convince you to wear a helmet, if you hadn't already figured that one out without the pain. I did watch a video of someone taking a wipe out on one of these. He was doing something stupid though. Coasting down a hill with his feet stuck out over the handlebars. Started vibrating when he picked up too much speed. He bailed to the side though and even though the video cut at that point it didn't look like he got badly hurt. From other videos it is obvious you can turn slowly on one of these. They weren't very agile. I would love to ride one to see what it was like for myself. I think they're pretty cool.

I remember seeing one in London. I always thought them to be dangerous, especially as it has a fixed gear.

It is awesome

yo dawg I heard you like bikes, so I made you a bike to go with your bike so you can bike while you bike on your bike. Ahem.

Wow, first time to see a bike like this awesome, intriguing performance and design.Kudos to the designer.

Interesting bike, but I would never contemplate riding it.

From what I can see, this machine lacks the essential step just above the 'farthing' wheel. Tleap o mount one of these beasts you have to push it until it is going and then leap up onto the (miniscule) saddle at the top, getting your feet in sync with the flailing pedals (there was no free wheel on most of them). You would have to be very agile because the handlebars and seat are at head height! A step above the small wheel was a great help because it allowed one to sort of scoot the bike before actually leaping on (ouch!). Braking was another hazard. As you can see from the photo, the brake is no more than a simple lever which pushed a bit of iron hard onto the front tyre. Press it too hard and you and the small wheel would continue rolling on over the top of the big one! Cobbles and potholes were, of course, a hazard, as were tramlines for any bike. Larger wheels do tend to even out smaller irregularities but, even so, it was good to avoid major holes and especially cart ruts and tramlines. Get stuck in a tramline and you might not be able to go anywhere except the depot!

Being terribly unbalanced, I wouldn't even consider trying to ride one of them. They are pretty darn cool looking though.

I have seen pictures of that type of bike for years and I know for sure I don't have the balance to have ever tried to ride it.

Curious after reading your post, I found a YouTube video on how to mount, ride, and dismount a Penny Farthing. The fellow made it look easy.

I would love to try riding one.

There is a bike shop in Downtown Colorado Springs that puts a Penny Farthing out front everyday. They look cool, but I can't see myself riding one.