Penny-farthing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The ordinary, high wheel or penny-farthing was the first true bicycle with which actual speed and distance could be achieved in a practical manner. Given the absence of a gearing system, larger and larger wheels were built with the intention of increasing speed and ultimately culminating in the classically oversized penny-farthing wheel, which measured 1.5m (60") in diameter. The origin of the bicycle's name refers to the era's penny and farthing coins; the size of the former being quite large and the latter much smaller. Two of such coins placed next to one another resembled the side view of the bicycle.
The first high wheel bicycle was built in 1869 by frenchman Eugene Meyer, who was already famous in England at the time. However, it was not until 1878 when Albert Pope began manufacturing the Columbia bicycle just outside of Boston, that their nearly two decade-long heyday in America began. Although the trend was relatively short-lived, the penny-farthing bicycle has since become a prominent historical symbol of the late Victorian era. Its brief popularity also coincided with the birth of cycling as a sport.
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[edit] Characteristics
The ordinary is a direct-drive bicycle, meaning that the cranks and pedals are affixed directly to the hub. Instead of using a relatively complex and heavy gear system to multiply the revolutions of the pedals, the driven wheel was enlarged to its maximum radius—up to a length close to the rider's inseam—to increase the maximum speed. This shifted the position of the rider upward, placing him nearly on top of the wheel. This meant that the rider's feet could not reach the ground while riding, making it effectively little more than a unicycle with an extra wheel for stability.
The frame is a single tube following the circumference of the front wheel for around 1/4 arc, then diverting at a tangent to a fork in which is mounted a small trailing wheel. A mounting peg is attached above the rear wheel. The front wheel is mounted in a rigid fork with little if any trail. A spoon brake is usually fitted on the fork crown, operated by a lever from one of the handlebars. The bars are usually mustache shaped, dropping down from the level of the headset. The saddle mounts on the frame somewhat less than 0.5m (18") behind the headset.
Mounting a wheel is a process requiring some skill. One foot is placed on a small peg on the frame above the back wheel. The rider then grasps the handlebar, scoots using the other foot, and when sufficient speed has been gained to effect balance, lifts them self into the saddle.
Although very stable because of the pendulum effect, the penny-farthing was notoriously prone to accidents. In order to slow and stop a high wheel, as with a fixed gear bicycle, the rider applies a small amount of back pressure on the pedals while continuing forwards, augmented by use of a spoon-shaped brake pressing on the tire. The center of mass being both high and not far behind the contact point of the front wheel meant that any attempt to stop suddenly, or any collision with a large pothole or other obstruction, would be likely to send him flying over the handle bars (known as "taking a header" or "coming a cropper"). On long downhill stretches it was recommended that riders take their feet off the pedals and hook them over the handlebars, so that in case of a crash they would land (hopefully) on their feet. This made for quick descents but left almost no chance of stopping should the need arise.
[edit] Culture
The appearance of the bike, with the one wheel dominating, led to their riders being referred to in America especially as "wheelmen", a name which lived on for nearly a century in the League of American Wheelmen until it was renamed the League of American Bicyclists. Clubs of racing cyclists would wear uniforms comprising peaked caps, tight jackets and knee-length breeches, with leather shoes, the caps and jackets displaying the club's colors.
Some tremendous feats of balance were reportedly exhibited by high wheel riders, including negotiating a narrow bridge parapet for a dare, and riding down the US Capitol steps on a Star bicycle, with the small wheel in the front.
The high-wheeler lives on in spirit in the gear inch units used by cyclists to describe gear ratios. These are generally calculated by multiplying the wheel diameter by the number of teeth on the chain-wheel and dividing by the number of teeth on the sprocket. The result, in inches, is the equivalent diameter of a wheel (for example a typical bike might have a 26" wheel, a 48T chain-ring and a 14T sprocket, giving an 89" gear). A 60" gear, the largest reasonably practicable size for a high-wheeler's front wheel, is nowadays a middle gear of a typical utility bicycle, while top gears on many bikes exceed 100". There was at least one 64" Columbia Expert made in the mid 1880's, but 60 was the largest wheel offered in regular production.
[edit] End of an Era
Coincidentally, the nephew of one of the men responsible for the popularity of the penny-farthing was largely responsible for its death. James Starley had originally built the Aerial high-wheeler in 1870, but this was a time of rapid innovation and small-scale chain drives became practical within ten years, making it possible to achieve the same speeds without the need for the large wheel. In 1885, James Starley's nephew John Kemp Starley launched the Rover Safety Bicycle, so called because the rider was seated much lower down and much further behind the front wheel contact point. In 1887, when John Dunlop invented the pneumatic tire for his ten year old son's tricycle, the HiWheel bicycle was made obsolete. The ride once only found on the tall wheels of the day, could now be enjoyed on smaller chain-driven bicycles. Over the next ten to fifteen years the ordinary in all its forms practically vanished.
Today there are enthusiasts who ride restored ordinaries, and even a few who will build a new one, but the shape of the Rover Safety and its development of the diamond-framed bicycle has come to dominate the public perception of what a bicycle looks like. Only a few cyclists understand that the term "ordinary bicycle" does not mean a standard diamond-frame.
[edit] Trivia
- Each February in Evandale, Tasmania, Penny Farthing enthusiasts from around the world converge on the small village for a series of Penny Farthing races, including the national championship. This is the largest Penny Farthing festival in the world.
- A penny-farthing was the logo of The Village in the cult 1960s television series The Prisoner, and was also featured in the show's closing titles. Patrick McGoohan has stated that the bike represented slowing down the wheels of progress. [1]
- Progressive rock band Arena's album The Visitor features a man on a penny-farthing in its cover artwork.
- The penny-farthing has made a number of appearances on The Simpsons. One features on a flyer for a box social proposed by Homer Simpson. After Homer confesses to hating and vandalising "old-timey bicycles" on public access television, he is kicked in the face by a man riding on a penny-farthing.
- On the TV show Family Guy, characters Phineas and Barnaby travel via penny-farthing (one on top of the other's shoulders).
- A modified penny-farthing was featured in the 1999 movie Wild Wild West, starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline. Kline's character had "modified" the penny-farthing to include an internal combustion engine. The so-called "powered bike" was an illusion only; it had large "training wheels," allowing Kline to sit on the bike while it was pulled by a cable. The training wheels were "painted out" (removed) from the scene by Industrial Light and Magic, which handled most of the special effects for the film.
- In 2004, British leukemia patient Lloyd Scott (43) rode a penny-farthing across the Australian outback to raise money for a charity cause. [2]
- It is also a symbol of the city of Davis, California and Redmond, Washington.
- A popular bar in Salinas, California is named the Penny Farthing Tavern.
- In Jackass: Number Two, Ryan Dunn and Johnny Knoxville are on penny-farthing bicycles, performing the stunt known as "Bicentennial BMXing"
- The Canberra Bicycle Museum [3] features an Ordinary that can be sat on for taking pictures. Formerly at the Canberra Trademan's Union Club, the museum relocated in May 2006 to an adjacent address in Dickson, Australian Capital Territory.
