i don't know why but i actually have a major phobia about Penny Farthings,they scare tha crap out of me.i wonder if i was a victorian street urchin mowed down and killed by one in a past life?no other logical explanation!
I agree... total rubbish, and what is worse is that this guy is a transport museum curator!!! You would think he might get his facts right. Clearly he is rather unfit and probably rarely rides a bicycle. These machines are wonderful to ride, very comfortable, the best experience on a bicycle.
@timdaw356 Nick Clayton, one of the preeminent bike historians and an Englishman, says a French firm designed the first high wheel, but the production quickly moved to England and Starley when the Germans and French began fighting
whoever invented this mutant of transportation was the dumbest inventor ever!!! how did his brain not think of two SAME size wheels. and it blows my mind that it took so long for someone else's effin light bulb to go off. wow
The crazy idea for the penny farthing passed muster because the sprocket & chain wasn't well known at the time. Once a sprocket & chain bike was introduced tho, the penny farthing was a dead man walking, er, riding. I've ridden on a penny farthing & loved it because you become the center of attention on one. Being a star didn't keep me from understanding the fact that I couldn't stop quickly & if I did, like from hitting a rock, I'd face plant from 8 feet in the air!
Big wheel + direct drive = easy hill climbing. The weight of the steel/solid rubber wheel would give large amounts of momentum, this momentum is put into the cranks relieving dead spots. easy!
These bikes have one gear ratio, HIGH gear. They are NOT easy to ride UP a hill, and they are scary as all get-out going DOWN hill. If you hit something that stops the front wheel, you don't stop moving tho the bike did.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Whatever size it is, it is too big for the guy riding it. How did he get to be director of a museum when he knows nothing about early bicycles? All sorts of women ride these today, they are fairly safe though people do hurt themselves, most all came with a fairly effective spoon brake, they are very comfortable to ride also. Provided the bike fits you.
I guess it was not that easy just pedalling this bicycle on level ground ('cos of the tiny pedals' length in relation to the size of the front wheel (or was it?
I was thinking the same thing. His cadence wasn't very high and he wasn't going very fast. He sounded like I would sound trying to talk biking at 20 MPH or so, on a flat surface with no wind. He looked to be doing about 10 MPH, if that.
BTW - I'm also fat and out of shape. But here come spring..
I never understood WHY these were made in the first place? Didnt the inventors think about all this? Why was the front wheel so big?! whats the point really? Just somethin to laugh about I guess. Interesting video. thanks.
when the bike came out in around 1870, bikes before this had no gears and the wheels were ordinery size, so they wernt that fast, the penny farthings has the idea that, the larger the wheel the more ground it covers in less time, i have one of these bikes and u can get to about 20mph, when the gear kog was invented after, the large wheel wasnt needed anymore so they became "out of fasion", hope that helps you.
ok ok yeah modern day bikes, and why do they exsit? cos things evolve! for a bike made it 1870 thats amazing, bikes b4 the penny farthing could hardly make jogging speed, so yeah a modern bike motorbike or car will be able to go faster than somthing made in the victorean times!
yah i guesse yur right considering they had no better means of transportation .. i guesse they had very early cars trains, and horses but it would suck if they had those now
Pedaling at 175rpm will get a 26 inch wheeled bike to 13.5mph. Coaster free wheels weren't invented so without the massive front wheel, bikes would top aout at around 15mph with extremely speedy pedalling and then you'd have to take your legs off the pedals and coast.
You could go faster down hills but make sure you don't destroy your legs in the pedals!
also, i think the biggest wheel had 60" diameter, the middle gears on the bike today would equal that same diameter. and even high gears reac h 100" i ride in my high gear all the time. hes probs just has no leg muscle
No idea - it is a standard Penny Farthing (not a unicycle) - assuming all Penny Farthings were standard ??? Do you mean you are getting a unicycle with a big wheel - like a 34 inch ?
no not a unicycle, in the penny farthing time they were built to the inseam of your leg, larger wheel faster bike, so thers not strictly a standard size wheel, thanks anyway
Great bike, lose your bollocks and smash your head in, in one go.
Tungstencube66 2 months ago
I will ask my library for a video of this machine. The Penny-Farthing.
philsnk 5 months ago
how do you deal with all the people driving by yelling "fag" ?
raider2661 6 months ago
i don't know why but i actually have a major phobia about Penny Farthings,they scare tha crap out of me.i wonder if i was a victorian street urchin mowed down and killed by one in a past life?no other logical explanation!
bucklemunki 7 months ago
just saw a guy riding one of these through the city in peak hour traffic XD
iLuvTacos42 10 months ago
1911 mode + this = epic
IceViper777 11 months ago
@IceViper777 :D ice viper! hii lol nice seeing you on a video keep knifing :)
airsoftguy4444 11 months ago
@airsoftguy4444 will do, hi!
IceViper777 11 months ago
@IceViper777 :)
airsoftguy4444 11 months ago
Who says those type of bicycles are for wimps?
renumeratedfrog 1 year ago
i want on!
TheNextGenNoobies 1 year ago
penny farthings ftw!
fairyheli2 1 year ago
@jonnycoyle from where you get that ''the french copy everything the english do'' you idiot
it is called ''grand bi'' and it is 100% french and everyon know that the greatest inventors come from france
istiiizzz 1 year ago
the image doesnt come from wikipedia at all
YOU go read some books Grand Bi is FRENCH the english have invented better than that
istiiizzz 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I agree... total rubbish, and what is worse is that this guy is a transport museum curator!!! You would think he might get his facts right. Clearly he is rather unfit and probably rarely rides a bicycle. These machines are wonderful to ride, very comfortable, the best experience on a bicycle.
timdaw356 1 year ago
Comment removed
timdaw356 1 year ago
Comment removed
timdaw356 1 year ago
@lmaonatashaaa12 Thank you, I'm not sure why people had a problem with my comment.
pelletman65 2 years ago
the real name of this bike is ''Grand Bi''
istiiizzz 2 years ago
It is if you are French! The English invented it and it is called an Ordinary
timdaw356 1 year ago
@timdaw356
NO its a french invented bicycle and its called ''Grand bi''
check in the wikipedia
istiiizzz 1 year ago
Comment removed
timdaw356 1 year ago
@timdaw356 Nick Clayton, one of the preeminent bike historians and an Englishman, says a French firm designed the first high wheel, but the production quickly moved to England and Starley when the Germans and French began fighting
pelletman65 7 months ago
whoever invented this mutant of transportation was the dumbest inventor ever!!! how did his brain not think of two SAME size wheels. and it blows my mind that it took so long for someone else's effin light bulb to go off. wow
mattduder 2 years ago
The two size wheels method would require a chain which wasn't implemented until later, this doesn't.
JPetrucci744 2 years ago
i think you mean one size wheels. see you wouldn'ta thought of it either. you can't even get the number of wheel sizes right! jk lol.
mattduder 2 years ago
@JPetrucci744
it doesnt have a chain, and the ''big'' wheel is made for that you pedal a ''long'' distance
istiiizzz 2 years ago
@mattduder
The crazy idea for the penny farthing passed muster because the sprocket & chain wasn't well known at the time. Once a sprocket & chain bike was introduced tho, the penny farthing was a dead man walking, er, riding. I've ridden on a penny farthing & loved it because you become the center of attention on one. Being a star didn't keep me from understanding the fact that I couldn't stop quickly & if I did, like from hitting a rock, I'd face plant from 8 feet in the air!
deezynar 1 year ago
If he thought that was hard then he sould try Mountain unicycling
cheesylemons5 2 years ago
that must be really good exercise lol
AFNYOAQIS 2 years ago
Big wheel + direct drive = easy hill climbing. The weight of the steel/solid rubber wheel would give large amounts of momentum, this momentum is put into the cranks relieving dead spots. easy!
MorkaGraven 2 years ago
@MorkaGraven
These bikes have one gear ratio, HIGH gear. They are NOT easy to ride UP a hill, and they are scary as all get-out going DOWN hill. If you hit something that stops the front wheel, you don't stop moving tho the bike did.
deezynar 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Whatever size it is, it is too big for the guy riding it. How did he get to be director of a museum when he knows nothing about early bicycles? All sorts of women ride these today, they are fairly safe though people do hurt themselves, most all came with a fairly effective spoon brake, they are very comfortable to ride also. Provided the bike fits you.
pelletman65 2 years ago
He was talking about women in the 1800s.
99FireMaking99 2 years ago
@pelletman65 Why do you people have a problem with this comment? Everything said is true.
pelletman65 2 years ago
I guess it was not that easy just pedalling this bicycle on level ground ('cos of the tiny pedals' length in relation to the size of the front wheel (or was it?
7olusegun 2 years ago
> that guy sounds really out of shape
I was thinking the same thing. His cadence wasn't very high and he wasn't going very fast. He sounded like I would sound trying to talk biking at 20 MPH or so, on a flat surface with no wind. He looked to be doing about 10 MPH, if that.
BTW - I'm also fat and out of shape. But here come spring..
fuzzywzhe 2 years ago
I never understood WHY these were made in the first place? Didnt the inventors think about all this? Why was the front wheel so big?! whats the point really? Just somethin to laugh about I guess. Interesting video. thanks.
stacyblue1980 3 years ago
when the bike came out in around 1870, bikes before this had no gears and the wheels were ordinery size, so they wernt that fast, the penny farthings has the idea that, the larger the wheel the more ground it covers in less time, i have one of these bikes and u can get to about 20mph, when the gear kog was invented after, the large wheel wasnt needed anymore so they became "out of fasion", hope that helps you.
toad4eva 3 years ago 4
Good explanation. This is exactly why people used these bikes.
Harshcore811 3 years ago
20 mph is nothing .. with modern day speed bikes you can get up to about 50-60 on my mountain bike i've got up to about 38 (hardtail)
mlcz1995 2 years ago
ok ok yeah modern day bikes, and why do they exsit? cos things evolve! for a bike made it 1870 thats amazing, bikes b4 the penny farthing could hardly make jogging speed, so yeah a modern bike motorbike or car will be able to go faster than somthing made in the victorean times!
think about it
toad4eva 2 years ago
yah i guesse yur right considering they had no better means of transportation .. i guesse they had very early cars trains, and horses but it would suck if they had those now
mlcz1995 2 years ago
Pedaling at 175rpm will get a 26 inch wheeled bike to 13.5mph. Coaster free wheels weren't invented so without the massive front wheel, bikes would top aout at around 15mph with extremely speedy pedalling and then you'd have to take your legs off the pedals and coast.
You could go faster down hills but make sure you don't destroy your legs in the pedals!
TimpBizkit 2 years ago
What's the title of this documentary?
acicalao3 3 years ago
No idea sorry!
unicycletone 3 years ago
yeah ur right i ride 1 evryday 4 miles
toad4eva 3 years ago
Good - I hope what you say is true and maybe they will make a comeback.
unicycletone 3 years ago
also, i think the biggest wheel had 60" diameter, the middle gears on the bike today would equal that same diameter. and even high gears reac h 100" i ride in my high gear all the time. hes probs just has no leg muscle
sb6lb3 3 years ago
no brakes? imagine going downhill with that monster
intigfx 3 years ago
this guy has no idea what he is talking about
pelletman65 3 years ago
im getting one of those with a 54" wheel, but im not useing it for showing off, but to get to work. how big is that wheel?
toad4eva 4 years ago
No idea - it is a standard Penny Farthing (not a unicycle) - assuming all Penny Farthings were standard ??? Do you mean you are getting a unicycle with a big wheel - like a 34 inch ?
unicycletone 4 years ago
no not a unicycle, in the penny farthing time they were built to the inseam of your leg, larger wheel faster bike, so thers not strictly a standard size wheel, thanks anyway
toad4eva 4 years ago
nice ^^!
pierre1920 4 years ago