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[crashryan]

A fascinating booklet! Likely a privately-published affair, with cartooning not the best. I was surprised by the back cover. After 27 pages of cartoons about the miseries of bicycling, we get an ad for a bicycle!

Can someone with a knowledge of bicycle engineering explain why they made these early bikes so tall one couldn't mount up without standing on a wall or a ladder? Not to mention that the rider couldn't touch the ground with his feet, so the easiest way to stop was to fall off the bicycle. I realize they hadn't worked out the sprocket-and-chain system yet, but surely even on a direct-drive bike it would have been easier and safer to ride if the wheel diameter were more human-centric.

Link to the book: Illustrated Bicycle Primer