[ComicMike]

Thank you, lyons, such an old catalog is interesting even for someone like me who is not at all interested in sports. I strongly advise against using the bicycle shown on page 40 (45). :-)

Link to the book: *** Link No Longer Exists: Wright & Ditson's Annual Illustrated Catalogue ***

[Robb_K]

Thank you, lyons, such an old catalog is interesting even for someone like me who is not at all interested in sports. I strongly advise against using the bicycle shown on page 40 (45). :-)

Yes, those giant front-wheeled bicycles and tricycles are very difficult to maneuver.  My business partner and landlord in Munich's wife has trouble with her balance, and so cannot ride a normal, common bicycle.  So he bought her a tricycle very like the model shown on Page 42, except it also had a wagon attached, behind its two-barred frame.  I volunteered to drive it home for her from the shop.  It was incredibly hard to direct, as when it was even only slightly off a straight forward course, it would pull hard in that sideways direction.  That 0.8 km drive took me almost 2 hours!!!  I kept starting to go in circles.  Imagine how difficult it would be with the cart filled with watermelons! 

I can imagine that the bicycle on Page 40 and 41 would be very difficult to balance upward, because the driver would need to keep it very straight, and moving fast all the time.  When you slow down it would tend to lean to one side or the other, and it would start to fall over.  The driver's weight then leaning towards that side would provide more weight to pull it flat to the ground.  It would take a lot of leg strength to keep it straight enough to right oneself, to avoid tipping over.  It's almost as high up as riding on a short horse, but without the four legs for stability.  I'm not surprised that that model no longer exists  other than as a collector's item for history buffs and nostalgists.

But, I must say that the pen-and-ink work in this book is excellent, as usual for that period.

[crashryan]

I've always been fascinated by the big-wheel "penny-farthing" bicycle. The reason for the big wheel was that when the bike was developed (the 1870s) no one had yet applied the chain drive to bicycles. The pedals were attached directly to the front wheel. The common pre-penny-farthing bicycle had smaller wheels like modern bikes. They were very slow and took a lot of effort to pedal.  Furthermore the tires were solid rubber and the usually unpaved roads of the time were full of rocks and holes. The ride was so uncomfortable the bicycles were called "bone-shakers." The huge front wheel solved two problems. A single rotation of the wheel covered a much longer distance, meaning you could travel faster. The large spoked wheel also smoothed the ride greatly, even though the tire was still solid rubber.

The down side was that they were both difficult and dangerous to ride. The biggest danger was not losing balance and tipping sideways, but hitting some obstacle that made the bicycle stop suddenly. The bicycle pitched forward, taking the rider with it. His legs were trapped under the handlebars, meaning he often tumbled forward and landed on his head (without benefit of helmet). Penny-farthings were hugely popular for about 15 years. They were put out of business by the development of bikes with a chain drive and pneumatic tires.

An antique bicycle enthusiast has a great YouTube video in which he explains, then demonstrates, a genuine big-wheel bicycle from the 1880s. The fifteen-minute video gets deep into the weeds on technical details, but if you feel like tuning out skip to the 13-minute mark and watch him put the bike through its paces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=671CtqCds2Y

[Robb_K]

I've always been fascinated by the big-wheel "penny-farthing" bicycle. The reason for the big wheel was that when the bike was developed (the 1870s) no one had yet applied the chain drive to bicycles. The pedals were attached directly to the front wheel.  The huge front wheel solved two problems. A single rotation of the wheel covered a much longer distance, meaning you could travel faster. The large spoked wheel also smoothed the ride greatly, even though the tire was still solid rubber.

The down side was that they were both difficult and dangerous to ride. The biggest danger was not losing balance and tipping sideways, but hitting some obstacle that made the bicycle stop suddenly. The bicycle pitched forward, taking the rider with it. His legs were trapped under the handlebars, meaning he often tumbled forward and landed on his head (without benefit of helmet). Penny-farthings were hugely popular for about 15 years. They were put out of business by the development of bikes with a chain drive and pneumatic tires.

Thanks for the explanation about the large-wheeled 1880s bicycles.  So, my problem with my tall-wheeled tricycle wasn't so much the tall wheel, as I had a chain.  It must have been the thickness of the metal, the weight of the extra bracing to attach the trailer, and the weight of the trailer that made it difficult to propel the tricycle and trailer forward and also made the front of the vehicle pull towards the side if it went off the perfectly straight course.