Why highwheel bikes (penny farthings) were invented, how they became so popular and what they're like to ride (that's at the end of the video). Plus the technical details of this 1886 Victor Light Roadster. Highwheels were one of the greatest inventions of all time. #JimLangley #BicycleAficionado #AntiqueBicycles #PennyFarthing

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Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
0:08 - An 1886 Victor penny farthing bicycle
0:12 - What you call these big wheel bikes
0:25 - The most popular bike in the world
0:52 - Why is the penny farthing wheel so big?
1:39 - Penny farthing bicycle sizing
2:07 - An original highwheel bicycle
2:27 - How the penny farthing rides
2:56 - The penny farthing saddle and bars
3:46 - The penny farthing's fixed drivetrain
4:01 - The highwheel bicycle spoon brake
5:23 - Why the penny farthing went away
5:30 - The dangers of riding a highwheel
6:00 - Riding outfit of 1880s wheelmen
6:14 - Group penny farthing rides in the 1880s
6:58 - The header or imperial crowner accident
7:57 - The safety bicycle that replaced the penny farthing
8:12 - How to ride a penny farthing highwheel
9:00 - Penny farthing highwheel technology
11:51 - The amazing penny farthing giant wheel
12:16 - Tied and soldered spokes
12:48 - Riding a penny farthing highwheel bicycle
14:13 - Getting off a penny farthing highwheel bicycle
14:25 - End

▷ WATCH my short video of a lighthouse ride on the 1886 Victor Light Roadster penny farthing:
🎬    • Highwheel Penny Farthing Bike Ride by...  

Riding a highwheel your head is about 9 feet above the ground, so you tower over the terrain and can see forever. There's no chain or gears so the bike rolls along whisper quiet.

The almost five-foot-high front wheel spans holes and ruts for a nice, smooth ride. And, the solid rubber tires can't go flat or get ruined by a piece of glass or a rock.

While they're heavier than modern bikes - this Victor weighs 58 pounds - highwheels move right along. On a flat 10-mile loop course in Connecticut I was able to ride a century (100 miles) in 7 hours.

It was this ability to cover long distances that made the highwheel an overnight sensation in the 1800s. For the first time a person could travel further in a day than on a horse - and by a lot. Plus, you didn't have to feed a bike, it didn't get hot and sweaty and it didn't ever tire out.

On your wheel you could visit towns far away you'd never been to before, or keep going and see the world, like Thomas Stevens who circled the globe from Oakland, California to Japan on his.

By giving people the freedom to travel whenever and wherever they wanted in comfort and style, the amazing highwheel bicycle gets credit for the whole concept of personal transportation we enjoy today.

I hope you like this video, and thanks for watching!

Mega thanks to my friend and Spokesman Bicycles teammate Matt Wocasek for the drone footage! And to my daughter Jamie for the rest!

To find out more about The Wheelmen bicycle club that celebrates antique bicycles and cycling, please visit: http://thewheelmen.org/

My favorite book covering antique bicycles and the highwheel, penny farthing craze is King of the Road by Andrew Ritchie https://amzn.to/2VVfOH0

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Lots more bicycle fun on my classic Bicycle Aficionado site http://www.jimlangley.net and Bicycle Beat blog http://jimlangley.blogspot.com/