In recent years there have been two predominant trends in cycling: Fixed gear bicycles seeing a wave of popularity in Europe and North America thanks to their simplicity and old 3-speeds restored as the ride of choice for those into “chap” retro culture. It didn’t take too long for the two trends to combine, restoring interest in the penny farthing, the oldest, most simplistic bicycle ever built.

The penny farthing gets its name from the large front wheel and small rear wheel which riders likened to the largest and smallest coins in circulation at the time. The front wheel can be as large as fifty-two inches. For comparison, the average road cycle wheel is between twenty-six and twenty-eight inches (660-712mm) while the largest mountain bikes top out at twenty-nine inches (737mm.) The rear wheel is only sixteen inches, equal to that of a toddler’s first bicycle. These bikes were popular in the late nineteenth century but were replaced in the early 1900s by the diamond-framed “safety” bicycles we ride today.

The crank arms of a penny farthing are connected directly to the wheel so when the wheel turns, the cranks turn. Like a fixed gear cycle, stopping involves holding the cranks in place forcing the tires to skid. Learning to ride one of these bikes takes most people about fifteen minutes. Most riders feel that it’s easer to switch between a regular bike and a penny farthing than going from a regular bike and a fixed gear cycle because they instinctively know the pedals are fixed by the change in riding position.

Many custom builders have started offering new penny farthing bikes while niche makers now make tires and other equipment to get older bikes onto the road. Some shops have also started renting these bikes for use in historic areas, giving tours a vintage feel.

Although they are now most commonly known as ‘penny-farthings’, this term was probably not used until they were nearly outdated; the first recorded print reference is 1891 in Bicycling News. It comes from the British penny and farthing coins, one much larger than the other, so that the side view resembles a penny leading a farthing. For most of their reign they were simply known as “bicycles”. In the late 1890s the retronym ‘ordinary’ began to be used, to distinguish them from the emerging safety bicycles, and this term or Hi-wheel (and variants) is preferred by many modern enthusiasts.

About 1870, James Starley, described as the father of the bicycle industry, and others began producing bicycles based on the French boneshaker but with front wheels of increasing size,because larger front wheels, up to 1.5 m (60 in) in diameter, enabled higher speeds on bicycles limited to direct drive. In 1878 Albert Pope began manufacturing the Columbia bicycle outside of Boston, starting their two-decade heyday in America. Although the trend was short-lived, the penny-farthing became a symbol of the late Victorian era. Its popularity also coincided with the birth of cycling as a sport.

We really apperciate Mr Mark Paton‘s contribution to our website.