Why was the 'Penny Farthing' Bicycle a Successful Failure?

A Discussion around the Legendary Penny-Farthing Bicycle, its origins in the late Victorian period and why it ultimately was a successful failure. Even to this day these bikes capture our imaginations and their iconic presence continues to be special.

#bicycle #bike #pennyfarthing

Intro 0:00
Penny Farthing History 1:14
1870's Cycling 2:17
Penny Farthing Design 2:56
Riding and Crashing 4:45
Future Innovations 6:22
Conclusion 7:07

[idea]

Ah, the good old days. Thank you all for your continued support on this page and keep those suggestions for future videos coming!🥃

[jamescgarrett]

Something I heard a while back (but can’t confirm) is that the phrase, “break-neck speed” came from racing these bicycles. To go faster for a given pedal rpm you needed a bigger front wheel circumference, and therefore the rider ended up being seated higher and higher off the ground. In the end, the front wheels became so huge that falling from on top of them risked a significant chance of breaking one’s neck.
Thanks for the interesting video and keep well.

[larrydonovan]

Great topic! Here in Alameda, California, I will occasionally see a man on a penny-farthing…a local company makes them. It’s really something to behold coming down the street!

[anthonysmith]

Such a fun subject. Such cool machines. I had no idea that they were so short lived. Is it just me, or is the first iteration of a new idea ᴀʟᴡᴀʏs a frickin' death trap?
There's a guy who rides one out near where I live; not a dreaded 'hipster', just a guy - oddly dressed in his anachronistic bright cycling lycra! - riding the country roads 'cause he can.
I love seeing him, makes my day and not a car goes by that doesn't acknowledge him.

[stevefox]

As a kid I have as in the Veteran and Vintage Cycle Club, my Dad had an 1886 Penny Farthing ( properly called a "high Ordinary" ), it had a 52" front wheel. Remember him going over the bars when he was learning to ride it. I rode it a couple of times (with help to get going) - very easy to get going too fast and hard to slow - "spoon" brakes that acted directly on the front tyre.
Great episode, keep 'em coming!!
👍🏻👍🏻🥃

[Thomas_Burnett]

A fascinating history of this bicycle. Loved the footage. Thank heavens for John Dunlop and his inventions. A much smoother ride that we are used to today. Loving the content of this new channel Boet. Keep it coming please. ✊

[lauriedale]

Brilliant topic. The rise and fall of railways or canals could be similar topics to explore that are vaguely related to this.

[billy.g]

Definitely a bizarre looking step in the evolution of the bicycle. The introduction of pneumatic tyres, chain and sprockets was the end of the Penny Farthing.
I wonder what the next evolutionary step of the bicycle is going to look like.

[ericb]

Did you do your dissertation on this subject? …….;)

[jameshoward]

Excellent stuff! Much like a Rangie, rolling on 24"s, the logic of the day was always for bigger wheels! That crash at ~5.20 was brutal! But the real genius lies in the Safety Bicycle, an extraordinary invention that is so similar to modern iterations 130 years later...

[zHumanfactor]

Here is some history for you, British cyclist Thomas Stevens took his Penny Farthing and rode around the world from 1884 to 1886. He wrote a book on his adventure which is astonishing to read. Upon his return to London he became the manager of the Garrick theatre.

[-Fresh-Snow-]

I haven't seen these in ages! Outside of classic illustrations or old period films, I've never seen this much video footage of the Penny Farthing till now (heck, I didn't even know it was called that).

Obviously, by today's standards, this bike is comical to behold; just getting on-and-off it had to be quite a sight 😅. All kidding aside, it's amazing to see the progression of design and ingenuity on something (the modern-day bicycle) the average Joe might otherwise take for granted.

My final thoughts on the Penny Farthing: Look, Ma...no brakes! 😁

Cheers 🍺

[watchsixto]

Thanks for making this video I always wanted to know what happened with the first bicycle to get us going

[youtuuba]

This video perpetuates a lot of flagrant misinformation about highwheel bike history and characteristics. My guess is that IDEA+ was careless in which sources of information were used.

Just some corrections to the many errors:
- The term "pennyfarthing" was a pre-existing English term for for anything made obsolete or devalued over time, and it was based on the low value of penny and farthing coins, NOT their size. The term was only applied to highwheel bikes once they had become obsolete, and thus lost most of their value. The name was NOT applied to these bikes because of the sizes of the wheels and the coins. Adequate historical research has been done to verify this.
- The bikes that Eugene Meyer invented are not what is considered to be a highwheel bike. He actually made a further development of the Velocipede, a type of bicycle the preceded the highwheel. There is some similarity in the appearance of the two types, but people who know their bike history realize that Meyer can't be considered be the true inventor of the highwheel bike design. And James Starley barely invented it, although his contributions were more significant and pivotal that Meyer's.
- The reason highwheel bikes were invented was NOT primarily for the elevation. It was to finally allow people to get around under their own power at a much faster rate than walking, pure and simple, no doubt about it. They had the big wheel because, without the hassle of heavy and greasy gears and chains (metallury at the time did not allow for light weight, reliable, gears and chains like the ones we know these days), a decent amount of ground could be covered for every rotation of the pedals, at a reasonable cadence. Unlike what the narration states, it was NOT about having higher RPM, just the opposite!
- Highwheels were never "extremely fast", what nonsense and what lazy word choice.
- Few highwheel bikes were made using cast iron anywhere on their structure. They were made from steel. There were some fringe companies that tried to make cheap highwheels using cast iron, or cast steel, but these were not successful.

[olsurferguy]

Yikes! If I had crossed those trolley tracks on my highwheel, I would have gone ass over tea kettle for sure.

[ThD]

So happy that i never had to use one. Happy to have had my grandfather’s bike to go to school, a long time ago.

The current bikes make life even easier.

[flippinzippo]

Guaranteed I’d break my back trying to mount that thing

[robertlock]

Thanks for this, riding one of these would terrify me, frankly Mr Guy. They are still for sale in the UK, from Unicycle. Penny farthings must be almost unique in being, in equal measure, ingenious, simple, lethal and utterly bonkers. I don't fancy their chances on hills either! 😀

[juniorjohnson]

Thank you 🙏
I would be scared to death to ride one .

[enriquesb]

You're the watches ID guy! Didn't know this channel existed ver nice