The High Wheeler

The logical end of the front-wheel-drive line described in The History of the Bicycle 3 was a machine with a huge front wheel and a tiny rear one. Later called the penny-farthing, it was the first machine to be called a "bicycle" in everyday speech, and the first to support a real industry, a racing scene and organised clubs. This chapter covers the design, the Coventry makers, the sport and the dangers. Names, dates and figures are flagged for checking.

The Design

• The wheel. The front wheel was made as large as the rider's leg length allowed, often around 48 to 60 inches across (check the range), so that each turn of the pedals covered a long distance.
• The frame. A curved backbone of hollow steel tube, which was light for its strength (check the date this became standard).
• The wheels. Solid rubber tyres, and wire spokes under tension, an idea that made large wheels light enough to be practical and which is still used on bicycles today (check who developed the tension-spoke wheel).
• Bearings. Ball bearings in the hubs and pedals made the machines run more freely (check).
• The name. "Penny-farthing" comes from the contrast between the large penny and the small farthing coins, and seems to have become common only after the machine had passed from use (check). At the time it was an "ordinary" or a "bicycle".

Coventry and the Makers

Coventry became the centre of the British cycle industry, and James Starley (1830 to 1881) is often called the father of it (check). He is credited with developing the tension-spoke wheel and a lever-tension spoke system, and with several early designs, including the Ariel high wheeler of about 1870 (check the details). Other makers followed in Coventry, Birmingham and London (check), and the trade grew into a significant export business. For Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh had makers and clubs too (check).

Clubs and Racing

The 1870s and 1880s saw the creation of cycling clubs in Britain, with uniforms, captains and bugle calls, and national bodies to speak for riders. The Bicycle Touring Club (later the Cyclists' Touring Club) was founded in 1878 (check), and long-distance rides, such as Land's End to John o'Groats, became a challenge (check). Track and road racing began, with races of many miles on tracks, and the first national records (check). Cyclists also campaigned for better road surfaces and against restrictions on the road (check).

Exercises