High Wheeler Bicycle Race, 1890s

Start of the L.A.W. Bicycle Race. The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, and high wheeler, was the first machine to be called a bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds (large distance for every rotation of the legs) and comfort (shock absorption through the wheel). 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. The penny-farthing became obsolete from the late 1880s with the development of the modern bicycle, which provided similar speed amplification via chain-driven gear trains and comfort through pneumatic tires. Cropped stereograph by George Barker, 1890s

Picture No

12695873

Media ID

47666630

Size

4200px x 3402px (1.4MB)

Credit

LOC/Science Source/Mary Evans