Pedal-pushing easier on a BMX than penny-farthing

Press, 29 May 1984, Page 10

Pedal-pushing easier on a BMX than penny-farthing

The 10-speed and BMX bicycles of today are much easier to ride than the boneshakers used last century. Riders of the well-bal-anced bicycles made today are far less likely to fall off their machines than were riders of models such as the penny-farthing. Learning how to fall off without hurting oneself was part of the learning-to-ride process in the early days of bicycles. Although the term bicycle dates back no earlier than 1868, the idea of wheeled

self-propelled locomotion is much older. The forerunner to the first bicycles was a hobbyhorse, propelled by the rider pushing his feet on the ground. This was really a swift walking machine and was called a celeripede. It became known as a hobbyhorse, or dandy-horse, when fashionably dressed men in England rode it in the 1820 s. •A Scotsman, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, fitted a crank and pedals to the rear wheel of a hobby-horse in 1839, enabling him to propel

his machine without touching the ground with his feet. But pedal-driven bicycles did not become popular until about 1870 after a Frenchman fitted a rotary crank and pedals to a hobby-horse.

By increasing the size of the front wheel and decreasing the size of the -rear wheel greater speeds could be obtained and this was one reason for the development of the penny-farthing. The penny-farthing remained popular for over 20' years and established cycling as a serious pastime in England, Europe and later in America. In 1885, a big advance was made in the history of bicycle design when J. K. Starley fitted a rear chain drive to a bicycle. With this modification it was no

longer necessary to have an unwieldy large front wheel. Modem bicycles are based on this design. Other important developments were the introduction by William Brown in 1877 of ball bearings, and the patenting in 1888 of pneumatic tyres by J. B. Dunlop. Until that date bicycles had solid tyres. Tandem bicycles, designed for two riders, were built as well as cumbersome freak machines called sociables, seating four, six and sometimes eight people. Tricycles were popular during the era of the pennyfarthing because they could be ridden by short people. During the 1880 s and 1890 s, tricycles were built in many shapes and designs, often constructed for two riders either side-by-side or back-to-back. Bicycles were used by soldiers in the First World War. In 1914 there were about 14 cyclist battalions in the British Army, each with about 500 men and machines. In Christchurch round the turn of the century, there was a Bicycle Brass Band which rode as far as Amberley and Rakaia to perform.