1870 Penny Farthing High Wheeler — Handmade Metal Model

The high wheeler — a bicycle whose absurd proportions were the direct result of having no chain.

Handcrafted in metal with spoked wheels, saddle, handlebars and pedal detail.

Details

• Handcrafted metal construction
• Large front and small rear wheel with spoke detail
• Saddle, handlebar and pedal crank detail
• Hand-applied finish
• Ready to display

Why the wheel is that size

The pedals drove the front wheel directly, one turn of the cranks to one turn of the wheel. The only way to go faster was a bigger wheel, so wheels grew until they hit the limit of the rider's leg length — typically around 50 inches.

The consequence was the header. With the rider perched almost directly over the front axle, hitting a stone or braking hard pitched them forward over the handlebars, headfirst, from around six feet. The chain-driven safety bicycle of the 1880s ended the high wheeler within a decade, and the name penny-farthing was coined later, by people comparing the wheels to the two coins.