Penny-farthing

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The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle distinguished by its large front wheel and comparatively small back wheel. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds, owing to its travelling a long distance for every rotation of the wheel. These bicycles had solid rubber tires and as a consequence the only shock absorption was in the saddle. The penny-farthing became obsolete in the late 1880s with the development of modern bicycles, which provided similar speed, via a chain-driven gear train, and comfort, from the use of pneumatic tires. These later bikes were marketed as "safety bicycles" because of the greater ease of mounting and dismounting, the reduced danger of falling, and the reduced height to fall, in comparison to penny-farthings. The name came from the British penny and farthing coins, the penny being much larger than the farthing, so that the side view of the bicycle resembles...

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