Қоңырша тегершік велосипеді

Early type of bicycle

The penny farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds, owing to it travelling a large distance for every rotation of the legs, and comfort, because the large wheel provided greater shock absorption. It 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. They 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 a larger penny (the front wheel) leading a smaller farthing (the rear wheel). Although the name "penny farthing" is now the most common, it was probably not used until the machines had been almost superseded. The first recorded print reference is from 1891 in Bicycling News. For most of their reign, they were simply known as "bicycles", and were the first machines to be so called, although they were not the first two wheeled, pedaled vehicles. In the late 1890s, the name "ordinary" began to be used, to distinguish them from the emerging safety bicycles, and that term, along with "hi wheel" and variants, are preferred by many modern enthusiasts. Following the popularity of the boneshaker, Eugène Meyer, a Frenchman, invented the high wheeler bicycle design in 1869 and fashioned the wire spoke tension wheel. Around 1870 English inventor James Starley, described as the father of the bicycle industry, and others, began producing bicycles based on the French boneshaker but with front wheels of increasing size, In 1878, Albert Pope began manufacturing the Columbia bicycle outside Boston, starting their two decade heyday in the United States. "Whatton" handlebars that wrapped around behind the legs, This prevented headers but left the danger of being thrown backwards when riding uphill. Other attempts included moving the seat rearward and driving the wheel by levers or treadles, as in the "Xtraordinary" and "Facile", or gears, by chain as in the "Kangaroo" or at the hub, as in the "Crypto";

Even so, bicycling remained the province of the urban well to do, and mainly men, until the 1890s, and was a salient example of conspicuous consumption.

The penny farthing used a larger wheel than the velocipede, thus giving higher speeds on all but the steepest hills. In addition, the large wheel gave a smoother ride, important before the invention of pneumatic tires. Although the high riding position seems daunting to some, mounting can be learned on a lower velocipede. Once the technique is mastered, a high wheeler can be mounted and dismounted easily on flat ground and some hills. An attribute of the penny farthing is that the rider sits high and nearly over the front axle. When the wheel strikes rocks and ruts, or under hard braking, the rider can be pitched forward off the bicycle head first. Headers were relatively common and a significant, sometimes fatal, hazard. Riders coasting down hills often took their feet off the pedals and put them over the tops of the handlebars, so they would be pitched off feet first instead of head first. Penny farthing bicycles often used similar materials and construction as earlier velocipedes: cast iron frames, solid rubber tires, and plain bearings for pedals, steering, and wheels. They were often quite durable and required little service. For example, when cyclist Thomas Stevens rode around the world in the 1880s, he reported only one significant mechanical problem in over , caused when the local military confiscated his bicycle and damaged the front wheel.

The well known dangers of the penny farthing were, for the time of its prominence, outweighed by its strengths. While it was a difficult, dangerous machine, it was simpler, lighter, and faster than the safer velocipedes of the time. Two new developments changed this situation, and led to the rise of the safety bicycle. The first was the chain drive, originally used on tricycles, allowing a gear ratio to be chosen independent of the wheel size. The second was the pneumatic bicycle tire, allowing smaller wheels to provide a smooth ride. The nephew of one of the men responsible for popularity of the penny farthing was largely responsible for its demise. James Starley had built the Ariel (spirit of the air) high wheeler in 1870; but this was a time of innovation, and when chain drives were upgraded so that each link had a small roller, higher and higher speeds became possible without the need for a large front wheel. In 1885, Starley's nephew John Kemp Starley took these new developments to launch the modern bicycle, the Rover safety bicycle, so called because the rider, seated much lower and farther behind the front wheel contact point, was less prone to a header. In 1888, when John Dunlop re invented the pneumatic tire for his son's tricycle, the high wheel was made obsolete. The comfortable ride once found only on tall wheels could now be enjoyed on smaller chain driven bicycles. By 1893, high wheelers were no longer being produced. Manufacturers include Rideable Bicycle Replicas in the US, Trott & Sons in the UK and UDC in Taiwan. One of these manufacturers, UDC Penny Farthings, the largest penny farthing retailer in the United Kingdom, recorded record sales of penny farthings in 2020 during the COVID 19 lockdown. <p>The Penny Farthing Club is a cycling club that was founded in 2013 by Neil Laughton. The club offers rider training, bike tours of London and other UK cities, and hosts club events such as penny farthing polo.

The penny farthing is a direct drive bicycle, meaning the cranks and pedals are fixed directly to the hub. Instead of using gears to multiply the revolutions of the pedals, the driven wheel is enlarged to be close to the rider's inseam, to increase the maximum speed. This shifts the rider nearly on top of the wheel and makes it impossible for the rider to reach the ground while sitting on the seat. Another model, made by Humber and Co., Ltd., of Beeston, Nottingham, weighs only , and has and wheels. It has no step and no brakes, in order to minimize weight. A third model, also made by Pope Manufacturing Company, weighs and has forged steel forks. A brake lever on the right of a straight handlebar operates a spoon brake against the front wheel. All three have cranks that can be adjusted for length.

Mounting requires skill. The rider must first grasp the handlebar and place one foot on a peg above the back wheel. Then the rider scoots the bicycle forward to gain momentum and quickly jumps up onto the seat while continuing to steer the bicycle and maintain balance. Although easy to ride slowly because of their high center of mass and the inverted pendulum effect, penny farthings are prone to accidents. To stop, the rider presses back on the pedals while applying a spoon shaped brake pressing the tire. The center of mass being high and not far behind the front wheel means any sudden stop or collision with a pothole or other obstruction can send the rider over the handlebars. On long downhills, some riders hooked their feet over the handlebars. This made for quick descents but left no chance of stopping.

The bike, with the one wheel dominating, led to riders being referred to in America as "wheelmen", a name that lived on for nearly a century in the League of American Wheelmen until renamed the League of American Bicyclists in 1994. Clubs of racing cyclists wore uniforms of peaked caps, tight jackets and knee length breeches, with leather shoes, the caps and jackets displaying the club's colors. In 1967 collectors and restorers of penny farthings (and other early bicycles) founded the Wheelmen, a non profit organization "dedicated to keeping alive the heritage of American cycling". The high wheeler lives on in the gear inch units used by cyclists in English speaking countries to describe gear ratios. These are calculated by multiplying the wheel diameter in inches by the number of teeth on the front chain wheel and dividing by the teeth on the rear sprocket. The result is the equivalent diameter of a penny farthing wheel. A 60 inch gear, the largest practicable size for a high wheeler, is nowadays a middle gear of a utility bicycle, while top gears on many exceed 100 inches. There was at least one Columbia made in the mid 1880s, but 60 was the largest in regular production. A penny farthing is the logo of The Village in the cult 1960s television series The Prisoner, and is also featured in the show's closing titles. Co creator and star Patrick McGoohan stated that the bike represented slowing down the wheels of progress. The penny farthing is a symbol of the cities of Sparta, Wisconsin; Davis, California; and Redmond, Washington.

Each February in Evandale, Tasmania, penny farthing enthusiasts from around the world converge on the small village for a series of penny farthing races, including the national championship. In October there is a bicycle ride from the 30 feet (9 m) statue of an 1890s bicyclist on a penny farthing in Port Byron, Illinois named "Will B. Rolling" to a similar statue in Sparta, Wisconsin named "Ben Bikin'". In 2004, British leukemia patient and charity fundraiser Lloyd Scott (43) rode a penny farthing across the Australian outback to raise money for a charitable cause. In November 2008, Briton Joff Summerfield completed a round the world trip on a penny farthing. Summerfield spent two and a half years cycling through 23 countries, visiting locations including the Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat and Mount Everest. Knutsford in England has hosted the Knutsford Great Race every 10 years since 1980. The 1980 race had 15 team entries, and there were 16 in 1990 and 2000. The 2010 race was limited to 50 teams and was in aid of the ShelterBox charity. In 2012, the first Clustered Spires High Wheel Race took place in Frederick, Maryland, USA. This is the country's only race of its kind a one hour criterium race around a course through the historic downtown district.