Penny Farthing Bycycles

There are many objects used today that all have their own interesting history behind them. One such object is the bicycle. There is a bicycle in the Farm House Museum, but it doesn’t look like the bicycle we are used to. Today I’m going to talk about what that bicycle is. The origin of bicycles, in general, is actually hard to trace and shrouded in myth. There were multiple adaptions to wheels throughout history and bikes, like other vehicles, have appeared here and there. Early drawings of a bike-like vehicle appear in Leonardo Da Vinci’s notes, but may not have been his work. It wasn’t until the 19^th century that the bike began to appear more. In 1817, Charles Baron von Drais created a front wheel capable of being steered, which had a saddle in between the two wheels. It was called a velocipede, or hobbyhorse, because there were no pedals, as people would propel themselves by pushing their feet off the ground. The velocipede was made entirely of wood and was a bit clumsy. It was popular in both France and England through the 1820s until its popularity dwindled.

It wasn’t until 1863 that pedals were added to the front wheels and stiffer materials, like steel, were added. With these changes, the velocipede was given a new name, bone shaker. This was because going over cobble stone on these bikes would literally shake bones. Bikes began to become popular again, but they were very hard to steer and pedal causing the rider to exert a lot of strength. It was in 1870 that James Starley invented the high wheeler bike, the type of bike in the Farm House. This bike had a high front wheel for a rider to sit over with a small wheel in the back for extra balance. Many people today often wonder why these bikes had such a large front wheel. There were two reasons for the higher wheel. One was that it made the bike go a lot faster with the pedals attached right to the front of the wheel allowing the bike to speed up. The second reason was that this larger wheel also made it easier to ride on older roads as small potholes and rocks could be rolled over easily.

These advantages did make up for the absurd size but it also made it harder to get on. Often people would have a step on the back wheel so they could propel themselves up to the sitting position. Even with these improvements, the high wheeler still had a lot of problems. The center of gravity on a high wheeler is off which led to constant dangers for those who rode it. If the bike ever hit a large bump or got stuck, the rider would fall right over the handlebars and onto the ground. This accident became so common that it was called “taking a header.” The bikes also lacked hand brakes so stopping became very hard to do leading to the possibility of more accidents. While originally called high wheelers, the bike began to be known as a Penny Farthing because the big and small wheels resemble the sizes of the largest and smallest English coins, known as pennies and farthings.

Men mostly used Penny Farthings, as women weren’t able to ride the large bikes in dresses. Women instead would often ride large tricycles to accommodate their clothing as it was seen as more proper. Penny Farthings continued to be popular throughout the 1870s and 1880s, being used in sports and inspiring the creation of bicycle playing cards which are still used today. In 1884, Thomas Stevens became the first man to ride a bicycle across the United States from San Francisco to Boston using the Penny Farthing. All he carried with him was a tent, spare shirt, and socks.

At the Farm House Museum, there is a Penny Farthing upstairs on the third floor. This one isn’t as high as others, but it is definitely unique. The bike is mostly made of metal with a seat that doesn’t look that comfortable. The bike’s pedals are just two long bars with a little step up on the back wheel. The most interesting feature is the wooden wheels, which bikes today don’t have anymore. This makes it a very unique object to the house. It is very possible even that past residents of the house and others on the Iowa State campus might have had one in the 1870s.     

Even with its popularity in the 1870s, the Penny Farthing quickly fell out of fashion in the late 1880s when the Safety Bike was invented. The Safety Bike had a more comfortable seat and the wheels were equal sizes so it was a lot less dangerous. Even though the Penny Farthing lost popularity it still exists through memory as cities like Davis, California have the Penny Farthing in their symbol. And still to this day in Tasmania, Australia the National Penny Farthing Races are held every year. The Penny Farthing has become one of the symbols of the Victorian era and an interesting part of bicycle and Farm House history.