The First Modern Bicycle

In a phone conversation with my granddaughter, Anya, in Brussels a few days ago, I mentioned that I didn’t know what my next modelling project would be. She suggested that an old bicycle might be interesting. I didn’t know much about bikes, so the research began. What I learned was, indeed, interesting.

In the 1870s and 1880s the popular bicycle was the penny-farthing with its huge front wheel. The rider sat above the big wheel and peddled directly on the axle. Unfortunately, while this arrangement provided speed due to the ratio of the rotation of the peddles to the circumference of the wheel, it proved to be quite dangerous. With the center of mass being so far above the ground, it tended to tip over causing, sometimes, serious, injuries to the rider.

 In 1885 Henry Starley of Coventry, England, designed the Safety Bicycle, which he called the Rover. With smaller, similar sized wheels the center of mass was much lower and the rider’s feet were close enough to the ground to easily prevent tipping. Speed was achieved through a chain drive to the rear wheel with a sprocket ratio of about two-to-one. With his new design, Starley essentially created the first modern bike and it was a huge commercial success.

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