Penny Farthing Racing is Still a Thing
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- Forget lowrider bikes, the O.G. bicyclists rode high atop penny farthings. These old-school bikes with on oversized front wheel require excellent balance, and are still raced by cyclists today. We spoke with a penny farthing champion about the danger and delight of racing one of these throwback rides.
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its amazing people rebuilt these with modern materials, they seem way safer than the actual old ones
True
They're still rather dangerous by design. But for a casual ride they should be safe.
@@anonymousmobster2444 i mean a fall is still bad.
but there will be much less chance of a mechanical failure because of bicycle building regulations.
@@nox_luna Yes, but penny farthings are also more prone to falling out of control if they do something like roll over a rock.
@@anonymousmobster2444 wasnt the giant wheel specifically made because of that? cause the streets were shit back then
funny how he discovered this on a forum and became a champion not long after
I knew a guy who died gruelling cross-country runs in deserts, the kind of races that kill someone every year. He learned there's a "24 hour running" sport where you lap a 400m track for 24 hours to see who'll go furthest. The first one he entered he won more than confortably and wasn't far off the silver medal time at the world championships.
"They smile, they wave, they love to take photographs"
*close-up of kid dying from stage 3 boredom*
Man from Nantucket lmao
gotem
No, he`s in a trance !
Man from Nantucket @@
lmao
I would call this a Gentleman’s sport but no one’s wearing a top hat and a penguin suit.
That should be a requirement to take part in the race
yeah and you can easily hide protective gear under it
it's calle a morning suit
And a monocle
Yes, I was very disappointed.
I want to see an entire Tour de France with Penny Farthings
int the late 30s the tour de france was completed using panzers
@@maitreyakanitkar8742 in the 40's*
I really love how none of the riders are taking it super seriously. Looks so fun.
except for the guy with an aero helmet
"isn't as easy as it looks and it sure doesn't look easy" me trying to reach the essay word limit
LOL
Ikr
i think you don't understand what it means
xDd
lol i was about to comment that
@@yeehaw693 "Isn't as easy as it looks" - It looks easy (but it isn't)
"It sure doesn't look easy" - It doesn't look easy.
So unless I've got something terribly wrong or you're just joking, you might wanna rethink that comment
Does it come with a top hat?
ci95w and a handlbar moustache?
No they are sold separately
don't forget the monocle
Got you penny farthing today and get a tea cup and top hat 50% off
You're not truly farthing unless you're sporting a top hat with a handlebar mustache.
>hits tiny rock
>falls and dies instantly
amen
*amen farting
Penny farting!
(Laughs)
I think this won't be that bad going over bumps and rocks because if its large diameter.
I want to put 2 farthing wheels on a regular bike
monster bike
BIG CHUNGUS the farthing wheels are the titchy ones, the penny is the big one
@BIG CHUNGUS You've Been Tricked, Youe've Been Backstabbed and You've Been Quite Possibly, Bamboozled
@BIG CHUNGUS yeah, I mean, it also popped in my mind but... no. You have bmx for that. They'd need to be two humongous Farth (pffff..... :D ) Farthing wheels. No can do, sorry.
Seen more than a few giant wheel bikes at Burning Man.
The current style of bike was called "the safety bicycle" when first introduced because, compared to the dangerous high wheeler's. it was a tremendous improvement in safety.
The penny farthing was also replaced by the bicycle chain.
I know a man who rides a penny farthing 150 miles every year to raise money to fight Multiple Sclerosis. I admire the man immensely. Even though he's got to be crazy to do such a thing.
I didn't even know these things were still around. For some reason this made me happy.
Same.
Me too
Pretty fun and quirky, but needs matching clothing. No ugly 90s sweatpants.
Maybe it was the fashion in the 90s... the 1890's.
yeah who wants to have blokes big bollocks staring you in the face ..
Agreed
I'm going to build one, with suspension and clipless pedals.
Brad Studio clip less pedals are bad enough, but a clip less penny farthing=death
@@noonehere4332 0:35 they are racing clipless pedals for those extra watts man.
did you complete building it?
@@emilchandran546 the thing is, any system that bind your foot to pedal on penny farthing means if anything goes wrong theres nothing you can do to not fall
Just what you want. A five foot high saddle position that you can't instantly dismount from.
When bad design does not equal to failure. That's what this bike is
Hey that's me at 1:03 in the Yellow hat
How was the event?
It was incredible! Very enjoyable
Really?!
Why would I Llie
Kit Bicknell Are you a hooman or a graet boye
they say it "isn't as easy as it looks" right after the dude saying he'd never done it and now he's the champion XD
I love the mix of old and new design!
I do also. It's a case of the best of the past, with the best of the present.
It's like with wearing those sweatpants and helmet.
apparently lots of people have an unhealthy and obsessive hatred for this very specific kind of bicycle...
I think I do too xD idk its just tickles my eyes.
That being said I enjoyed the video , found this guy very likeable and imagined it d be a great feeling riding in the hight of that thing. I still think it looks bad.
And jesus fuck people you re obsessed , the man said nothing anti -white nor his comment wasn't fitting nor does it show someone who seeks to find racism where there is not. You party people disgust me.
@@theali8oras274 I felt the need to say something but you beat me to it.. I enjoyed your comment, in fact it distracted me entirely from the folks trying to stir up hate.
These bikes fascinate me personally- the man in the video drives a good point that I didn't consider. You'd get a lot of positive attention on one of these. Also, headers. A youtube search for "headers" led me here, the term for when people are thrown off the bike head-first. The idea alone that fancy, Victorian-era people would get on these things and risk "headers" and have no brakes blows my mind.
Fun fact! When going too fast or down a steep hill, old-timey folk would put their legs over the bars so that in case they hit a rock or were thrown off, they at least wouldn't go head-first. Also helmets didn't match the Victorian look so they didn't wear 'em. Hardcore!
Obsession and hatred for something you hardly ever see? That's like hating a few thumbs down on a video.
Still have no idea why these exist, but now I know that full carbon Penny Farthings with disc brakes need to exist.
I feel like people don't really understand just how popular these were back in the day. These weren't just some two week novelty that only a few people got into. Pennyfarthings (or Ordinaries here in America) were one of the first big trendy things to do and own at the time. People did all sorts of ridiculous things with them. They rode hundreds of miles on them, they toured Yellowstone National Park and other such parks, they learned all sorts of insane tricks, they rode them casually and professionally, they formed clubs in almost every major city across America and Europe. People see them now and tend to think of them as some strange victorian circus oddity, but these were as common as the bicycles we have today. They are the reason we have bicycles today. They're also the reason we have paved roads, but that's a story for another day.
These things used to come with instructions on how to fall. If I bought a bike these days that came with crash instructions, I think I'd take it back.
Why this design was even chosen back then when you could simply makes two similar sized wheels! I know the chain pedal system came much later, but you could make the real wheel closer and fix a pedal into the real wheel!
A technology built in the 1800s being brought back to become a sport.
Clipped in + penny farthing equals=😱
Same reason I bought a surrey bike… it turns heads and it’s a conversation starter!
Thanks 4 showing starting out & stopping thats mostly why i watched
"If pain in the ass had a face, it would probably look like Penny Farthing"
I want to see a penny-farthing with ape hangers. xD
I´d like to see a carbon fiber bespoke one. And yeah, if I ever see one, I´d love to try it
The company that supplies modern Penny Farthings isn't far from me.Their usual line of business is unicycles. Every time I've been in, the owner's bike has been there, and I'm so tempted. The trouble is storage....they are huge!
I would love to see a modern version with a lift or staircase.
France:we have tour de france
Brits:hold my tea
Some company built a 21st century penny farthing with a slightly smaller front wheel called the bicymple. It looks crazy.
I remember freaked out when the first time trying fixed gear because I couldn't stop the bike. I would probably freaked out more when riding this 😂
dont you just pedal backwards
You never get tired of the penny farthing. It's a one of a kind.
As a fatbike rider. I respect these riders with difficult set ups
That is too far to fall, from a minor steering error that you correct by dabbing the ground with your foot on a regular bike
1:00 - "It's a very dangerous machine to ride". No shit! I was wondering why they became obsolete about 100 years ago...
Also, because it was replaced by the bicycle chain.
I will never forget the day I was cycling to school (live in the Netherlands so that’s pretty common) and some guy rode in front of me on one of those things like it was the most normal thing in the world. He looked so ridiculous😂 but surprisingly he was going pretty fast, it did look uncomfortable af tho
A couple of years ago, I was cycling out in the countryside and a couple of guys came past the other way on penny farthings. And then more. And more and more. Turns out, there was a vintage bike rally going on and probably a hundred people came past on all kinds of 100-year-old bikes, many of them in period clothing, too. It was amazing.
I didn't know a race for this existed, holy shit it looks glorious.
I say! Jolly good show, Great Big Story!
The guy supermanning the penny farthing at 1:30😂
I have an original 19th Century one in lovely condition. I used to ride it in our local carnival but the good old 'health and safety' excuse now prevents me. The most dangerous thing is to touch the brake which jams a leather shoe onto the front tyre and throws you over the handlebars . You have to just jump off or grab a handy lamp post as you pass!
I've always wanted a penny farthing, but like with something like an internal gearset in the hub so it could be ridden up and down hills and such, it would be a blast! I built a couple tall bikes years ago with my ex girlfriend for the naked bike ride, but if I could've, they would've been penny farthings. I'm glad they're still a thing, haha!
Why am I getting ads for buying a penny farthing on this video?
I totally want one of these, now.
Chains were such a great addition to bicycles. It's no wonder these goofy things died out fast in the mainstream.
Imagine taking that thing to an Ironman competition =))))
Who would win
One big wheel or one big stick
1:34 yep they really smile😂
My anxiety level just spiked.
Rolling up to the local bike trail with one of these would be hilarious
I'm blown away that this is an actual thing.... amazing
At first I thought the title said Penny “farting” 😂😂
You know that something is questionable when the next development was called the "safety bicycle" at the time of invention.
It's sort of like mentioning that the guy who first designed bindings that made skis pop off rather than break your legs did so from a hospital bed.
Sad such a great channel shut down
Also, these high wheeler's is where we get the term "gear inch". I you wanted to change gears on this bike you had to buy a smaller or larger wheel the diameter of which was measured in inches.
Anybody think that looks like Michaels bike from brewstew🤔
Thanks,I was working on my prototype and 30 more.
If you're in the U.S., the place to see a penny farthing race is Frederick, MD in August.
#463 deserves extra points for looking the part too!
This is the best thing I've heard in a while.
A friend of mine built one out of a giant unicycle, and I rode it at burningman.... a bitch to mount, fun as hell to ride. But you don’t realize how much twist you get to the front tire when you try to stand on the pedal for torque, you have to actually steer against your pedaling...
I have those same nimbus venture cranks on my unicycle :D
Looks terrifying.
aaah back to a time of top hats, band stands, and merry-go-rounds
This is the single goofiest shit that could ever pop up at 1:30 AM
Imagine pulling up to a Tesco with this ride. No room for bike thieves cuz its already hard to ride! Same thing with a unicycle.
"Sometimes I go into a bike shop for a bit of a joke..."
the level of nerdiness to possess such a bike is indeed demonstrated in this behavior
I fell off my seat watching this 🤣
They look like something that would take time to get used to. Looks like fun to me.
This should always be a thing it's awesome
Must have popped up in Mike Boyd's recommendations.
I just hate how it sounds like "penny farting"
Quite, extraordinary good sir.. indeed
This video sounds like apple advertising trying to sell me an overpriced functional, but unneccesary shit, when there´s cheaper and more useful choices.
+Israel M. You must be fun to hang out with
0:27 My teacher from Derbyshire who works at Highfields School In Matlock
derbyshire sounds like the most british polo thing ever
"We spoke with a penny farthing champion"
I see what u did there
In my country, we call these bicycles nutcrackers.
Seriously where do they buy those wheels like tire rims even spokes
A neighbor of mine has one of these things and occasion I see him riding it!
Chapeau to all that climb up let alone race these beasts
i thought the title said penny farting
Looks like the handles are there mainly to get a grip and not really to steer
Quokkat Dropbars are for speed.
Imagine falling if one of those
The slightest hump/lump/pothole….instantly die farting
It's nice to see a bit of Victorian London spilling over into Modern London.
After being so used to a drive wheel with a ratcheting sprocket, I'd probably die from forgetting that you can't just rest your feet on the pedals and coast.
Me: wow that's cool
My brain: what if you fall of lol
Me: oh shit
I need to buy one but they are freaking expensive!!! 5K plus and here in the U.S. they are at least 100 years old.
Me(tallest person to my friends): *rides a normal bike*
what my friends think i ride:
The guy at 0:15 brought a real question... I have no idea how they get tires for such bikes!
I Cycle a Lot. I couldn't see myself cycling on a bicycle that is just crank, but then again. Just cruising around town probably wouldn't be to bad.
i saw this bike a few days ago in amsterdam :D
salam Penny Farthing dari pangkalan bun, kalimantan tengah, indonesia.
So basically fixed gear racing except everyone has a 1:1 gear ratio and can go only as fast as their cadence allows (so like 10mph tops).
Umm, the outer diameter of the wheel is about 3 times that of the pedal-circle diameter, so the ratio is about 3:1, based on a visual estimation. That's the entire reason for the giant wheel....
Speed record on flat ground for a penny-farthing is 35 MPH. They aren't necessarily slow.
MrPijus123 So basically... you're wrong. It's easy to work out approximate speeds for any particular cadence if you know the diameter of the big wheel. Did you ever go to school, or do you just act stupid?
Wheel diameter can vary if only to cater for different inseam leg lengths.
Too small: uncomfortable.
Too large: unrideable.
Funny.Quite exiting 👍❤
Very practic in Romania driveing among street-dogs,hope they cannot jump that high🙄
Hi, we would like to buy one of these because my husband is a circus artist, do you know where we can find a good website? Thank you very much