Photo: RM Auctions
They keep telling us that riding a bicycle, especially in crowded cities, could make for a rational alternative and that it’s been around enough time for people to get used to it. But if you were to ask us, we’d try a different approach to convince people of its applications. For instance, we’d ride this antique penny-farthing during rush hours just to prove a point.
OK, we’d do it once, just to get a good laugh for a change, but we’re sure there are some of you out there who’d consider buying this piece of history and storing it in the garage, right next to their Nissan Leaf. Whether or not you are one of those matters little to us, but since we stumbled upon this high wheel we figured we may as well mention it to you.
Set to go under the hammer next month, during the Hershey auction, the high-wheeler in question is part of the initial models. Also called an ordinary, the predecessor of nowadays bicycles was the first machine to be called like that. As part of the Richard Roy Estate collection, it's set to be auctioned on October 8-9. The rare collectable is being sold without reserve, but you’re going to need to ask for the price if it actually tackles your interest.
Now, since we mentioned it anyway, let us all look back for a second, towards the moment it all started. It would seem that Eugene Meyer, a French inventor, was the person to create the High-Bicycle design and fashioned the wire-spoke tension wheel, in 1869. One year later, starting with English inventor James Starley, bicycles based on the French boneshaker begun production.
The rather peculiar contraption was short-lived, yet it still managed to turn into a symbol of the late Victorian era. It may not have been the best model for the two-wheelers to come, but its popularity sure coincided with the birth of cycling as a sport.
Set to go under the hammer next month, during the Hershey auction, the high-wheeler in question is part of the initial models. Also called an ordinary, the predecessor of nowadays bicycles was the first machine to be called like that. As part of the Richard Roy Estate collection, it's set to be auctioned on October 8-9. The rare collectable is being sold without reserve, but you’re going to need to ask for the price if it actually tackles your interest.
Now, since we mentioned it anyway, let us all look back for a second, towards the moment it all started. It would seem that Eugene Meyer, a French inventor, was the person to create the High-Bicycle design and fashioned the wire-spoke tension wheel, in 1869. One year later, starting with English inventor James Starley, bicycles based on the French boneshaker begun production.
The rather peculiar contraption was short-lived, yet it still managed to turn into a symbol of the late Victorian era. It may not have been the best model for the two-wheelers to come, but its popularity sure coincided with the birth of cycling as a sport.
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