The Whippet Full Suspension Bicycle Displays Tech You Never Imagined Possible in 1888

When I first saw the images of the 1888 Whippet, I couldn't believe what the heck I was looking at. Naturally, I had to dive deeper to see exactly what I had stumbled upon. In doing so, I ran across a gentleman named Paul Brodie, a British Columbian with a fantastic cycling and bicycle manufacturing history. It's his exploration and reconstruction of the 1888 Whippet that we'll be using as a baseline for this machine; a video waits for you below.

If you doubt the credibility of the information Paul presents in the video below, don't. Over the course of his life, Paul Brodie has been inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame for his industry-shifting top tube design, and today, he can be found teaching bicycle frame design and construction at the University of Fraser Valley. Oh, he's also the founder of Brodie Bicycles, a frame manufacturer I've covered before.

Now, the 1888 whippet you see here isn't original in the sense that it was built back in 1888. Instead, it's a complete replica, piece by piece, milling, filing, and sanding included, completed in 2012 by Paul in his garage. Sparked by specs and design schematics from Bicycles & Tricycles written by Archibald Sharp, Paul was drawn to the design because he was intrigued about how the frame worked. Guess what, it's a full suspension bike!

Back in 1888, a complete suspension didn't mean what it does today, and Paul mentions this in the video. In those days, roads were well below today's standards, and beyond that, the Whippet is equipped with solid tires. Yes, no air or tubes inside. Imagine riding down cobblestone streets with solid tires and no suspension. Something had to be done, hence the Whippet's existence.

Well, this bike has so much going on that Paul needed over 35 minutes just to present it, and it would take me even longer to do so with written text, so I'll stick to the essentials. One of the important things to understand is that this sucker includes seven pivot points distributed all over the bike, allowing it to buckle when taking hits and offering the rider a smoother experience.

Smooth is actually underselling the whole riding experience. Because of all the pivot points and suspension features, including that questionable head tube, the Whippet would bob with every stroke as a rider pedaled along. And when I say bob, I mean it; a short clip in Paul's video reveals just how vibing the ride can be. I was listening to music as I watched the clip, and everything was just so well coordinated.

As you'd be riding along on a Whippet, a classic block chain doing all the work, a braking system would need to be activated if things got out of control. To do so, you pull a lever mounted to the handlebar, activating a spoon brake, a rudimentary barking system that applies pressure to the tire to slow the vehicle down.

The rest of the video details what Paul had to go through to make this replica a reality. Still, it remains just a show bike and isn't one that can take the stresses of constant riding. It even brought home an award from NAHBS (North American Handmade Bicycle Show). Nonetheless, to see just how ingenious folks were back in the 1800s is something to marvel at.