The High Bicycle gained its nickname of Penny Farthing because of the size of its
wheels, which looked like a penny and a farthing coins of the time. The bike
was made entirely of metal instead of wood and the tyres were rubber. The high
centre of gravity often caused the rider to topple forward whenever it hit any
small obstacle.
Then came the Rover
safety bicycle which was developed during the 1880s in response to the need for a
'safer' bicycle than the large wheeled Penny Farthing bicycle in common use at
the time. Cycle makers experimented with a number of designs but the Rover,
created by J. K Starley, and manufactured by Starley &
Sutton Co of Coventry
which became the most successful and most copied.
Which makes a nice piece of 'Prisoner' fun trivia!
Be seeing you
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