Fixing a Victorian

[Nabeaquam]

Oh duh. Yeah.

I think the seat rails back then we’re designed to work facing front and back on the gallows?

 

[Nabeaquam]

Well the women wore corsets and couldn't breathe properly so it's no leap of the imagination every else put up with discomfort...it's the done thing! That pic you found earlier with the gent seated ....any clues to date of that pic?
Mid 1880s they were still muddling around with odd size wheels....well they were this side of the pond!

I don’t know where I got it. It was in my gallery. It looks like I took a photo of a photo. At the brew pub?

 

[Nabeaquam]

@Nabeaquam - the main reason why I dismissed the penny farthing connection is no knee over the pedal spindle.

I put a vertical line to demonstrate this. The knee is way behind. Plus I think cranks were much shorter on penny farthings.

They used cranks with slots on the high wheelers, so you could adjust the crank length by moving the pedal position on the crank, at least the ones I saw. They also used pumps instead of a crank and pedals. The pumps were used by many pro racers. Arthur A. Zimmerman, probably the best track sprinter ever. I have his biography. Here is his pump high wheeler.
Some publicity shots from the 1890s.
He had final sprint finishes faster than they can do since. You couldn’t see his feet, calculations of his cadence have been made using his bike specs. His finish sprint feats have now been discredited because it can’t be matched with high tech equipment. What I say is didn’t the English officials who did the timing know how to use a stopwatch? He raced for Raleigh for awhile when he raced away from the USA. He almost never lost, he won over 1000 races.

 

[Nabeaquam]

I finally found the photo on the net. It’s F.J. Osmond, British speedster from the 1890s. You can look it up, no extensions of the photo are allowed, which is probably why the distortion. I don’t remember even putting this in my gallery. It’s way down on antique bicycle racing photos on the net. It helps if you know who your looking for, ha.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

All sorts of interesting ! Great find nabeaquam his one hour record on a penny lasted 127 years!

 

[Nabeaquam]

All sorts of interesting ! Great find nabeaquam his one hour record on a penny lasted 127 years!

Modern hot shots have tried to duplicate it on a similar penny farthing, even using shoe covers and aero helmets to no avail. I think it took a modern racing bicycle to finally beat it. I might be wrong but I’m pretty sure I read or saw that somewhere. It might have been the bike geeks on the GCN that tried to beat it?

 

[Mickeyspinn]

Modern hot shots have tried to duplicate it on a similar penny farthing, even using shoe covers and aero helmets to no avail. I think it took a modern racing bicycle to finally beat it. I might be wrong but I’m pretty sure I read or saw that somewhere. It might have been the bike geeks on the GCN that tried to beat it?

I'll look into that...all I gleaned was "a modern machine" still 127 year record is about as long as it gets!
Interesting working life too....company he left went on to be rudge whitworth and the company he set up got bought out by the James motorcycle company.....my old man had a 175 james trials bike!
Saw an interesting rear axle set up he produced
Looks very neat...

 

[Nabeaquam]

I'll look into that...all I gleaned was "a modern machine" still 127 year record is about as long as it gets!
Interesting working life too....company he left went on to be rudge whitworth and the company he set up got bought out by the James motorcycle company.....my old man had a 175 james trials bike!
Saw an interesting rear axle set up he produced
Looks very neat...


View attachment 656704

There is a 1920s Rudge Whitworth motor bike for sale on the net in Austria right now. I want it.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

There is a 1920s Rudge Whitworth motor bike for sale on the net in Austria right now. I want it.

Well regarded machines! Just found that world record on penny farthing....was a gcn thing....that chap you posted the picture of the English guy didn't hold world record on British,guy your side of the pond held that
There's something graceful yet so ungainly about them

 

[Woz]

Oh no. Am I going to go down a rabbit warren again?

Please someone attach a rope around my middle and pull hard if I'm not back in half a day.

I think at the end of the day, your bike needs to be respected as it was, and if you ride it, you should do it as it was. There's enough photographic evidence and input at this period that humans didn't quite have a good natural position fit to this new fangled double diamond frame. Not even going there about racing the thing versus being a gentleman for a replacing a horse.

Out of curiosity I measured my 1910 Dion Bouton saddle tip to handle bar - horrified it is a full 6" shorter compared to my CX bike, so I am going to go through similar pain as you to ride the damn thing when ever the day comes. I have monkey long arms too and not looking forward to it

Can't see any solution to this type of problem except take it all on the chin and reserve this bike for short non-back breaking outings.

Use another bike out of the fleet when distances start to ramp up over 30min - 1hr riding?

Leave this bike as it is now is about the best course of action after all of todays input in my humble opinion. Perhaps if you loan it to someone supple, eager and not pre-conditioned they may adapt to it?