High-Wheel Bicycle, circa 1878
Add to SetSummary
This wood-wheeled bicycle from the 1870s is an example of an early high-wheel ordinary. The ordinary evolved from the velocipede of the late 1860s. Innovators enlarged the velocipede's front wheel, which made traveling great distances quicker. Future improvements such as steel-tube-frame construction, ball bearings, and wire wheels with rubber tires made the high wheeler a popular recreational and sporting vehicle.
This wood-wheeled bicycle from the 1870s is an example of an early high-wheel ordinary. The ordinary evolved from the velocipede of the late 1860s. Innovators enlarged the velocipede's front wheel, which made traveling great distances quicker. Future improvements such as steel-tube-frame construction, ball bearings, and wire wheels with rubber tires made the high wheeler a popular recreational and sporting vehicle.
Artifact
Bicycle
Date Made
circa 1878
Keywords
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
00.4.4065
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Iron (Metal)
Wood (Plant Material)
Dimensions
Height: 58.5 in
Width: 18.5 in
Length: 64.5 in
Wheelbase: 32 in
Diameter: 51 in (Front Wheel)
Diameter: 17 in (Rear Wheel)
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