Per request, I suppose I can toss some pictures up here. I didn't feel hyjacking the thread about bags (that had already been hyjacked by Zaphod and me) would be in good taste, so why not start something for old fashioned goodness anew? We don't see a lot of pre-war (first) stuff on these forums, but they do pop up from time to time (saw an early Rudge in the appraisal just recently). Though this thread will likely be ghost-town-ish, it'll be the home in my heart .

56" 83 Columbia Expert "project"



48" Kennedy



50" Spillane Eagle

Oh my god that is so cool.

I've always wanted to try some 19th century 2 wheelers. Its strictly fixed cranks on those right? no freewheeling.

Did you tour on this?!?!

i passed a guy coming through my town (i'm on a major touring thorofair so I see them fairly frequently) touring on one of these.

I also recently passed a guy touring on something like this:

Very, very cool. You just blew my 7 year-old's mind.

I rode that specific bike many thousands of miles. Winter 2009 through Spring 2010 I did many short tours on the Kennedy, around Arizona. Spring 2010 I rode it from San Francisco to Seattle, where I trained home and sold the bike. The goal was Alaska, but that bike wasn't proper for it. I then rode it on RAGBRAI the same summer. The Expert will see many fun times. I'm hoping to pick up a light roadster to race on, soon.

There's a book and movie (and possibly a blog) about a guy who rode a tall bike from northern Africa to South Africa, and documented the whole thing on video. In late 2010, or late 2011 he released a movie of it at the BFF. I think he and his friend were sponsored by Surly. He started on a Long Haul Trucker, and decided that was 'boring', and moved on to the tall bike, filming people's reactions along the way.

I meant to add this picture in the first post, so here it is. RAGBRAI bound; Eagle and Motoconfort.

Like the Vette and all....but the Eagle "Iz Da Bomb"!

what year is the Kennedy?

Lowell Kennedy, a machinist who passed away some years ago, made replica ordinaries from probably the 70s until the 90s. Dates on them are pretty much unknown (but you were probably most curious if it was from the 1800s, I'd assume ).

I had my suspicions about its age. Very cool.

They aren't pneumatic tires, are they?

"Solid". Hard-tire bikes' tyres are kept tensioned by a wire inside the rubber (which is hallow, for lack of a better term), which is either brazed or twisted, then released.

The Kennedy had a much more authentic saddle, originally, but a building a mount for a modern Brooks was easiest solution for long touring (and allowed saddle swapping if I preferred). To an untrained eye (or without very largely detailed photos), it is hard to tell one apart. I suppose it's like first getting into road bikes; they all look the same, sort of, at first; poor example though. See below:

SF to seattle? that's pretty badass! wow!

This is one of the most beautiful bicycles I have ever seen. Wow.

Forks backwards!


Didn't know Walmart still assembled Penny Farthings?

(i'm having a bit of fun!)

great thread and fabulous pics!! I never gave thought to people doing anything much more than riding about town (maybe promenading is a better word) or racing on Ordinaries. Then after it was recomended somewhere on BF I read "The Lost Cyclist" and realized that for a whole generation or more these bikes were actually a huge source of not only local transport but a resource for traveling great distance for both work and recreation.

great pics!. there is a repro one of these at a local shop, one of these days i may have to hop on it just say I did ride one.


btw the rack on the split window is cool too

I love these ordinaries. A local LBS has an ariel in a bad shape hanging above his door, makes me want to save it. I'd love the ride on one day. Bucket list stuff.

The Lost Cyclist, Around the World on a Bicycle and 10,000 Miles on a Bicycle are incredible reads about the era. I suggest every single one of them to any cyclist. You should ride one - they're a blast.

Good ol' American engineering. I do have to agree with you. All the ordinaries, as simple the mechanics are, are engineered amazingly. All the pieces of the original bikes are just so clean and finely crafted. The fact that they had very little in terms of machinery and still crafted these the way they did is simply amazing. Here's some original Columbia bearing housings.



Ariels aren't all that common. I'd be trying to poach this if there wasn't a great deal of water in the way . Mark that off the list - get to it!

ah well, the entire thing is coated in black paint (house paint or something like it), cm's thick, and I'm sure the entire wheel needs to be replaced. The only place I can think of that has an ordinary is the cycle museum in Nijmegen, but they probably don't do loaners to broke and shady students like me. and I don't have the income to buy one myself, IF I were to find one that is! But one can always hope.

This guy went around the world! A long ride on a big wheel.
22,026 miles (35,447 km) over 924 days from May 1, 2006 to November 9, 2008. Awesome read!

Aaron

https://nos.nl/video/248072-hoge-birace-in-londen.html

This. Is. Awesome.

Joff is a wonderful guy, and obvious-accomplished athlete. World tours on strange things (including penny farthings) have occurred in the past - he took it to the next level by visiting places like Taj and Everest Base Camp. He's also been awarded Freedom of the City in London (because of his journey). He's in the video linked below, racing in his pith helmet.

It was fun to see those guys "along-side" a modern race. There are still ordinary races; one in Knutsford (every 10 years) and one in Evansdale (annually) - and there's talk of a new one in the USA soon. Like in the video, once you ride one, you're hooked. There's a gent in CZ, Mesicek, who makes Rudge replicas. I'd imagine you could get the chance to ride one in the area with a little effort. He does gorgeous work.

The newest fad in fixed gears is coming soon.

Must agree with the Colonel, that Eagle is wicked cool. Never seen one like it. Thanks for sharing!

Just read a bike shop in Tuscon got robbed recently and their penny farthing was one of the items stolen.