If the big wheels are overly intimidating, bicymple and mc2 offer modern smaller wheel diameter 'dwarf ordinaries' (yes, that's a thing) with geared hubs.

In an entirely serendipitous accident of time and place, in 1984 I saw the highwheel crew off from the Pacific shore in San Francisco on their 100th-anniversary recreation of Stevens' trans-Am ride.

True that, although somehow tandem, long-wheelbase recumbent and recumbent trike owners get their machines to and from tours. Undoubtedly those initiated with the secret handshake know tips, tricks and technics to make it happen.

Modern bikepacking handlebar and seatpost bags remind one of Thomas Stevens' on-bike dunnage.

No step for a stepper, eh?

Hey flippin , you've been shy, haven't heard a peep from you.

And staep, if I had 2 and a half grand to spend like it was nothing, I would love getting one of those replicas by the company in the vid.
It would be a hoot.

It looks like they are $1600 plus $42.99 shipping in the continental US. To make it more tempting they are available close enough to be a long one day road trip for me. Not sure how bad that is for you Canadians is it really two and a half grand?
https://www.unicycle.com/unicycle-co...g-black-black/

Yup, I saw that. 1600 USD is about 2100 cad and I rounded up for shipping, import stuff, 15% taxes

At least it has a rear brake to slow down a bit, how much that "bit" would be on a given downhill who knows.
Would still be a real hoot to own.

The modern interpretation cats designed in a supplemental backbone step and suggest a technique I've never seen in the historical literature: on downhills, step back off the saddle onto the auxiliary step (moving the machine+rider's CG well back and down) and, if the situation becomes truly dire, augment the rear brake with rubbing your shoe sole on the solid rear tire.

Sometimes it's a worry buying the cheapest offering on the market, but this past summer one Richard Thoday broke the 134 y.o. penny-farthing record for riding LEJoG (Land's End to John o'Groats, the longest road ride in Great Britain) on a UDC Mk4. I'm inclined to think the machines are okay.

neat. thanks for the info.
The fellow who asked about this hasnt responded at all, but lets face it, the chances that any of us will own a penny farthing is pretty darn small and unlikely, let alone tour on one.
FFlags, you didnt really think any of us have do you?

Here's the link to the shop in the San Francisco Bay area that makes them, including a 'mini' with a 28" front wheel:

Antique Replicas - Rideable Bicycle Replicas

I just checked the titles of his 50 posts and now don't think he actually tours.

Cheers

he did say recently that he or she has spent 17 months travelling in Asia and people had been very helpful with him/her for all of the "travelling in Asia" questions. I dont know if he ended up travelling on his folding bike at all, but who knows.

but thats ok asking for advice. A lot of his questions tend to be about lowering a daily budget, which does help when one is spending a long time travelling around like he or she has supposedly been doing, so I get that.

as we know though, there are always people who find a bicycle touring forum and ask all kinds of questions, but dont really participate, but this is a faceless/anonymous internet thing that is not uncommon.

Sorry I don't get the notifications on my phone.. replying now..

I just remember seeing it a year ago and ran across it again and thought it would be an interesting question for the professionals here.. after watching all the videos of the guy that actually has done a world tour on one.. and he's doing his second now.. it definitely doesn't seem easy.. but #1 in cool factor imo.

I've never toured.. I know quite a bit about it.. have friends and met lots who have.. want to.. which is why I'm here.

No never seen one before..

And to the other person who mentioned the guy on the unicycle..

He recently completed his world tour.. took him 3 years.. he started when he was 19.. he has tons of videos from his trip on his YouTube channel.

Incredible.. think he's the first person to ever ride around the world on one... good for him.

professional generally means that one is being paid.....for some reason, my cheques always seem to "in the mail" , but I'm still hopeful!

you know, I reckon its a really small number of people who actually make any money off this gig, and clearly they are the ones who do the successful youtube channels and whatnot.

good luck with your travels and meandering.

Pennies are a tiny slice of the modern velo world, but my seat of the pants is about the same % of penny riders tour as 'safety' bike riders.

There are some fun penny travelogs on CGOAB. Following links on websites and Facebook led me to penny tour stories Stateside, in EU and Oz.

So the answer is: 'Yep!' Looks like quality adventure. Toting self-contained dunnage seems to be a bit of an issue.

Fun fact: The first 'safety' bicycle (with lowered seating and chain-driven rear wheel) seems to have been the Lawson Bicyclette of the late 1870s:



Originals exist; reproductions are available!

The Art & Pastime of Cycling by R J Mecredy & A J Wilson (2nd. Ed. 1891)

Aaaaaand here's the film of the ride:

People will do anything to get attention these days.

Mr Thoday is one tough guy esp with the surprising amount of climbing.