Bicycling, C.1887 (Colour Print) , in the years before the invention of “safety bicycles” [926×1282] by LosMere
LosMere on April 11, 2026 5:48 pm [1897 advertisement, showing a woman wearing bloomers with a safety bicycle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Ellimans-Universal-Embrocation-Slough-1897-Ad.png)
LosMere on April 11, 2026 5:54 pm This type of bicycle with one wheel far bigger than the other is called [Penny-farthing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny-farthing). It was very popular in UK in the 1870s before being surpassed by [safety bicycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_bicycle), which features two wheels similar in size, the ancestor to most modern bicycles.
2 Comments
[1897 advertisement, showing a woman wearing bloomers with a safety bicycle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Ellimans-Universal-Embrocation-Slough-1897-Ad.png)
This type of bicycle with one wheel far bigger than the other is called [Penny-farthing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny-farthing).
It was very popular in UK in the 1870s before being surpassed by [safety bicycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_bicycle), which features two wheels similar in size, the ancestor to most modern bicycles.