Reinvent the Wheel? Or can it just be improved?

The Penny-Farthing is a bicycle, now more often seen in a museum, rather than on the street. One of the advantages of this design was that it did not need a gear and chain assembly. The pedals were connected to the hub of the front wheel.

A disadvantage to this design was that it was very difficult to stop once it had picked up the slightest amount of speed! Another disadvantage was that the feet of the average adult rider could not touch ground while sitting on such a highly perched seat.

But in the 1870's when this bicycle was actually used day to day by many people, the advantages of being able to travel long distances with minimal physical effort, outweighed some of this vehicles' inherent safety flaws. In the late 1890's, new bicycle's were being designed based on the penny-farthing which included many new safety and comfort features. The Penny-Farthing cycle was also referred to as the 'boneshaker.'

There is always room and time to improve upon our own ideas.... without having to reinvent the wheel!