What exactly is a "SAFETY" Bike ?
- Thread starter CCR
- Start date
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Penny-Farthings, as they were called in England are and were more generally referred to as Ordinaries because the strait forward design of the machines became the rational standard for bicycle design for several years as bicycles first gained widespread popularity.
The design also contributed to a lack of safety in operation as the rider is elevated from the ground and the location of the riders mass with respect to the front axel contributes to the potential for rotating about the axel when hitting an obstacle or braking hard.
The first safeties still usually used differentially sized wheels but by putting the smaller wheel in front or moving the rider further back and down through the use of lever actuated or indirect drive made taking a header less likely and thus the bikes were referred to as Safeties.
The name stuck long after there were no “Ordinaries” in production to compare them to.
The design also contributed to a lack of safety in operation as the rider is elevated from the ground and the location of the riders mass with respect to the front axel contributes to the potential for rotating about the axel when hitting an obstacle or braking hard.
The first safeties still usually used differentially sized wheels but by putting the smaller wheel in front or moving the rider further back and down through the use of lever actuated or indirect drive made taking a header less likely and thus the bikes were referred to as Safeties.
The name stuck long after there were no “Ordinaries” in production to compare them to.
Safety Dance?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcOZ6xFxJqg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcOZ6xFxJqg
