Safety bicycle
The safety bicycle is an English high- speed bicycle with a pedal drive on the rear wheel, which was developed by Harry John Lawson in 1876. Lawson was not the appropriate height to ride the high bikes that appeared in 1872 . Instead of a large front and small rear wheel, Lawson used the reverse principle. The "Safety" - Lawson had the name protected - should also be used for anxious and elderly people. In theory, the “safety” was safer than the penny farthing because the rider sat between the wheels and therefore had a lower center of gravity. It is doubtful whether the drive worked. Palmer describes the device, which weighs almost 30 kg, as a kind of grasshopper with a combination of rotating and reciprocal parts.
literature
- Arthur Judson Palmer: Riding High. Vision Press London, 1958.
- Andrew Ritchie: King of the Road. Wildwood House, London 1975, ISBN 0-913668-42-7 .