[HN Gopher] Hubless-wheel electric penny farthing is a one-of-a-...
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       Hubless-wheel electric penny farthing is a one-of-a-kind
       masterpiece
        
       Author : Brajeshwar
       Score  : 55 points
       Date   : 2023-12-16 17:24 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (newatlas.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (newatlas.com)
        
       | eschneider wrote:
       | That's a complete death-trap. That said, I totally want one.
        
         | analog31 wrote:
         | I've been saying the same thing about a traditional
         | pennyfarthing for years. I think I'd want to get some practice
         | on a fixie first, but I don't even have the courage / insanity
         | for that.
        
       | isuckatcoding wrote:
       | Actually it might be safer in some sense because it's more
       | visible and more so for those crazy monster trucks on the roads
       | that are 12ft high
        
         | whyenot wrote:
         | The higher up the rider is, the farther they will fall (and
         | they will fall at some point, we all do).
        
         | amelius wrote:
         | And if some pedestrian is about to crash into it, they can just
         | safely jump through the hoop.
        
           | thih9 wrote:
           | In a way this seems compatible with transit elevated bus -
           | also elevated and allowing pass through traffic.
           | 
           | What next, very high heels?
           | 
           | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_Elevated_Bus
        
       | thih9 wrote:
       | > The 52-inch front wheel is unpowered
       | 
       | I wouldn't call it a penny farthing in this case.
       | 
       | Still very impressive and a masterpiece.
        
         | khazhoux wrote:
         | > I wouldn't call it a penny farthing in this case.
         | 
         | Totally agree. That, along with the lack of spokes and the
         | electric motor, ruin the historical authenticity of this piece.
        
       | readingnews wrote:
       | I must be an immature adult. Saw the picture of the while bike
       | (is it really a penny-farthing?), and all I could think was: it
       | has an electric motor in the back...then...
       | 
       | Pop a wheelie!!
        
         | addicted wrote:
         | Bikes have a way of bringing the kid out of every adult.
        
       | Ekaros wrote:
       | Doesn't this just have very big hub? About size of the wheel?
       | 
       | Then again what do we consider to be a hub.
        
         | jvolkman wrote:
         | Look for where the spokes meet and you'll find the hub.
        
           | HankB99 wrote:
           | And speaking of spokes, that's what provides the strength in
           | a traditional bicycle wheel. That allows for a fairly
           | lightweight rim. Without the spokes a much stronger (and
           | heavier) rim is required.
           | 
           | This is an interesting exercise and beautiful result but I
           | wonder if it is more a work of art than anything practical.
           | Aside from the impracticality of the pennyfarthing
           | configuration the pennyfarthing was replaced by something
           | called the safety bicycle for good reason. (The safety
           | bicycle is the most common configuration used today.)
        
       | snovv_crash wrote:
       | Looks like poor steering geometry. Some more rake and trail would
       | make it a lot more stable.
        
       | SigmundA wrote:
       | Neat design but not a bicycle, its a motorcycle that looks like a
       | penny farthing, no pedals only a throttle.
        
       | nhggfu wrote:
       | i had to turn it off when the dude started cutting thru metal
       | with an electric tool while wearing no safety glasses.
        
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       (page generated 2023-12-16 23:01 UTC)