On 11/01/2021 19:32, colwyn wrote:

Happy New Year to all!
With regard to Jeremy Vine I have come across a clip him apparently
riding a "Penny Farthing",
https://road.cc/content/news/cycling...ry-2021-279963
and pondered the legalities of such a contraption on the road
ie. no reflectors, no lights and maybe no brakes (Front or rear)

There's no reason why they can't have reflectors. I expect brakes come
under the same rule as fixies.

Here is a modern one, not a replica -
https://www.unicycle.co.uk/penny-far...SABEgJ0Y_D_BwE

This after another rider was undone by a white van crossing his path:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1346124231340298242
Any thoughts?
(I am bored!)

Try one for a bit of excitement. Perhaps best to stay off busy suburban
streets though.

I have ridden a 36 incher. I didn't have difficulty on the mount and the
high COG makes it very stable and easy to steer[*]. It is a bit odd to
have a pedalling reaction on the steering but that is easy to accommodate.

I didn't master the stop and dismount but at 36 inches all I had to do
was to tip off sideways. 50+ would be much more daunting.

[*] the "experts" never did explain their theory of why raising the COG
with a backpack makes a cyclist less stable. Apart from s'obvious, innit.