Our Bikes - R2 Repro Penny Farthing Bicycle - Tall Bike Rudge Reproduction

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Prototypes are now running and being tested.

Details about the R2 Prototype... (R2L details below)

The Bike is beautiful! We are now having many parts cast in SS and the black fork head shown in photos will be replaced by a polished SS one on the bikes sold. Bike has a 50" wheel in front and 16" in rear. The weight is a bit high at 46 lbs. The front wheel with tire, cranks and pedals is 20 lbs and the backbone with front end and rear tire attached is 26 lbs.
The next bike will be lighter as the prototype front hub was made too thick and backbone is 3.6 mm thick walled. The weight also includes the R2 Tie Lock accessory that was turned from solid bar and the backbone taper was made by cutting and welding. Future bikes will have the backbone taper made by rolling.
When in doubt I over built. Handlebars are solid bar instead of hollow bar. It will take a lot to bend them and being solid SS they will be easy to bend back and polish. I used 2mm steel for front forks when the original bike was 1mm or 1.5mm.
The thicker backbone is safer and should avoid any breakage for heavier users. Not sure how much the bikes in the future will weigh. That's to be worked out.
Air space under the fork head is 3/8" and air gap between tire and backbone is 3/4". Although this is considered good we want to get it down to 5/8" or even 1/2". That should allow riders to go up a wheel size. I am 5' 9-3/4" and my inseam is 31" or 31-1/2". The 50" is too small for me and a 52" or even a 54" would suit me much better. I know a lot of prospective buyers will be happy with that. Most people want the largest wheel they can ride.
The R2 Tie Lock just popped out of my head. I did not want to just lean the bike against something. It also discourages thieves if you use a lock with it. It's a cute item and we will sell them in the future. Once I get a stronger spring it will be able to hold a longer, thicker cable.
The seat bracket also is my design. The original one was just strapping steel bent to fit. I did not consider it safe and any seat adjustment would have resulted in damaging the paint. It would be plainly visible to anyone looking at the bike. The bracket although adding some weight is a beautiful item and allows the seat to be adjusted back and forth without damaging the powder coat.
We had two bugs to work out with the pant guard. Because we made the seat two inches back to make the bike safer we forgot to do the same to the guard. That caused my first crash. Then we made it 2-3/4" longer but it was up too high over the tire and I caught my thigh under it which caused my second (more painful) crash. Did not think I would be the test pilot as well as the webmaster. Now the tire compound might be a bit too soft. I have sent samples to the USA to get an answer on this problem.
What's left to do is to make two machines. We will be going with butted spokes in the future not straight spokes to avoid breakage. We have to make a long pulling machine to do that. Prototype bike has a cut and welded taper to end of backbone. That also added some weight. We are now making a large rolling machine that can roll a taper on a 3.6mm walled pipe.
All in all it's a great bike and we will work the bugs out as I learn how to ride it.
It's the best High Wheel deal on the market!

Details about the R2L Safety Prototype...

Another beautiful bike! The R2L is a smaller bike. Originally they came after the High Wheel "Ordinary". It was called a "Safety" because they were safer than the bigger bikes. Less distance to fall and one could land sideways with this bike. The "Safety" brought a lot more people into the bicycle sport at that time. Our R2L uses a reproduction of the lever drive action of an 1885 American Safety made by Gormully and Jeffery but with modern Spherical Bearings in the front rod linkage for smoother running and less maintenance. The rest of the parts used are R2 Rudge Repro parts. The same high quality parts used on the R2 Repro.
Front wheel is 42" with Radial spokes but I think in the future the R2L will have a 45" wheel because I still have a few inches to go on the bottom of the pedal stroke. I can land sideways as the pedal at its lowest point is about 12 inches off the ground. Most will want the largest wheel so a 45" can still be a "Safety" and yet the wheel will be big enough to "impress" the lookers. The drive mechanism when in operation is amazing to watch. Rear tire is 17" and front fork rake is 6 degrees. This will be a great learners bike as it is close to riding a larger High Wheel yet much safer. Not however as safe as a modern bicycle. Easy to mount and jump off of. Back pedalling is not like an Ordinary. Because is uses a lever, on the upstroke the pedal is far back and has a lot of side leverage. In other words it will cause a strong side push to the front wheel. It shocked me at first. Took a few rides to get used to it.
We will not have a waiting list for this bike at this time. Sorry...

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