Not a unicycle, but a very interesting bike, and probably of interest to unicyclists — more as a work of art than as a practical device.
I’ve ridden a real Victorian penny farthing. Once you’re up and running, the rear wheel takes very little weight, so fitting suspension to the rear wheel on this one seems a gimmick.
Can’t make out what tyre this is. Compared to the mountain bikes in the picture it looks bigger than 36.
I know UDC sells (sold?) a 36 inch penny farthing years ago and I’ve seen video of that being ridden off road.
The one in the link looks quite steampunk and more of a show pony than a reall off roader.
There are a couple of us with real penny farthings that are close to this in function but not in bling (especially not mine).
I do ride mine on flatter trails but it is pretty tricky. You cant get all of your weight over the pedals so it doesn’t climb all that well, and you have to lean way back on descents so you don’t take a header. It does really well on flatter terrain though and the 36 inch tire steam-rolls most minor obstacles!
It is a lovely picture and it is well thought out in a lot of aspects. Really impressive… although I don’t think the designer has done much riding though.
The wheel will rip up the riders legs up when riding. The rake on the front forks and the position of the saddle means that as you turn the wheel your thigh would be in contact with the tyre. This does 2 things, one caused by contact with the tyre and the other is that it pushes the foot off the outer pedal when turning tightly. The traditional way to stop contact with the tyre is to use a robust mud guard that is called a “gentleman’s guard”
