Hacker News Reader

True for a modern bike, but a brass (whatever metal) bushing would work for a more primitive bike.

Such a primitive bike is only a novelty, not a mode of transportation. It would be less efficient and more expensive than just walking. (I.e., a toy.)

How could it be less efficient than walking? Unless your region is perfectly flat, you could walk the bike uphill and ride downhill and still save ~50% of the effort of traveling any medium distance.

Only 50% if you count walking around carrying a table as 100% the same as just walking :)

That said, my non-expert opinion is that a penny-farthing without ball-bearings would probably still work OK; a rover-style bike with a chain would be much harder. But the ability to make bicycle chain, and the ability to make spokes for wheels, I think these happened about the same time too.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com