California Bicycle Museum

The high-wheel bicycle evolved from the boneshakers through two principal advances: The first incorporated design improvements spawned by boneshaker racing. Cyclists knew that a larger front wheel would be faster, and they discovered through experimentation that the rear wheel could be made smaller. The second area of innovation included manufacturing improvements through mass production in factories, metallurgy improvements with lighter and stronger steel tubing, and engineering advances—most notably the mechanized production of steel ball-bearings.

Although popular, the high-wheel bicycle did have a major design problem. With the rider perched high above the front wheel, any sudden stop could launch the rider forward and over the handlebars in a devastating crash that soon became known as a “header.” Designers attacked this problem by offering a treadle drive that would place the rider’s weight lower and further back. Tricycles and tandem tricycles (with chain drive) soon evolved as a safer alternative, and in 1880 the Star bicycle—also called the “safety high wheel”—placed the small wheel in the front of the machine to solve the header problem.

Moving the small wheel to the front reduced the very real danger of doing a “header”, i.e. flying over the handlebar. To mount the Eagle, you take several running steps and when the pedal is at the lowest point, you step on the pedal and ride it up into the saddle. This machine was made by the Eagle Manufacturing Co. of Torrington, CT.

Manufacturer: Eagle Manufacturing Co.

Location: Torrington, CT, USA

Museum Collection

University of California