This 50 inch bike was for sale at the Copake auction in New York in 2012. Strange enough they only called it 'The Club', and didn't know the makers name: the Coventry Machinists Company
Compare it to the other 1880 CMC Club and you will see it is the same bike. With one enormous, striking difference: the brake!
Older ordinaries (pre-1880) had a braking system where twisting the handlebars would apply the rear wheel brake. Here we see this system with a front wheel brake. This roller brake was used for a short period in 1879-1880 on the Club models. After that period they had the more usual spoon brakes.
The frame number is not clearly visible, but I think it is 21737. Penny farthing expert Nick Clayton told me that is indeed from 1880.
Compare it to the other 1880 CMC Club and you will see it is the same bike. With one enormous, striking difference: the brake!
Older ordinaries (pre-1880) had a braking system where twisting the handlebars would apply the rear wheel brake. Here we see this system with a front wheel brake. This roller brake was used for a short period in 1879-1880 on the Club models. After that period they had the more usual spoon brakes.
The frame number is not clearly visible, but I think it is 21737. Penny farthing expert Nick Clayton told me that is indeed from 1880.
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