Draisenne project

[John D. Williams]

Hobby horses / draisinnes can be fun ....

about 12 rode from Nancy France to Karlsruhe Germany in 2017 ..about 200 km
see video

proper fitting is trail and error .... if you ride it more than 50 feet you will want to fine tune saddle , arm rests etc for proper spacing ...one size does not fit all ( comfortably )

for safety we added rubber strips on the steel tires ....steel tires are very slippery on pavement .... the flat wheels are a bit strange acting whilst turning ( at speed) ..you'll figure it out ( hopefully)

after the ride ..you learn the love of pedals .

My example was a kit from Canada .... very nicely done ..spacing on everything is key ... but you will not know proper spacing till you ride it for many miles ..... I found riding was easier by using one foot , resting the other of the coasting peg ...then switching off ....for up hills you need both feet on ground ....coasting both feet on pegs ....enjoy the pull of gravity .



Cheers Carey

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Awesome, thank you for the information!

 

[The Carolina Rambler]

I appreciate the information. You have way overestimated my capabilities, but it's good to write for other researchers. I am amazed what some people can fabricate.

Any time! And honestly, you kind of gave me some ideas. Maybe someday if I am looking for something to do, I might build something like this, and it could be done using a set of inexpensive modified decorative wheels

 

[John D. Williams]

Hobby horses / draisinnes can be fun ....

about 12 rode from Nancy France to Karlsruhe Germany in 2017 ..about 200 km
see video

proper fitting is trail and error .... if you ride it more than 50 feet you will want to fine tune saddle , arm rests etc for proper spacing ...one size does not fit all ( comfortably )

for safety we added rubber strips on the steel tires ....steel tires are very slippery on pavement .... the flat wheels are a bit strange acting whilst turning ( at speed) ..you'll figure it out ( hopefully)

after the ride ..you learn the love of pedals .

My example was a kit from Canada .... very nicely done ..spacing on everything is key ... but you will not know proper spacing till you ride it for many miles ..... I found riding was easier by using one foot , resting the other of the coasting peg ...then switching off ....for up hills you need both feet on ground ....coasting both feet on pegs ....enjoy the pull of gravity .



Cheers Carey

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The video is awesome and really inspiring. I notice what seems like two styles, and then one gent seems to have designed his own with a horse head and tail. I can tell some things about seat height and efficiency as well.

 

[John D. Williams]

Any time! And honestly, you kind of gave me some ideas. Maybe someday if I am looking for something to do, I might build something like this, and it could be done using a set of inexpensive modified decorative wheels

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What is this machine?

 

[The Carolina Rambler]

What is this machine?

That is a early 1800s, maybe 1830s original Draisenne or hobby horse, that was photographed and is posted on the Sterba bicycle website. They are a large manufacturer/dealer of bicycles in the Czech Republic if I'm not mistaken. They also have a wonderful gallery of 200 years of bicycles, primarily European machines, but some American material as well, and it is an excellent resource for education purposes, or if you are restoring an antique bicycle. So, I am pretty sure that the Hobby Horse shown in that photo above is some where in Europe, in one of the fine museums over there. There were as many designs of these machines as there were people who built them, and it was often tinkerers and blacksmiths and carriage shop owners and those sort of people who were building these earliest machines, for themselves and others, and they were sort of one of the new gadgets and novelties of their day it seems. That one above is almost toy-like and smaller, but would be fully ridable, and I suppose better than walking on foot somewhere

 

[John D. Williams]

That is a early 1800s, maybe 1830s original Draisenne or hobby horse, that was photographed and is posted on the Sterba bicycle website. They are a large manufacturer/dealer of bicycles in the Czech Republic if I'm not mistaken. They also have a wonderful gallery of 200 years of bicycles, primarily European machines, but some American material as well, and it is an excellent resource for education purposes, or if you are restoring an antique bicycle. So, I am pretty sure that the Hobby Horse shown in that photo above is some where in Europe, in one of the fine museums over there. There were as many designs of these machines as there were people who built them, and it was often tinkerers and blacksmiths and carriage shop owners and those sort of people who were building these earliest machines, for themselves and others, and they were sort of one of the new gadgets and novelties of their day it seems. That one above is almost toy-like and smaller, but would be fully ridable, and I suppose better than walking on foot somewhere

It's an interesting design and looks like it could be stretched a bit. I am thinking... perhaps after some of the bikes I am working on, I may get more serious about a plan.