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6 Since the pedals were directly attached to the bicycle’s front
wheel, each time the pedal went around once, the wheel went
around once. So to go faster, you needed a bigger wheel (more
distance for each pedal). Front wheels got bigger and bigger until
they were 5 feet (1.5 m) across. To save weight, the back wheel
shrank. The fast, big-wheeled bikes became so popular that they
were called “ordinaries.” Getting on one was a little out of the
ordinary, though. You had to have a boost from a friend or a
running start and then hope that the road ahead was smooth.
Bumps sent riders flying over the handlebars, which was known
as “taking a header.”
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