What Would a Modern High Wheel (Penny Farthing) Bike Look Like? Now We Know.

This is what modern, high-end mountain bike components might look like on a high wheel (Penny Farthing) bike.

all renderings: Guillaume BOUT

Guillaume BOUT had a weird thought: what if someone designed a high wheel (Penny Farthing) bike with modern mountain bike components? As an artist proficient in graphic design software like 3ds Max, he decided to “create” one himself.

To be clear, this isn’t a real bike, though the renderings appear photo-perfect. This isn’t meant to be a real product either so no, he won’t be building a Zebra OTB or offering the (not real) bikes for sale.

Here’s how Guillaume described the project on Artstation.com:

Well, this had to happen. It’s been lurking in a corner of my mind for about two years so it eventually had to get out: A 21st century mountain penny-farthing.

I started working on it barely more than a month ago and coincidentally, as I was about to publish it, the UCI just released the 2019 rulebook allowing for mismatched wheel sizes in downhill racing !

I am SO first on the bandwagon that I might be pullin’ it ! Haha smiling_face

For more photos, plus full commentary on the various design choices and inspirations Guillaume used for this project, click here.