Penny-farthing term and "hi-wheel" (and variants) are preferred by many modern enthusiasts. Following the popularity of the boneshaker, Eugène Meyer, a Frenchman, invented the high-wheeler bicycle design in 1869 and fashioned the wire-spoke tension wheel. Around 1870 English inventor James Starley, described as the father of the bicycle industry, and others, began producing bicycles based on the French boneshaker but with front wheels of increasing size, because larger front wheels, up to in diameter, enabled higher speeds on bicycles limited to direct drive. In 1878, Albert Pope began manufacturing the Columbia bicycle outside Boston, starting their two-decade heyday in America. Although
Marc Eugene Meyer Marc Eugene Meyer Marc Eugene Meyer (1842–1925) was an American businessman who served as president of Lazard Frères in the United States. Meyer was born to a Jewish family, the son of Sephora Loeb Meyer, in Strasbourg, France. His father, Isaac was a rabbi and was a member of Strasbourg's civilian government; his grandfather Jacob, also a rabbi, was appointed by Napoleon I to the Congress of Jewish Notables to help delineate the legal status of French Jews. His brother-in-law, Zadoc Kahn, was the Grand Rabbi of France. After his father's death in 1859, 17-year-old Meyer left Strasbourg and emigrated