Edward Otto invented and patented the Dicycle as a safer alternative to the towering terrors of the ordinary bicycle (later known as the penny-farthing). His bike had two huge 56-in. (142-cm) wheels that were mounted side by side and connected by a sturdy axle.For balance, the rider used a slender trailing arm with a rubber roller on the end to stop himself (or, more unusually for the period, herself) from toppling over backward.
