Advocacy For Small-wheels
Vivie, was one of the principal advocates of smaller wheels have been the eminent in the 1920s, preceding the work of Alex Moulton who is better known for being the father of the modern small wheel bicycle from the 1960s. Vivie's approach was to advocate tyres of up to 2.25" (57mm) cross-section on 20" (500mm) rims, which gave an overall diameter of about 24" (600mm). As early as 1911 he wrote:
- My own experience has gone no further than to 50 centimetre wheels furnished with 50 millimetre tyres, but I can guarantee that in an experiment extending as far as 15,000 kilometres covered, they will not have the smallest disadvantage from the point of view of their running. It simply seems to me they are more prone to skidding, but this is perhaps because their tyres have no tread and that the bicycle is very short.
De Vivie, P. (writing as 'Vélocio'), Le Cycliste, France, 1911. (French original provided by Raymond Henry. English translation commissioned by Tony Hadland.)
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