Reader Tip-Off: Local Group Proposes Penny Farthings and Unicycles to Fix Shire's Ebike Chaos

Chris T Tide | Foreign Correspondent

14 March 2025

Following a highly questionable reader tip-off, the Sutherland Shire Gazette’s Foreign Correspondent, Chris T Tide, embarked on a deep investigation into a rumoured initiative to replace ebikes with unicycles and penny farthings.

What he uncovered was something even more bizarre: a local group of “alternative transport enthusiasts” lobbying council to consider Inner-West-style cycling solutions as the answer to the Shire’s out-of-control ebike situation.

“We’re not anti-bike,” explained group spokesperson Callum Fitzgerald, adjusting his vintage leather cycling cap. “We just believe that true cyclists earn their speed, rather than having it handed to them by a battery.”

The group, calling themselves “One Wheel, One Community”, is reportedly preparing to pitch a proposal to councillors that includes:

• Dedicated penny farthing lanes along Kingsway

• A government-subsidised unicycle training program at the local PCYC

• A ban on anything with more than one gear

  
  

While council has yet to comment on the proposal, some locals are concerned. “Look, ebikes can be a problem,” admitted one resident. “But are we really saying the solution is forcing my teenager to ride a penny farthing to school?”

Meanwhile, Inner-West cycle cafés are reportedly celebrating the news, seeing it as a chance to finally offload their surplus stock of organic wool cycling knickerbockers.

Penny Farthings Unicycles Ebike e-bike