Instead of turning bicycle pedals, the rider moved the arms, legs, and torso in a motion similar to rowing a racing shell. A mechanical linkage converted each pull-and-return stroke into rotation at the wheels.

Similar vehicles were demonstrated and raced under names such as Landskiff, land skiff, and rowmobile. American magazines also covered the craze in articles such as “Rowing Through the Streets” in July 1926.

By 1930, rowmobile races were reportedly held at London’s Herne Hill velodrome.

Its main appeal was that the rowing action used the rider’s upper body as well as the legs.

Reality was that the design was mechanically more complicated and less convenient than an ordinary bicycle. It never became common transportation, though modern rowing bicycles and rowing tricycles use the same basic idea.

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