The penny-farthing bicycle with an over-sized wheel at the front is making a comeback in Australia - more than 130 years after it went out of fashion.

Dan Bolwell, who hand-builds the old-fashioned bikes in Melbourne, has just completed a 1,000km ride through western Victoria.

He spent a week pedaling with nine other riders, covering a distance greater than the gap between Sydney and Melbourne on a bike that hasn't been a common sight since the 1880s.

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The penny-farthing bicycle with an over-sized wheel at the front is making a comeback in Australia - more than 130 years after it went out of fashion (pictured are riders in western Victoria)

His creations are quite a novelty on the street, as he rides chest height at up to 30km/h.

'I'm often seen as an eccentric in what I do and there's all sorts of comments,' he told the ABC's 7.30 program.

'People ask if we can chuck a wheelie and what's the weather up there and all the usual sort of comments you get every day.'

The boutique bike builder, who grew up in a country town, appreciates the simplicity of a bicycle with no chains.

'They're not shaped like that for fashion or beauty, they're shaped like that out of pure purpose,' Mr Bolwell said.

He now produces a new bike every 10 to 12 days as he works on five or six at a time.

Dan Bolwell (pictured), who hand builds the old-fashioned bikes in Melbourne, has just completed a 1,000km ride through western Victoria

Riding at chest height now comes naturally to him.

'Once you get used to that, it actually just feels like a normal bicycle,' Mr Bolwell said.

It still baffles him how penny-farthings excite ordinary people on the street.

'People sometimes clap which, for us, seems a little obscure because we're just riding our bike,' he said.

'We're just doing what we do but to them they're excited.'