When Mia Farrow decides not to ride her bicycle, because the brakes don't work, there is an extended shot of the bike, after she walks off. There was something on both tires, that looked like triangular fabric pulled over them up from the hubs. What was that?? Some sort of splash guard?
shareNo, not splash guards. It was something that made the bicycle unuseable. She accused Miss Broome of doing that to her bike so that she could not ride it
shareI'm not certain. They do look like splash guards. Note that they are NOT "on the tires", but rather over the fenders and would not interfere with operating the bicycle at all, so there is at least a good argument that they are splash guards. I've never seen such a thing on a modern bicycle (and I've done a lot of riding), but Ireland in the 1920s was a long way off and a long time ago. At least on the front, the piece of fabric is properly placed to cover the part where mud is most likely to be thrown at the rider and thus could be a useful adjunct to the fender. The rear piece should be a bit farther back but still could be useful as placed.
I think the other respondent is wrong. There's no problem with the bicycle -- Katherine says later that something was wrong with the brakes, but that's clearly part of her plot, though I don't know exactly why. She was about to ride the bicycle and then appeared to change her mind, which doesn't fit with any serious problem.
I can't explain the lingering shot of the bicycle.
Edward