diff --git a/ably.gemspec b/ably.gemspec
index f9ca7c5e0..20d43c7ee 100644
--- a/ably.gemspec
+++ b/ably.gemspec
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ require 'ably/version'
 
 Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   spec.name          = 'ably'
-  spec.version       = Ably::VERSION
+  spec.version       = Ably::LIB_VERSION
   spec.authors       = ['Lewis Marshall', "Matthew O'Riordan"]
   spec.email         = %w[lewis@lmars.net matt@ably.io]
   spec.description   = %q{A Ruby client library for ably.io realtime messaging}
diff --git a/lib/ably/agent.rb b/lib/ably/agent.rb
index 39ea39e09..750027835 100644
--- a/lib/ably/agent.rb
+++ b/lib/ably/agent.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 module Ably
-  AGENT = "ably-ruby/#{Ably::VERSION} ruby/#{RUBY_VERSION}"
+  AGENT = "ably-ruby/#{Ably::LIB_VERSION} ruby/#{RUBY_VERSION}"
 end
diff --git a/lib/ably/modules/http_helpers.rb b/lib/ably/modules/http_helpers.rb
index 82a933b7b..6067d3440 100644
--- a/lib/ably/modules/http_helpers.rb
+++ b/lib/ably/modules/http_helpers.rb
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ def encode64(text)
     end
 
     def user_agent
-      "Ably Ruby client #{Ably::VERSION} (https://www.ably.io)"
+      "Ably Ruby client #{Ably::LIB_VERSION} (https://www.ably.io)"
     end
 
     def setup_outgoing_middleware(builder)
diff --git a/lib/ably/version.rb b/lib/ably/version.rb
index e12034750..0c7387044 100644
--- a/lib/ably/version.rb
+++ b/lib/ably/version.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,4 @@
 module Ably
-  VERSION = '1.2.4'
+  LIB_VERSION = '1.2.4'
   PROTOCOL_VERSION = '1.2'
-
-  # @api private
-  def self.major_minor_version_numeric
-    VERSION.gsub(/\.\d+$/, '').to_f
-  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/support/markdown_spec_formatter.rb b/spec/support/markdown_spec_formatter.rb
index ba4ca4f9b..40f62ec4b 100644
--- a/spec/support/markdown_spec_formatter.rb
+++ b/spec/support/markdown_spec_formatter.rb
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ def start(notification)
         else
           'REST'
         end
-        output.write "# Ably #{scope} Client Library #{Ably::VERSION} Specification\n"
+        output.write "# Ably #{scope} Client Library #{Ably::LIB_VERSION} Specification\n"
       end
 
       def close(notification)