Steven Maasland wrote:
>
> Chuck wrote:
>
> > Except that Bianchi's manufacturing bicycles predates it's manufacturing
> > of motorcycles by decades. Bianchi started making bikes in 1885 and
> > motorcycles (without going to the books) around the early 1910s?
> >
> > This was bike practice way before the development of motorcycles.
>
> My Rudge from the late 70's, therefore pre-ball bearing headsets, has a
> simple brass conical bushing between frame and forks. However unlike later
> bikes, the frame fits inside the forks, rather than the forks inside the
> frame. Rudge was then quite advanced, with ball-bearing hubs. It would seem
> that once steering was changed from frame in fork to fork in frame, it
> became 'normal' to use press-in races and ball bearings in the place of the
> previously used conical bushings. An Italian friend of mine has a Bianchi
> from 1901, whihc goes to proves Chuck's statement of Bianchi bikes
> pre-dating their motorcycles and cars.
Also, as previously mentioned, the Duquesne Special (Pittsburg, PA) made in 1897 had the steering bearing races fitted into the head lugs. This bike also made use of thin wall oversize (for the time) steel tubing with internal lugs. In other words, the tubes are slid over the outside of the lug ends like a Masi Volumetrica or a Trek 5500 OCLV carbon bike.
Chuck Schmidt
SoPas, SoCal