Re: [CR]Dates/history of Simplex dropouts, der. hanger, 4-speed der?

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme)

Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2003 19:37:38 -0800
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "Jan Heine" <heine93@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [CR]Dates/history of Simplex dropouts, der. hanger, 4-speed der?


>When did derailleur hangers become a feature of frame building? Also
>what about downtube lever bosses?
>
>TIA,
>
>Paul Williams "in a very frosty Ottawa, On, Canada"

Braze-ons were common on French cyclotouring bikes in the 1930s. By 1945, a good cyclotouring bike in France only had the bell and bottle cage attached with collars. Rene Herse and Jo Routens usually attached both of those directly, too.

I believe Campagnolo also offered braze-on mounts long before they became commonplace. Definitely, standard 1950s and even 1960s racers had almost everything clamped onto the frame, even in France.

I believe the thinking was that for a strong racer, the supposed weakening of the frame due to the heating for each braze-on was a problem, while cyclotourists a) knew that with careful construction, the heating would be minimal and b) did not want to do the maintenance required to assure that all the clamps were tight.

Without wanting to start another culture war, it is surprising how many race-deciding mechanical defects occurred in racing in the 1930s (I am reading a German book on Fausto Coppi right now), while serious mechanical defects were almost unknown even for the superlight cyclotouring bikes in the technical trials of the time. Of course, the racers were stronger and thus more likely to break stuff. But some of the cyclotourists were no slouches, so that cannot be the only answer.

--
Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
http://www.mindspring.com/~heine/bikesite/bikesite/