Re: [CR]'49 R O Harrison Shortwin...what a strange seat tube!

(Example: Framebuilders:Mario Confente)

Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 12:14:04 -0700
From: "Kurt Sperry" <haxixe@gmail.com>
To: "neil foddering" <neilfoddering@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]'49 R O Harrison Shortwin...what a strange seat tube!
In-Reply-To: <BAY115-F11FF9D68276E78D744850FBF2B0@phx.gbl>
References: <000901c6d657$1f5e9970$d4f0d045@ts>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

You can see the same idea in a much later iteration in this Cinelli Laser.

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2004/g/denny12.jpg

Kurt Sperry Bellingham WA

On 9/12/06, neil foddering <neilfoddering@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> I'm the Veteran-Cycle Club Marque Enthusiast for R O Harrison, and I've
> pointed out the discrepancy to the website owner, Peter Underwood. I
> haven't
> checked, but I believe he will have corrected the date to 1949 by now.
>
> This model is, indeed to unique to R O Harrison, and it's yet another
> method
> of obtaining a short wheelbase (others being, for example, curved seat
> tube
> designs like Claud Butler, Jack Taylor and others, truncated seat tube
> designs like the Baines "Flying Gate" and Waller, split seat tube designs
> like Saxon and Claud Butler, and, no doubt, other variations).
>
> The short wheelbase is intended to make the machine more responsive when
> climbing hills, and was sometimes marketed for this purpose and for short
> distance time trials, when the ride, usually reckoned to be more
> uncomfortable than a longer wheelbase machine, isn't an issue.
>
> You may also have noticed that the Shortwin has a twin downtube, and this
> was claimed by the maker to provide better rigidity in the bottom bracket
> area.
>
> If I might hijack your email, I would like again to ask any R O Harrison
> owners on the CR list to get in touch with me, since I am compiling
> records
> of known machines. I have a range of ROH catalogues from 1934 to the
> early
> 1950's, and I would be pleased to help with identigying and dating models.
>
> Neil Foddering
> Weymouth, Dorset, England
>
>
>
> >From: "Tom Sanders" <tsan7759142@sbcglobal.net>
> >To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> >Subject: [CR]'49 R O Harrison Shortwin...what a strange seat tube!
> >Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2006 06:35:09 -0400
> >
> >I am on the UK Classic light Weights site looking at a bike called a R O
> >Harrison Shortwin. The year seems seems a bit uncertain being given in
> >the
> >URL as 1947 and on the caption as 1949.
> >http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/ROHarrisonShortwin1947.html
> >This has the seat tube joining the down tube a couple of inches forward
> of
> >the bottom bracket shell. This gives a very strange angle to the seat
> >tube.
> >I am wondering if this is unique to this maker? Is there a logic for
> this
> >arrangement that escapes me? Perhaps some of our Brit members has some
> >light to shed on this? Never seen such an arrangement before.
> >Tom Sanders
> >Lansing, Mi
> >
> >
> >_______________________________________________
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>

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