Serendipity strikes again.
I'm one of those who've had funny things done to me and have suddenly received many posts in my inbox. Hence I got a whole stack of emails and have 'wasted' the morning reading interesting posts instead of getting on with work (which is writing a history thesis on bicycle racing, so I guess that I can write this morning off as research).
Anywhoo, The talk of laid back cobble bikes in Germany prompted me to show some pics of some similarly laid back pre-war bikes from New Zealand.
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/
The Ruby is very special. It came to me as a frame only, sold by the son of a man who was still alive and in his nineties back in 2004. I leaped at it because The Ruby Cycle Works, owned and operated by Mr Owen Alfred in Rangiora, New Zealand, was my LBS when I was a kid. My first bike (a horror) was patiently repaired by Mr Alfred. He retired in the late seventies and the shop struggled on into the mid nineties.
I've built The Ruby up with a bunch of 30s era parts, except for the anachronistic Raleigh cranks and Lyotard pedals. I'm waiting on some Williams 7" cranks and Chater Lea Pedals to be plated.
The original finish was gone, so I built this one up to be ridden as it was intended, on New Zealand's wonderful 'shingle' (gravel or dirt) roads. Anything that's been repainted can be painted again I figure, so I'm not afraid of scratching The Ruby. Note the laid back angles and high BB. This was a bike made for riding in rough 'bush' conditions.
The seat pin is out a long way (I'm 6"2) but the setup is comfy and surprisingly fast given those big fat 28x1 1/2" westwood rims. Looking at photos in Jim Fitzpatrick's superb book: Bicycles in the Bush, I see contemporary bikes with similarly extended seat pins. Maybe bush riders in the 20s and 30s liked lots of clearance or maybe they just took what they could get and adapted them to fit!
The Ruby handles shingle with aplomb. It bowls through steep drifts and I actually look for potholes just to see how 45psi, a 43" wheelbase, well beaten Brooks and flexy 'Major Taylor' extension soak up the bumps!
The Phillips is rather more mysterious. I reckon it's a pre war 'colonial' sports model, made with laid back angles for the same reasons stated above. It is a cheap little bike with an agricultural frame and a fixed gear, but still interesting enough to spend a bit of time on.
Cheers,
Michael in New Zealand.
_____________________________________________________________ Roadcycling.com - Cycling info as it should be. http://www.roadcycling.com - Cycling news, results, product reviews, interviews, forums, and even more.
Veloemail.com - Free email for cyclists and cycling fans. Get your own free email address at http://www.veloemail.com today!
- - - - - - -