RE: [CR]BSA Bikes - Foldables for Paratroopers WWII ?

(Example: Framebuilding:Restoration)

From: "David Toppin" <dave@pelletizer.com>
To: "'John Betmanis'" <johnb@oxford.net>
References: <355379.38744.qm@web53601.mail.re2.yahoo.com> <3.0.6.32.20070602081615.01325fb0@mailhost.oxford.net>
In-Reply-To: <3.0.6.32.20070602081615.01325fb0@mailhost.oxford.net>
Subject: RE: [CR]BSA Bikes - Foldables for Paratroopers WWII ?
Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2007 15:49:37 -0400
Organization: The Pelletizer Group, Inc.
Thread-Index: AcelD+UYyMLiyKFUSfWDquQZuFOGxgAPzjxw
cc: 'Classic Rendevous' <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>

They are not all that heavy...

David Toppin dave@pelletizer.com http://www.pelletizer.com <------ see our complete, searchable inventory.

The Pelletizer Group, Inc. 4 LaChance Street Gardner, MA 01440-2476

(978) 669-0060 (978) 669-0061 fax

-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of John Betmanis Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2007 8:16 AM To: Classic Rendezvous Subject: Re: [CR]BSA Bikes - Foldables for Paratroopers WWII ?

At 09:25 PM 01/06/2007 -0700, r cielec wrote:
>Ahoy !
>
> I heard of this second hand so, I cannot provide details.
>
> I am told that one of the televised Memorial Day holiday (formerly Decoration Day) programs with WWII film footage showed BSA made bicycles that were foldable and used by certain squads of paratroopers for quick travel between objectives.
>
> Has anyone seen one of these bicycles ?
> Anybody own one ?
>
> Can anyone corroborate or provide additional information ?

Back in the 1950s in the UK, these were war surplus and sold by mail order for 70/- (the equivalent of about $10 at the time). I think they were quite heavy compared to a regular bike because of the folding feature.

http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/bsa_airborne_bicycles_(aka_parabike).htm

John Betmanis Woodstock, Ontario Canada _______________________________________________

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