Thanks Norris, for your usual factual, logical, and objective lines.
I'll add a little from the pond's western side.
The rest of you guys can slosh up on shore now, get on your bikes, put a
plastic cover on your leather saddles, and ride around the track 'till
you're dry and the water has run out of your ears.
In adition to what Norris said, please put yourselves back a few more years
to the earlier safety bike time, Lillian Russel, Lily Langtry, Melba, Eddie
"Cannon" Bald, Major Taylor, etc.
Dirt roads and TOUGH slogging, pushing on the pedals.
I don't know when exactly the conventional banjo type chain adjusters came
in, but the screw in bolt axle stops were always there on the older bikes.
The metallurgy was not as good as now, and serrated washers, or track nuts
with knurled washers weren't quite around either.
All the twisting and torqueing on the milder steel could loosen up the rear
nut(s) so the chainadjuster/ axle holder was indispensable and practical as
well as safe.
The front forks had round holes for the axles to keep wheels from getting
lost under your bike.
The Continentals were usually a step or two more innovative than the
Americans and used the fishhook end sooner on the road than in the US. The
wingnuts had a fairly hard sharp edge washer to dig into the frame and hold
the wheel, but always had to be checked for tightness.
Americans had such a big country and we did OUR OWN thing, not needing
anybody which is why we hung on to track ends, fixed gear on the road and
the single tube glue on tire. The Euros were using clinchers / wireons from
the turn of the century.
Nothing holds a back wheel better in place than the chain adjusters and
regular nuts.
We always used a washer between the banjo and the nut so the turning of the
nut would not twist the chain adjuster.
The dropouts were soft enough, so that after a lot of use the ends would
spread and / or flatten the slot so after a while we had to file the slot
nice and flat after hitting it gently with a small hammer to bring the slot
into parallel and proper axle size width again.
The bikes were always trying to be made lighter so some small "blacksmith
adjusting and fine tuning" craftsmanship was exercised on the bikes.
Even today many track riders still use the adjusters to hold the rear wheel
in place because of the tremendous force applied to the back wheel during TT
starts and acceleration from slow speed to high speed during a jump.
The fender braces are the same regardless of dropout, and an eylet can be
used for same on either dropout also.
A rack brace is in the same category, without an eyelet holding, all the
superstructure flops down regardless of
track or road fork ends.
I think the fishooks were'20ish and wing nuts around that time also,
mid-early twenties in Europe, and only started getting used in the US on
bikes like Schwinn just before the war.
Hope this helps a little with the background of some of the stuff we wonder
about.
Ted Ernst
Palos Verdes Estates
CA USA.
>I have only just dashed back from ameeeting and am now trying to find some
> relaxation by reading the Clasicrendezvous List. So far I have read only a
> selection of contributions, but felt that I might be able to explain why
> th
> is type if horizontally rear-facing drop-outs were used. If someone has
> alr
> eady put forward this expanation please accept my apologies because I
> haven
> 't yet had time to read all the contris yet.
>
>
>
> Some members have correctly stated that the long rear slot permitted the
> ra
> pid change of gear ratios, by replacing the single sprocket...usually a
> fix
> ed gear one, the chain taking up the slack of the chain or vice-versa
> , hence the longer than usual slot..longer than those on long Campag
> forward-facing gear drop-outs.
>
>
>
> This type of drop-out was particularly popular in the 40s through to the
> la
> te 60s in the UK when the road-track fixed gear commuting bike was
> popular,
> the bike also doubling up for a spot of track racing, or even for competit
> ive roller racing during the winter wet season, in the club-house.
>
>
>
> I can't speak for this type of drop-out in the States but in the UK, where
> the use was predominantly with fixed gear it was customary and indeed
> essen
> tial to use the drop-ots in conjunction with wheel/chain adjusters. These
> w
> ere pressed steel affairs fairly long with an eyelet that slotted over the
> non-Q/R axle. On to this eyelet was welded a threaded rod that passed
> throu
> gh the centre of a U-section piece of steel that located up against the
> ver
> y end surface of the drop-out
>
>
>
> When in place the wheel would be pulled rearwards until quite tight and
> the
> track nuts tightened, but not fully so. The mechanic would then set his sp
> anner of the small nut at the end of each adjuster rod , gently pull the
> wh
> eel backwards and in this way gradually fine tune the tension of the
> chain, until it had just the correct tension., and then lock the track
> nuts
> up firmly. If the frame was slightly out of track and the wheel not exactl
> y central in the stays or the wheel itself not built true, the adjusters
> co
> uld compensate as necssary. It was an incredibly accurate way of
> tensioning
> a chain and also centering the wheel. The fact the the adjuster butted ver
> y hard against the end of the drop-out when the chain was fully tensioned
> r
> endered it impossible to pull the wheel over against the stay even under
> sp
> rinting conditions.
>
>
>
> Several models of track-ends made in the UK during that period appeared to
> be very chunky and had two small spigots pressed or forged or machined
> into
> the very end of each drop-out. These spigots located on the inside faces o
> f the U-section part of the adjuster and virtually locked the adjusters
> fir
> mly into position.
>
>
>
> A similar but smaller ajuster was very common on single speed roadsters
> and
> kids' bikes for a very long time.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Norris Lockley Settle UK
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---- Msg sent via TalkTalk WebMail - http://www.talktalk.net/