At 1:48 PM -0500 1/27/08, David Bean wrote:
>What is the cylinder mounted at the rear of the seat tube on Koblet's bike?
>
>And the fork seems to have adequate clearance to use 27" clinchers, maybe
>even with the fenders suggested by the eyelets on the frame. (It almost
>looks like the too-small wheel effect that Peter Kohler mentioned when 700c
>wheels are used on old English bikes)
>
>David Bean
>Arlington, MA
>beandk at are-see-enn dot com
The cylinder is a compressed air "charger". Back then, riders were allowed a wheel change only if they broke the wheel, but not for a flat tire. So they carried spares. Koblet had a charger plus a pump, and tire savers on each wheel.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
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