(Hope others don't mind my quoting their replys below)
I'm going to reread that issue now. I often reread BQ; there's a lot to absorb. I stare at the pictures a long, long while. While I more often need protection from the heat and light of the sun and wind than knee warmth, I admire the lack of constriction and home-made solution to the problem of cold knees.
I'm thinking about what it is about times and people, moments in history, and places where great progress is made, where people feel free to experiment and develop ideas, exchange ideas. What makes those times, those places? Competition is part of it, exclusivity and style, too, but some of it came from a community. I love science, and cycling. And, the history of science, and of cycling.
One thought I've had is that mid-20th century bicycle technology evolved during a period when an "aesthetic of the modern", in which beauty resides in forms that follow function, with less being more, and in the possibility of mass machine production, and when the ability to serve a mass society was a positive. Imagine an automatic system of design that adapts to the needs of individuals as boutiques serve the needs of individuals, but cheaply, efficiently. Always the dream that knowledge makes life better, that progress is possible. I wonder if that was the dream of some during the period that Raleigh made every part of it's lightweight 3-speed cycles, which ended by consuming so many smaller businesses, then fading/stagnating? Or, in my life, electrowelded Schwinns; they had potential for lighter weight! I had no idea the heritage of my Huret Allvit, or my Weinmann Vainquers! I feel validated in my preference for my father's Mafac Racers, which I transferred to my bike when he quit riding.
And all that revolutionary knowledge survived and has come to me through the last and most conservative of boutiques, ateliers Herse and Singer! Through books and magazines, and email! And no, 3 months salary does not seem excessive for hard-won knowledge and craft.
Thanks for your work and publications, Jan; and enjoy the season, all!
On Wed, Dec 17, 2008 at 9:19 AM, Jan Heine <heine94@earthlink.net> wrote:
> At 9:16 PM -0700 12/16/08, Bill Gibson wrote:
>>
>> I wonder if M. Csuka remembers them, and if he'd be willing to comment
>> on how they worked. They were home-made, of course. Sounds like a good
>> idea; innovative, and bike-geeky at the same time, but a good idea,
>> sort of like "rain legs". I'd be way too shy to ask- would someone who
>> knows him a little be willing?
>>
>> Not only that, but the whole photograph hints of experimentation; the
>> clamp-on stem on the very long steering tube. Was he dialing something
>> in? Or in an experimental period? I have the impression he has been
>> conservative, in a good way, for many years.
>
> The photo was taken at the technical trials. The rules for these events were
> very specific. The goal was to find the best bicycle for real-world use.
>
> The bike you see Ernest riding weighed less than 21 lbs. with fenders,
> racks, pump, etc. He entered in the "Series" category, where only standard
> components were allowed. In the "Prototypes" category with modified
> components, the full cyclotouring bikes weighed less than 7 kg (15.4 lbs.),
> however, tires did not count in the weight.
>
> The rules required being able to adjust the handlebar height. A quill stem
> adds unnecessary material, so Singer solved the problem in this way. Another
> rule required a standlight. This was before electronics, so each light had
> to incorporate a battery, and a switch that allowed switching between
> generator and battery power.
>
> Those bikes first were rated against the rules - points given for extra
> gears and other desirable features. Then they had to be ridden for 3 days
> and 300 miles on the worst imaginable roads. Every night, the bikes were
> checked, and points deducted for parts that had broken or did not work
> properly. A minimum average speed was required, so riders did not go too
> gingerly. Extra points could be obtained for going faster.
>
> Both Singer and Herse made their names by winning the trials - Singer in
> 1946, Herse in 1947. More importantly, the trials showed what worked and
> what didn't, and who made bikes that were superlight and superstrong, and
> whose bikes only looked good in the showroom.
>
> For the whole history of the technical trials - and it's a truly amazing
> story - check out Vintage Bicycle Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 4 and Vol. 2, No. 1.
>
> I'll ask Ernest about those kneewarmers.
>
> Jan Heine
> Editor
> Bicycle Quarterly
> 140 Lakeside Ave #C
> Seattle WA 98122
> http://www.bikequarterly.com
>
--
Bill Gibson
Tempe, Arizona, USA