Now you've gone and offended us Limeys: the derailleur - England 1896; the pneumatic tyre - invented in England in 1845, but thank John Boyd Dunlop for commercial development late 1880s; butted tubing - England 1897; 531 tubing (as used by French builders for top of the range machines) - England 1935; caliper brake - England 1876; internal hub gearing - England 1896; chain - England 1880; wire-spoked wheel - England 1870.
As for the rest of Europe: ball bearings - Germany 1872; seamless tubing - Germany 1886; freewheel - Germany 1898: quick release hubs - Italy (Campagnolo).
So what is it that's pretty much essential to bikes which originated there? :-)
Neil Foddering Weymouth, Dorset, England
> Date: Thu, 21 May 2009 23:45:26 +0000
> From: billydavid13@comcast.net
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: [CR] The French.
>
> Hi all. I don't want to stir up any controversy, but i am i the only one who finds "frog" objectionable? The French may have contributed virtually nothing to rock and roll but pretty much everything essential to bikes originated there. They deserve a bit more respect. Billy [i'd rather be lost stumbling drunk in Paris than doing anything else anywhere else] Ketchum; Chicago, IL; USA.