Peculiar 50s era British Brake Arrangement Cc: "<Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>" <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Message-ID: <598656.99369.qm@web84107.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
British Brake-onoscienti, ? Nearly 30 years ago, on my initial trip to England to visit a collector with whom I'd been corresponding and trading back then, among other things I was shown what I recall was a top-quality 50s-vintage British lightweight, whose caliper brakes were somehow actuated by lifting the handlebars, i.e., they pivoted around the stem.? There were no brake levers, and the bars were of?alloy.? I ddid take some fotos, but I have no idea where they might be. ? This fellow's collection of some 25 or 30 British bikes was truly superb, so I know I was not looking?at some novelty?item. ? Can anyone confirm that such a set-up existed, or provide some more details on it? ? Thanks! It was likely the Simplex ''Guidonstop'' appearing in the 1952 catalogue. The reprint of which is available from Chuck Schmidt. Its a pivotting stem with a short rod to take the cable ends. You would need a pair of flat bars with a good deal of rearward bend to give sufficient leverage. It was touted for cycles and cyclemotors. Mark Stevens Evanton Scotland