Cycling things that you wish were still available

[froze]

View attachment 673805
5 tonnes of batteries to cycle to school and back!

Dang, I had that exact headlight for years! nowhere near as bright as today's LED's but no one cared back then. I bought rechargeable C batteries for mine, but my commute wasn't long so the bats lasted pretty good, I even went to Radio Shack and bought a halogen bulb for it which for the time period made it the brightest bike light on the road. I think mine was made by Berec(sp?) if I recall correctly. I ended up painting mine yellow because that weird color didn't match anything on my bikes.

Get this, I replaced that light with a Cygolite Metro that used 6 D batteries in a large pouch that hung on the top tube, it had one bulb for flood and one for long range, those bulbs I also replaced with higher wattage bulbs, can't recall the watts exactly, but I think I went from 10 total to 14. I use to get people saying how bright that light was, LOL as we now have these LED jobs out. There isn't a picture of that light anywhere on the internet, I still have that light in storage! Because if this thread I stuck batteries into and it still works.

I also still have my first taillight and in its box, it's a VistaLite 3000 Xenon strobe that I paid $25 from Snider Cycling in Bakersfield California, I used that thing for years. It came with two lenses one red and one yellow, when I went to a red LED rear I moved that VistaLite to the front and put on the yellow lens, then it was replaced about 15 years ago with a white led flasher. I went to put batteries in it to test it, and I had forgotten to remove the Eneloop batteries, for 15 years they've been in that light, I pushed the button, and the light fired up!! That's weird.

 

[froze]

I miss those sloppy leather straps that used to keep your Sturmey Archer hub shiny bright.

They still make them! Electra bikes that Trek owns makes them, or use to make them, but Ebay has them brand new: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1753328730...pXbazetpxQU241E6sOe1TbHnS/0=|tkp:BFBM3O_x6LVh

Then I found this when I remembered the Electra thing: https://sgvbicycles.com/products/leather-hub-shiners

 

[slowmotion]

They still make them! Electra bikes that Trek owns makes them, or use to make them, but Ebay has them brand new: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175332873024?hash=item28d2a75340:g:ZFQAAOSwt7Ndii06&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAA0M5J8mzig8t8XrNgjXByfakRoN4WKSC9jN23NABAlRdfuZhgWnlUMzLsrdepIXhHahzCEn9yCZXhSOvWWj2yU2c0X6DoUFXueLm9be5ePbfsLcHs4+/65WmclrdQFi3DnuigC6ZviFIULISoXnY9hHeb2JXG9A/mA1ZfqTFNf2nVqHRoo/S+KbXn8lQDLq3czf4wCBsWioRYyKpQwGwarCZbnbctcIn4u4yzamYYoSHcBE/kSCGP0iuJWCWjpXbazetpxQU241E6sOe1TbHnS/0=|tkp:BFBM3O_x6LVh

Then I found this when I remembered the Electra thing: https://sgvbicycles.com/products/leather-hub-shiners

Many thanks @froze.

 

[froze]

The batteries lasted ages ... after all they rarely worked.

What didn't rarely work? the light or the batteries? Either way your not of that era are you?

The batteries lasted ages ... after all they rarely worked.

The batteries worked fine back in the day, not sure what you're thinking of. In fact, they never leaked back in the 70's up until the early 2000s, but production moved them to China and now I get leaking batteries all the time. The 50s and 60s era batteries also leaked a lot, but they also didn't last long so usually you were throwing them away before they started to leak.

 

[froze]

Chains and tyres that lasted forever.

Chains did last longer due to they were wider and had thicker plates and rollers, but tires did not, today's tires are a lot better, they're much more flat-resistant, and last longer.

 

[froze]

Friction downtube shifters. I don't know if it's the Suntour 9 speed levers, the rear mech, the cassette, the dropout, or a combination of the whole lot, but I cannot get the gears on my tourer indexing properly...

You should be able to switch your shifters to friction! Check to see if on the side of the shifters if there is a ring, or washer if you will, with an arrow and maybe a number, if so you're good to go. Simply loosen the attachment bolt that has that swivel half ring attached to it, loosen it only one revolution, then move that ring that has the arrow on it to the next position which may be marked with an F or an F with a number, and then retighten the attachment bolt.

 

[froze]

Flint catchers. Used them successfully for many years. Theory was that sharp objects were picked up a turn of a wheel, then driven in by the second or more turns. The flint catchers knocked off the object before the second turn thus preventing a puncture. I repeat " in theory " though I have to say they were were quite successful for me.

Yup. they are still being made. https://vintagenosbicycleparts.com/...ders-vintage-bike-tire-savers-randonneur-nos/

 

[Profpointy]

What didn't rarely work? the light or the batteries? Either way your not of that era are you?


The batteries worked fine back in the day, not sure what you're thinking of. In fact, they never leaked back in the 70's up until the early 2000s, but production moved them to China and now I get leaking batteries all the time. The 50s and 60s era batteries also leaked a lot, but they also didn't last long so usually you were throwing them away before they started to leak.

Those ever ready lights were extremely unreliable in my experience, the front ones in particular.

 

[froze]

Those ever ready lights were extremely unreliable in my experience, the front ones in particular.

The light I had, the Berec, lasted a long time including getting rained on. In fact, it was still working up until 20 or so years ago when my daughter broke it, I let her use it for a flashlight so she could get up and go to the bathroom so we could turn off the hall light. but by then the light was at least 20 years old. I did have to use a pencil eraser on occasion to clean the battery contacts because they were copper and would corrode, but the eraser took the corrosion off. There was an issue with the spring, or was it a clip? I can't recall, but that thing held the light bulb into the light, but I can't recall what I did to fix it. But those issues were the only ones I ever had, and they were an easy fix. My daughter did something to the outside switch and broke it, at that point it was unrepairable.

The Berec was either a copy of the Everready, or the Everready was a copy of the Berec. I remember mine was made in England.

 

[taximan]

It's your behind, so what you choose to do with it is your own, erm, business. Myself, I like the Spa Nidd, which most people seem to think is a bum destroyer. It just fits me better than a Brooks!

I have Spa Nidd on two of my bikes and they are fine once they have been broken in. It only takes about 5 years.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I have Spa Nidd on two of my bikes and they are fine once they have been broken in. It only takes about 5 years.

What you're supposed to do is put your Nidd in a tumble drier with a granite cobblestone and let them tumble around. After 24 hours remove the cobblestone and put it on your bike....

 

[Dogtrousers]

As I am the troll who kicked off this Brooks discussion, my experience of them is that they are fine for rides of a couple of hours.

But I found that my arse was the limiting factor on longer rides, not my legs. After an all day ride I'd be in such pain that I couldn't sit even in a comfy chair. Once I'd changed my saddle my range increased dramatically.

 

[Profpointy]

As I am the troll who kicked off this Brooks discussion, my experience of them is that they are fine for rides of a couple of hours.

But I found that my arse was the limiting factor on longer rides, not my legs. After an all day ride I'd be in such pain that I couldn't sit even in a comfy chair. Once I'd changed my saddle my range increased dramatically.

I am a big fan of Brooks saddles. Back in the day I was practically crying with pain after a 40 mile ride on the stock saddle of my new
"racer" (as we called them back then). A mate said "get a Brooks saddle", so I did. That was comfortable from the off and I've had Brooks saddles on all my bikes ever since

Now that said, given other people have problems with them and all the talk of breaking them in, likely with various oils and potions, I reckon its simply that I have a Brooksian arse, yet some other people, such as Dog-t above do not.

 

[Alex321]

Now that said, given other people have problems with them and all the talk of breaking them in, likely with various oils and potions, I reckon its simply that I have a Brooksian arse, yet some other people, such as Dog-t above do not.

That is probably the nub of it. And equally true of most saddles. We all have slightly different backsides & sit-bones, and styles of pedaling, which affects movement on the saddle. So there simply is no one style of saddle which suits everybody.

 

[chris667]

Brooksian arse

That would apply to many cyclists I have known over the years.