Older Bickertons? Any Good for a 10 mile round trip with an occasional scenic detour?

[velovoice]

The answer really depends upon how you set the bike up and how you ride it. The best part of Bickertons is their adaptability, and it is strange that so many people set them up as a sort of chopper-style monster, which will always be a practical headache and wobble all over the place. You can, however, set them up exactly as a racing or touring bike ought to be, respecting the optimum positions of Handlebars, cranks and saddle.

You have to be aware of how close pedals are to the ground when cornering, and you have to accept that you must never get out of the saddle – but with decent gearing you should never have to anyway.

I have ridden my own somewhere between 10 and 15 thousand miles over much of the world, in all weathers, and on all sorts of roads and dirt tracks, carrying everything I needed for self-sufficiency. For long-distance travelling when you want to use other forms of transport from time to to time [buses, trains, planes, cars, boats etc] there is nothing to equal them, even though some pretenders are more rigid and a more efficient ride.

For short every day commutes though, a stronger case could probably be made for the Brompton as a more easily folded item, and sacrificing light weight for more robustness in urban conditions.

Just checking you realise this thread is nearly 3 years old....?

 

[Ridgeways]

Yes, I did realise that it was an old thread. Was that against the rules? Apologies if so; was trawling through topics I could meaningfully respond to, in order to get past the initial post count barrier, and it gave an opportunity to post relevant information others could respond to if interested.

 

[raleighnut]

Yes, I did realise that it was an old thread. Was that against the rules? Apologies if so; was trawling through topics I could meaningfully respond to, in order to get past the initial post count barrier, and it gave an opportunity to post relevant information others could respond to if interested.

 

[velovoice]

Yes, I did realise that it was an old thread. Was that against the rules? Apologies if so; was trawling through topics I could meaningfully respond to, in order to get past the initial post count barrier, and it gave an opportunity to post relevant information others could respond to if interested.

Of course not! I was just checking, as you seemed to be "answering" a question and I wasn't sure you realised the OP may not be around anymore to see your response. More information about Bickertons and people's experience with them always good and welcome. In fact, I may just page my partner, who toured round Provence and climbed Mount Ventoux last year on his.... @Flying Dodo

 

[Blue Hills]

Yes, I did realise that it was an old thread. Was that against the rules? Apologies if so; was trawling through topics I could meaningfully respond to, in order to get past the initial post count barrier, and it gave an opportunity to post relevant information others could respond to if interested.

Yes - well said - I never understand why folk are "told off" for posting on old threads. After all it is "on topic" and therefore likely to seamlessly add to the knowledge on a particular topic for folk searching for the subject or just happily coming across it.

Folk are also now and again told off on forums for not searching for a subject before asking a question!

Can't win

 

[Ridgeways]

Of course not! I was just checking, as you seemed to be "answering" a question and I wasn't sure you realised the OP may not be around anymore to see your response. More information about Bickertons and people's experience with them always good and welcome. In fact, I may just page my partner, who toured round Provence and climbed Mount Ventoux last year on his.... @Flying Dodo

Thank you - a relief I haven't blotted my copybook so soon! If your partner is interested in touring Bickertons, I have begun posting some old photos of mine on a Bickerton Facebook site; it is going to take awhile before I catch up with converting slides of my travels to digital format, but at least I have made a start.

 

[velovoice]

I wouldn't go so far as to say he is interested in "touring Bickertons", more like... he is interested in confounding expectations. He's busy hauling carloads of stuff to the tip today but I'll mention this thread to him this evening.

 

[jefmcg]

Yes - well said - I never understand why folk are "told off" for posting on old threads.

I don't think people are "told off". I do it to point out a thread is old so people don't spend time posting a detailed and helpful response to someone who solved their problem years ago.

 

[Blue Hills]

fair point, but little is new under the sun. Someone will have the same issue.

 

[jefmcg]

fair point, but little is new under the sun. Someone will have the same issue.

And fair point to you .... but it is possible that no one will ever again consider riding 25 miles on a early Bickerton.

 

[jefmcg]

@TheDoctor - Do you still have the beast above? ^^^^^

 

[Ridgeways]

And fair point to you .... but it is possible that no one will ever again consider riding 25 miles on a early Bickerton.

The earliest Bickertons were in fact the best – the greatest problem lay in the misperceptions of most users, who failed to see them as serious bikes and set them up as ridiculous ‘chopper style’ contraptions, for which they were ill-suited. That is not to overlook certain design weaknesses in the mass-produced version. Harry Bickerton himself explained to me that his designed construction techniques could not be practically realised in production-line conditions, so that the compromise design inevitably failed to perform according to the originating design specs.

I, for one, having good reasons for confidence in my own Bickerton [admittedly extensively modified and re-built according to the original design concepts of its inventor, and incorporating some of his hand built prototypes], am still considering riding it rather more than 25 miles to complete it’s round-the-the-world travels.

Fact is, I have gone on several long distance trips in company with conventional cycles, and have left many of those trailing in the distance behind me – not because I am super-fit, but because the bike was better equipped for the job. As an example, on the London to Brighton ride I took part in one year [cannot for the life of me think what year that was], and not racing at all [not my thing], I finished well in the foreguard of participants, having ridden past most of those struggling to push their conventional bikes up the final hills on foot. I had the advantage of super low gears, possible because of the small wheel size.

 

[Blue Hills]

Harry Bickerton himself explained to me that his designed construction techniques could not be practically realised in production-line conditions,

Interesting bikes, and I'm old enough, as a young kid, to remember those TV adverts - but isn't that a failure of design?

 

[Ridgeways]

Interesting bikes, and I'm old enough, as a young kid, to remember those TV adverts - but isn't that a failure of design?

The production-line version? Yes. I don’t see that the original design concept was a design failure, just because assembly line workers could not reproduce what was essentially a craftsman’s job – except, I suppose, insofar as it was intended for mass production. I guess that is what you meant?

Still, for the great majority in normal use, they stood up well enough. Probably an instruction book would have helped a lot.

For serious use in rougher and laden conditions, the design modifications were fatal. Harry’s background was in aircraft engineering, and it was the epoxy laminating techniques used there that inspired his design. The worst design compromises when that construction technique was dispensed with, resulted in failures on the seat support stem, and on the front forks’ handlebar stem.

The central hinged joint was never good, but was easily improved.

 

[Blue Hills]

Yes, that's exactly what i meant ridgeways - if it was intended for mass production it should have been designed for that. Sounds like a good idea from the rest of your post to avoid any bike from an aero background. Mr dahon was also inspired, apparently, to go into bikes after an aero background. I have a dahon speed pro, wonderful fun bike in many ways but after my experiences with it i wouldn't want to go up in any plane mr dahon had had a hand in. The older i get the simpler i like my bikes.