They don't make them like they used to ...

[Chris S]

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/lo...eigh-bicycle-comes-back-to-carnoustie-1.77025

This man found a 100 year old Raleigh in his garage. After some minor cleaning and lubrication it worked perfectly, even the Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub!

Mind you, this bike was built in the days when even condoms were reusable and intended to last years!

 

[Psycolist]

I'll bet it is a proper boneshaker. I cant make out any detail, was it rod brakes ? were there any brakes ? solid or pneumatic tyres ? Is it the perspective or is the front wheel smaller than the rear ? and a 3 speed hub too. None of y'modern designed redundancy here ! That will still be rolling along f'years to come.

 

[biggs682]

i thought you could still wash and re use condoms now !

 

[Night Train]

i thought you could still wash and re use condoms now !

You mean you can't? Damn!

 

[classic33]

I'll bet it is a proper boneshaker. I cant make out any detail, was it rod brakes ? were there any brakes ? solid or pneumatic tyres ? Is it the perspective or is the front wheel smaller than the rear ? and a 3 speed hub too. None of y'modern designed redundancy here ! That will still be rolling along f'years to come.

Cable operated front brake & pneumatic tyres. You can see the cable & hanger, with the lever operated by the right hand in the second picture.
I know where ther's one just as old, but I can't get the owner to part with it.

 

[Chris S]

Cable operated front brake & pneumatic tyres. You can see the cable & hanger, with the lever operated by the right hand in the second picture.
I know where ther's one just as old, but I can't get the owner to part with it.

I think the cable is for the Sturmey Archer hub gears. If you blow-up the picture you can see that it has rod-brakes.

 

[tyred]

I'll bet it rides really well although bikes like these aren't very nimble. Nice sensible gear ratios by the look of it.

People rode the sort of mileage on these that most of us on this forum will only ever dream about doing.

 

[Davidc]

My grandad had a very similar Raleigh bike he'd bought new a few days before the start of WW 1, and it did have different sized wheels, plus a whacking great basket over the front one. His bike had rod brakes and like that one a Sturmey Archer hub gear.

That bike had the mounting for a carbide (acetylene) light as well, but had been modified to take a Bakelite electri light (I still have it)*. When he had to move out of his bungalow (old age) it was given to a museum.

I had ridden it, and know that although it was heavy it was very comfortable. He was still riding it to the bowls club at age 82.

*Just edited that bit as it only had a front light originally. He told me that there weren't back lights when he bought it, they came later and his had a frame clamp.

 

[tyred]

My grandad had a very similar Raleigh bike he'd bought new a few days before the start of WW 1, and it did have different sized wheels, plus a whacking great basket over the front one. His bike had rod brakes and like that one a Sturmey Archer hub gear.

That bike had the mounting for a carbide (acetylene) light as well, but had been modified to take a Bakelite electri light (I still have it)*. When he had to move out of his bungalow (old age) it was given to a museum.

I had ridden it, and know that although it was heavy it was very comfortable. He was still riding it to the bowls club at age 82.

*Just edited that bit as it only had a front light originally. He told me that there weren't back lights when he bought it, they came later and his had a frame clamp.

Back lights weren't required until some time after ww2.

The CTC campaigned against their introduction as it was felt it would encourage people to drive to fast and cause more accidents.

 

[glenn forger]

i thought you could still wash and re use condoms now !

You can, but my dad reckons they don't work.

 

[Davidc]

Back lights weren't required until some time after ww2.

The CTC campaigned against their introduction as it was felt it would encourage people to drive to fast and cause more accidents.

The one he had on the bike was quite obviously not as old as everything else on it. The clamp bit had corroded away by the time the bike went, but it hadn't been used in the dark for decades! Both lights were so dim you could hardly see they were on in daylight.

I knew the CTC didn't want back lights but hadn't realised that was why.

I did all the maintenance on the bike in its last years, and have never seen a bike engineered like it. Given a supply of spares it would have gone on for several hundred years....

You can, but my dad reckons they don't work.

Oh yes they do - about as well as rod brakes did, not quite stopping anything properly.

 

[snailracer]

...
Oh yes they do - about as well as rod brakes did, not quite stopping anything properly.

That's more to do with the steel wheels and brake blocks than the rod brake itself, and even modern bikes are sold with brake blocks that are often ineffective.

 

[Davidc]

That's more to do with the steel wheels and brake blocks than the rod brake itself, and even modern bikes are sold with brake blocks that are often ineffective.

Yes, but the question (from post #10 ) is do they work as well as a washed and re-used condom?

 

[Pikey]

i thought you could still wash and re use condoms now !

You're supposed to wash them first?

 

[Arch]

You can, but my dad reckons they don't work.

What do your 17 brothers and sisters think?