Odd spokes

Quoted message said:

Look at the weird spoke bend at the hub, third picture down, on the
1890s Overman Victor:

http://www.prices4antiques.com/itemsummary/251080.htm

The caption is mistaken--it's the rear hub, not the front. You can see
the chain on the far side, along with the open shell of the far
flange.

What looks like a massive quick-release lever is just a solid mounting
peg, useful for getting going again on a heavily-laden fixie when the
pedals stopped at an awkward angle.

And look at the crank in the second and fifth pictures--no BB shell
here!

Are the tubes that replace the seat-tube's function bolted in place?
Does this bike disassemble?

Brian Huntley said:

Quoted message said:

Look at the weird spoke bend at the hub, third picture down, on the
1890s Overman Victor:

http://www.prices4antiques.com/itemsummary/251080.htm

The caption is mistaken--it's the rear hub, not the front. You can see
the chain on the far side, along with the open shell of the far
flange.

What looks like a massive quick-release lever is just a solid mounting
peg, useful for getting going again on a heavily-laden fixie when the
pedals stopped at an awkward angle.

And look at the crank in the second and fifth pictures--no BB shell
here!

Are the tubes that replace the seat-tube's function bolted in place?
Does this bike disassemble?

Dear Brian,

I don't remember anything about disassembly in Lenz's letters to
Outing magazine, but it does look as if there's a bolt head in the
second picture, securing the far "seat" tube to the far down tube.

You can see it sticking out in the fifth picture, too.

It's painted green, but if it isn't a bolt head, it's hard to think of
what else it might be.

There's a clear hex nut painted green in the second picture, holding
the brake-control pivot shaft in place.

The Pedersen bicycle came in a folding model to be carried by
soldiers, but off-hand I don't recall any other 1890s bicycles made to
be folded or disassembled for easy transport--back then, you had a
large railroad car or trolley or wagon instead of a cramped modern car
or overcrowded mass-transit railroad.

Here's the 1901 folding Pedersen:

http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/originals/various_pages/folding.html

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

The Pedersen bicycle came in a folding model to be carried by
soldiers, but off-hand I don't recall any other 1890s bicycles made
to be folded or disassembled for easy transport--back then, you had a
large railroad car or trolley or wagon instead of a cramped modern
car or overcrowded mass-transit railroad.

Here's the 1901 folding Pedersen:

http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/originals/various_pages/folding.html

The claimed weight of 15 pounds is rather remarkable. And I am not sure
that the claims that the bike was used in the Boer War have actually
been substantiated.

Tim McNamara said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

The Pedersen bicycle came in a folding model to be carried by
soldiers, but off-hand I don't recall any other 1890s bicycles made
to be folded or disassembled for easy transport--back then, you had a
large railroad car or trolley or wagon instead of a cramped modern
car or overcrowded mass-transit railroad.

Here's the 1901 folding Pedersen:

http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/originals/various_pages/folding.html

The claimed weight of 15 pounds is rather remarkable. And I am not sure
that the claims that the bike was used in the Boer War have actually
been substantiated.

Dear Tim,

Digging around in historical trivia often leads to uncertainties.

One page about bicycles and the Boer wars flatly says that the
Pedersen was not used by the British Army:

"In 1900, Dursley Pedersen produced a folding bicycle for use by the
British Army but it was not accepted."

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-2072613/Caught-the-cycling-craze-AIF.html

On the other hand, Martin Caidin wrote in "Bicycles & War" in 1974:

"The key was modifying the standard assembly of the bicycle, and the
new hero of the day was an English manufacturer, Dursley Pedersen,
whose folding bicycle was a vast improvement over the bulky machines
with which most soldiers had been burdened. . . . The success of the
Pedersen bicycle in the Boer War galvanized other countries to conduct
renewed tests."
--p.20-21

"During its initial use in South Africa, the bicycle faced many of the
problems other military forces had encountered in the field. The
machines were heavy, required excessive maintenance and, unless
surface conditions were reasonable, they often had to be abandoned by
troops who were forced to keep moving in field operations."

"All that changed when Dursley Pederson [sic] applied common sense and
skilled engineering to the problem, and produced a folding bicycle
that weighed only fifteen pounds. Soldiers who were issued the new
machines quickly devised carrying straps and slings for the folded
bicycles, and overnight the problems of moving through terrain
impassable to any wheeled vehicle disappeared. On good terrain the
troops could travel from forty to sixty miles a day with full
equipment. When they encountered uncharted and rough surfaces, the men
folded their bicycles into a compact and manageable size, lashed them
to their backs, and kept moving on foot."
--p. 66

But there are no pictures of folding Pedersens in the book, and Caidin
might have confused the widespread use of non-folding normal bicycles
with some mistaken claim about the Pedersen. He listed about 50
sources in a bibliography, but scorned footnotes.

"Riding High" has two photos on p. 149 of a bearded soldier with rifle
and bandolier posing next to his Pedersen and carrying it folded, but
it's not clear if it's a real picture in South Africa or a staged
picture in England.

From some writing on the photo, I suspect that the pictures appeared
in the Scientific American, which Caidin lists in his bibliography: "A
New Military Folding Bicycle," Scientific American, Vol 83, Oct. 20
1900. He also lists "Riding High" as a source and echoes its passage
about the Pedersen.

The bearded soldier in the photos looks suspiciously like Pedersen
himself. The photo at the Pedersen site shows the same fellow, hat,
beard, bandolier, and even fence in the background:

http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/originals/various_pages/folding.html

As for the 15-lb weight, it is indeed remarkably light, but Marten has
mentioned a 4.1 kg version.

Unfortunately, the miserable Scientific American is not digitized, so
I'll have to go back to the library and grovel in the microfiche.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Here's the 1901 folding Pedersen:

http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/originals/various_pages/folding.html

The claimed weight of 15 pounds is rather remarkable. And I am not sure
that the claims that the bike was used in the Boer War have actually
been substantiated.

Dear Tim,

Digging around in historical trivia often leads to uncertainties.

One page about bicycles and the Boer wars flatly says that the
Pedersen was not used by the British Army:

"In 1900, Dursley Pedersen produced a folding bicycle for use by the
British Army but it was not accepted."

According to 'the ingenious Mr Pedersen' Pedersen had no luck selling
oil separators, improved machineguns or bicycles to either the Danish or
British army

Quoted message said:

"Riding High" has two photos on p. 149 of a bearded soldier with rifle
and bandolier posing next to his Pedersen and carrying it folded, but
it's not clear if it's a real picture in South Africa or a staged
picture in England.

Quoted message said:

The bearded soldier in the photos looks suspiciously like Pedersen
himself. The photo at the Pedersen site shows the same fellow, hat,
beard, bandolier, and even fence in the background:

Pedersen enjoyed playing soldiers appearently, the biograpy shows a
series of six staged photo's (1898?)

Quoted message said:

As for the 15-lb weight, it is indeed remarkably light, but Marten has
mentioned a 4.1 kg version.

Later versions grew heavier

--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

Quoted message said:

http://www.prices4antiques.com/itemsummary/251080.htm

Quoted message said:

What looks like a massive quick-release lever is just a solid mounting
peg, useful for getting going again on a heavily-laden fixie when the
pedals stopped at an awkward angle.

Are you sure that's what it is for? How would it have been used?

Joseph

On Sun, 9 Dec 2007 02:21:13 -0800 (PST),

Quoted post said:

Quoted message said:

http://www.prices4antiques.com/itemsummary/251080.htm

Quoted message said:

What looks like a massive quick-release lever is just a solid mounting
peg, useful for getting going again on a heavily-laden fixie when the
pedals stopped at an awkward angle.

Are you sure that's what it is for? How would it have been used?

Joseph

Dear Joseph,

Rear mounting pegs on the axle were commonplace from the beginning of
safeties:

http://i13.tinypic.com/4v67a5z.jpg

We're puzzled by antique mounting pegs for several reasons.

First, we've forgotten our roots. An ordinary bicycle came equipped
with a mounting peg--"ordinary" is another term for a highwheeler,
which confuses the hell out of casual readers, who mistakenly consider
newfangled safety bicycles to be ordinary. The bottom picture on this
page shows a highwheeler's mounting step:

http://collection.rydjor.com/bikecollection/1886hiwhl.htm

So it seemed perfectly ordinary to push off from behind, step up up
onto the seat using a rear mounting peg, and _then_ take care of
putting your feet onto the whirling fixed-gear pedals as you coasted.

Mounting a highwheeler and getting going actually happens faster than
the description makes it sound. Page down to the mount and pedal
dismount by Martin Krieg, who explains where he likes to have his
pedals when he starts and watch the short video as he uses the
mounting peg:

http://www.bikeroute.com/HiWheelers/

The sunglasses, cargo rack, and toe straps are modern.

Here are the steps isolated in snapshots:

http://www.eriding.net/media/vintage_bicycles.shtml#nine

Notice that like the drawing of the Rover safety rider, the
highwheelers start from directly behind the bike, not to one side as
we do when we stand on the left, step on the left pedal, and push off.

The highwheelers were just too high to stand off to the side.

Second, we've forgotten just how high those old safety bikes were. The
early safeties had wheels up to 34 inches tall, huge to us, but
awfully small to people who considered a 48-inch safety a low-rider.

Getting up on some old safeties was more like the Lone Ranger hopping
up onto Silver than swinging a leg over a modern bike--and it's easy
to forget that the average height back then was several inches less
than it is today, which made things even worse.

Look at the height of the stems and handlebars in this 1893 picture:

http://woment.mur.at/images/GrazerDamenBicycleClub.jpg

Note the coasting pegs on the three left-hand bikes--another thing
that we've lost. Modern fixie riders treat bicycling as an athletic
matter, not a convenience, so coasting pegs on the fork have vanished.
Our ancestors weren't messengers or showoffs (or sensible LBS types
enjoying a little retro fun):

http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1890%27s+man+on+bike%2Ejpg

Anyway, here are a few more mounting pegs on some safeties. They
tended to move over to the left side, away from the chain and rear
sprocket:

1890s Shelby Ideal
http://www.nostalgic.net/pictures/1659.htm

1893 Elliot Hickory
http://www.nostalgic.net/pictures/1648.htm
http://www.nostalgic.net/pictures/1650.htm

1897 Humber with Clement 1904 engine:

http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1897+Humber+with+1904+Clement+Engine+3%2Ejpg

Gratuitous pictures of the same gorgeous contraption:

http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1897+Humber+with+1904+Clement+Engine+1%2Ejpg

http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1897+Humber+with+1904+Clement+Engine+2%2Ejpg

http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1897+Humber+with+1904+Clement+Engine+4%2Ejpg

Stop looking at the girl and notice the mounting peg on the rear axle
and the coasting pegs on the fork:

http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1898+girl+on+bike+phto%2Ejpg

Even this dilapidated 1900s child's bike has a mounting peg:

http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1900%27s+childs+bike+7%2Ejpg

This shaft-drive 1902 Columbia monster frame . . .
http://www.nostalgic.net/pictures/1628.htm

.. . . has a hard-to-see mounting peg:
http://www.nostalgic.net/pictures/1630.htm

A really elaborate hanging mounting peg:

http://www.thewheelmen.org/sections/photographs/hardtired/regviews/hardtired13v.jpg

A more modest mounting peg:

http://www.thewheelmen.org/sections/photographs/hardtired/regviews/hardtired3v.jpg

Mounting peg and owner showing height of seat, which reaches his
elbow:

http://www.thewheelmen.org/sections/photographs/pneumatic/regviews/pneumatic12v.jpg

No pegs visible, but another elbow on seat:

http://www.thewheelmen.org/sections/photographs/pneumatic/regviews/pneumatic15v.jpg

Many hubs lacked the mounting peg, which gives me an excuse to show
this cutaway 1907 Musselman display model:

http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1907%5FMusselman%5FCut%2Ejpg

But here's a 1901 EZ hub with the mounting peg, just a knurled
extension of the axle:
http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1901+EZ+hub+2%2Ejpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Sun, 9 Dec 2007 02:21:13 -0800 (PST),

Quoted post said:

Quoted message said:

http://www.prices4antiques.com/itemsummary/251080.htm

Quoted message said:

What looks like a massive quick-release lever is just a solid mounting
peg, useful for getting going again on a heavily-laden fixie when the
pedals stopped at an awkward angle.

Are you sure that's what it is for? How would it have been used?

Joseph

Dear Joseph,

By coincidence, Sheldon just lamented the getting-started problem that
the mounting peg solved:

Personally, I despise coaster brakes. Here's my canned rant on the
subject:

<RANT>

I strongly dislike coaster brakes.

They make it hard to get started from a stop, because there's no easy
way to rotate the pedals to a good starting position.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.tech/msg/f7d3ceca962dc4c8

It's just as hard to rotate the pedals to a good starting position on
a heavy 1890s fixie.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Look at the weird spoke bend at the hub, third picture down, on the
1890s Overman Victor:
http://www.prices4antiques.com/itemsummary/251080.htm
The caption is mistaken--it's the rear hub, not the front. You can see
the chain on the far side, along with the open shell of the far
flange.
What looks like a massive quick-release lever is just a solid mounting
peg, useful for getting going again on a heavily-laden fixie when the
pedals stopped at an awkward angle.
And look at the crank in the second and fifth pictures--no BB shell
here!

Brian Huntley said:

Are the tubes that replace the seat-tube's function bolted in place?
Does this bike disassemble?

It appears the frame has brazed joints. The elaborate linkage shows the
rear braking mechanism.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Quoth Carl Fogel:

Quoted message said:

Dear Joseph,

By coincidence,Sheldon just lamented the getting-started problem that
the mounting peg solved:

Yes, this was actually a bit of an atavism even when new.

Mounting pegs were a necessity on high wheelers, and when the safety
bike was introduced, many of the early models retained this feature of
the older design.

This goes hand in hand with the oversized frames common on early
safeties. The idea of "standover clearance" was inconceivable in the
high-wheeler era, so riders were used to mounting by vaulting onto a
moving bike.

It was only as the safety evolved into the basically perfected modern
frame design in the 'teens that standover clearance became a
consideration for "gent's" frames.

Quoted message said:

It's just as hard to rotate the pedals to a good starting position on
a heavy 1890s fixie.

I don't buy that. The rider could just lift the bike by the saddle.
I did this for years myself, until Osman Isvan taught me the trick of
locking the front brake and pushing forward on the handlebars. That
probably wouldn't have worked with 1890s brakes though.

Sheldon "The Bicycle Was Basically Perfected By WWI" Brown
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| ...what is hailed as a new style or a new school |
| in literature often consists of doing as a novelty |
| what a Victorian did long ago as a joke. |
| -- G.K. Chesterton |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

On Sun, 9 Dec 2007 02:21:13 -0800 (PST),

Quoted post said:

Quoted message said:

http://www.prices4antiques.com/itemsummary/251080.htm

Quoted message said:

What looks like a massive quick-release lever is just a solid mounting
peg, useful for getting going again on a heavily-laden fixie when the
pedals stopped at an awkward angle.

Are you sure that's what it is for? How would it have been used?

Joseph

Dear Joseph,

Here are some irresistible ads, whose rare three-quarter views show
coasting on the forks and mounting pegs dangling from the axle.

Ad and enlargment for Olympic No. 1:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/olympic1.jpg

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/olympic2.jpg

Onward bicycle ad:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/onward.jpg

At first the Olympic and the Onward look like the same picture, but
the seat, brake-lever, and lamp-mount are different.

This side view of a Sharrett & Lisle shows how hard it is to see a
mounting peg in the normal side view:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Star4.jpg

At least it's dangling and barely visible. When the peg became an
extension of the axle, it became invisible in normal side views.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Sheldon Brown said:

Quoth Carl Fogel:

Quoted message said:

Dear Joseph,

By coincidence,Sheldon just lamented the getting-started problem that
the mounting peg solved:

Yes, this was actually a bit of an atavism even when new.

Mounting pegs were a necessity on high wheelers, and when the safety
bike was introduced, many of the early models retained this feature of
the older design.

This goes hand in hand with the oversized frames common on early
safeties. The idea of "standover clearance" was inconceivable in the
high-wheeler era, so riders were used to mounting by vaulting onto a
moving bike.

It was only as the safety evolved into the basically perfected modern
frame design in the 'teens that standover clearance became a
consideration for "gent's" frames.

Quoted message said:

It's just as hard to rotate the pedals to a good starting position on
a heavy 1890s fixie.

I don't buy that. The rider could just lift the bike by the saddle.
I did this for years myself, until Osman Isvan taught me the trick of
locking the front brake and pushing forward on the handlebars. That
probably wouldn't have worked with 1890s brakes though.

Sheldon "The Bicycle Was Basically Perfected By WWI" Brown

Dear Sheldon,

Yes, a rider can lift a high, heavy 1885-1900 safety and twirl the
pedals, but it's awkward.

After all, the things could weigh over 40 pounds, and you still had to
heave up onto seats so high that pictures often show proud owners
standing upright with one elbow on the seat:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Elgar.jpg

If you do change your mind and decide to buy the idea, here's a
typical model with dangling left-side mounting pedal:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/olympic1.jpg

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/olympic2.jpg

A rival model, same era, slightly different brake lever, lamp mount,
and seat, but same dangling mounting peg:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/onward.jpg

Mounting pegs first moved to the left side, and then became extensions
of the axle itself, which is why they're so hard to see in most
pictures, which are taken from the right (to show the gearing with the
rider standing on the left) or from a dead side view, which makes the
pegs almost invisible.

You can just see the mounting and coasting pegs in this picture of an
1889 Humber:

http://www.eriding.net/media/photos/transport/vintage_bikes/040930_amoore_mp_his_trans_vb_020.jpg

http://www.eriding.net/media/photos/transport/vintage_bikes/040930_amoore_mp_his_trans_vb_021.jpg

Easier-to-see view of coasting pegs, but mounting peg hidden:

http://www.eriding.net/media/photos/transport/vintage_bikes/040930_cbr_mp_his_trans_vb_572.jpg

Mounting peg visible, but still darned hard to see:

http://www.eriding.net/media/photos/transport/vintage_bikes/040930_cbr_mp_his_trans_vb_576.jpg

http://www.eriding.net/media/vintage_bicycles.shtml#four

***

A German copy of the Rover, with a dangling mounting peg visible:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=rzyi&pic_id=190989&v=u&size=large

A coasting peg is almost certainly sticking out sideways toward the
camera from the doohickey on the fork--they were often add-ons.

***

Dangling mounting peg and coasting pegs on a bike in a Finnish museum:

http://www.tampere.fi/kuvat/5nNEFdmqB/velo_19.jpg

***

Silver axle-mounting peg visible beyond seatstay and coasting pegs on
an old postcard:

http://www.rogerco.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/anew/free-f.jpg

***

An 1892 Imperial with its silver mounting peg _barely_ visible in the
upper right edge of the photo:

http://collection.rydjor.com/images/bikecollection/1892imp7.jpg

You don't believe that the tiny bit of silver just above the chainstay
at the top of the picture is a mounting peg?

Okay, here's a more convincing view:

http://collection.rydjor.com/images/bikecollection/1892imp10.jpg

Still not convinced? At last, a clear view of the mounting peg:

http://collection.rydjor.com/images/bikecollection/1892imp11.jpg

Here's the whole sub-page:

http://collection.rydjor.com/bikecollection/1892imp1.htm

If you just look at the main page for the bike, every damn picture
avoids showing that mounting peg:

http://collection.rydjor.com/bikecollection/1892imp.htm

The lower left photo is particularly annoying in how the chain hides
what you'd think would be obvious. The lower right photo just crops
what would have been an interesting feature.

***

A rare photo of a Rover that shows its early mounting peg, which was
on the axle on the sprocket side:

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/pr/597467082/Science_&_Society_Picture_Library_10307348.jpg

***

A silly small-front-wheel bike with a dangling mounting peg:

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10218272&wwwflag=2&imagepos=8

***

The coasting pegs are obvious, but no mounting peg is visible in this
photo of a Starley 1888 Psycho:

http://americanhistory.si.edu/ONTHEMOVE/collection/object_288.html

However, the detailed text reassures us that there was a mounting peg:

" A small footrest is attached to each side of the front-wheel fork,
for use while coasting, and a step is attached to the left side of the
rear fork for use when mounting the machine."

***

Ditto for this 1889 St. George's New Rapid safety from the same
museum:

http://americanhistory.si.edu/ONTHEMOVE/collection/object_293.html

They just love to take pictures that hide whatever you're looking for.

***

Sometimes they try to fool you. What's that sticking out of the axle?

http://americanhistory.si.edu/ONTHEMOVE/collection/object_35.html

Nope, not a mounting peg--that 1899 bike is too modern in design.
Besides, mounting pegs were all on the left axle by then, not the
right. It's just part of the display stand.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

Sometimes they try to fool you. What's that sticking out of the axle?

http://americanhistory.si.edu/ONTHEMOVE/collection/object_35.html

Nope, not a mounting peg--that 1899 bike is too modern in design.
Besides, mounting pegs were all on the left axle by then, not the
right. It's just part of the display stand.

in a 1913 catalog mounting pegs are still a common item for coaster brakes

--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

M-gineering said:

Quoted message said:

Sometimes they try to fool you. What's that sticking out of the axle?

http://americanhistory.si.edu/ONTHEMOVE/collection/object_35.html

Nope, not a mounting peg--that 1899 bike is too modern in design.
Besides, mounting pegs were all on the left axle by then, not the
right. It's just part of the display stand.

in a 1913 catalog mounting pegs are still a common item for coaster brakes

Dear Marten,

True, but few coaster brakes were being attached to bicycles with
dropped handlebars, and even fewer mounting pegs--I should have
explained that was what I meant by the design being too modern.

That is, you don't use a mounting peg to step _up_ onto a bike where
you lean _down _ over the handlebar.

Here's an example of a mounting peg built into a 1905 Sunbeam 3-speed
hub:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Sunbeam3SpeedHub.gif

The huge knurled mounting peg also probably helped with wheel removal
for flat tire repairs, but the rider still needed a wrench to tighten
or loosen the thing, and nothing could stop him from stepping on it.
The ad is from:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Sunbeam.htm

Same kind of mounting peg, mentioned earlier, a 1902 EZ model:

http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1901+EZ+hub+2%2Ejpg

Here's a whole thread on a highwheeler site, where someone asked "Why
are there mounting pegs on a safety?"

http://www.thewheelmen.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1707

Lurid pictures of safety bicycle mounting pegs from that thread:

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x3/pnfkwfl/DSCN3999.jpg

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x3/pnfkwfl/wolf0.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:46:07 +0100, M-gineering
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Dear Marten,

True, but few coaster brakes were being attached to bicycles with
dropped handlebars,

I wonder. Bowden cable operated brakes were still a rarity, and dropped
bars and plunger (Sharp calls them pneumatic) type brakes didn't mix
well with dropped bars. So if you wanted a freewheel you either fitted a
coaster or a foot operated spring steel blade you could push on the
front tyre. ( www.m-gineering.nl/voetrem.jpg )

and even fewer mounting pegs--I should have

Quoted message said:

explained that was what I meant by the design being too modern.

If you were a real racer a bigger problem would be your fellow racers,
who wouldn't like such a nasty protrusion to catch the spokes in their
front wheels. If you were a wannabee I'm sure you copied the big boys
just like we do today.

Quoted message said:

That is, you don't use a mounting peg to step _up_ onto a bike where
you lean _down _ over the handlebar.

Here's an example of a mounting peg built into a 1905 Sunbeam 3-speed
hub:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Sunbeam3SpeedHub.gif

Had a quick look at the local historical bycicle collection, and if you
got the twospeed Sunbeam you got one too!

Quoted message said:

The huge knurled mounting peg also probably helped with wheel removal
for flat tire repairs, but the rider still needed a wrench to tighten
or loosen the thing, and nothing could stop him from stepping on it.

Removing the wheel for a repair is a very newfangled notion 😉 and
certainly not recommended with an oilbath Sunbeam. To change the tyre
you could unbolt the seatstay from the dropout.

--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

M-gineering said:

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:46:07 +0100, M-gineering
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Dear Marten,

True, but few coaster brakes were being attached to bicycles with
dropped handlebars,

I wonder. Bowden cable operated brakes were still a rarity, and dropped
bars and plunger (Sharp calls them pneumatic) type brakes didn't mix
well with dropped bars. So if you wanted a freewheel you either fitted a
coaster or a foot operated spring steel blade you could push on the
front tyre. ( www.m-gineering.nl/voetrem.jpg )

and even fewer mounting pegs--I should have

Quoted message said:

explained that was what I meant by the design being too modern.

If you were a real racer a bigger problem would be your fellow racers,
who wouldn't like such a nasty protrusion to catch the spokes in their
front wheels. If you were a wannabee I'm sure you copied the big boys
just like we do today.

Quoted message said:

That is, you don't use a mounting peg to step _up_ onto a bike where
you lean _down _ over the handlebar.

Here's an example of a mounting peg built into a 1905 Sunbeam 3-speed
hub:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Sunbeam3SpeedHub.gif

Had a quick look at the local historical bycicle collection, and if you
got the twospeed Sunbeam you got one too!

Quoted message said:

The huge knurled mounting peg also probably helped with wheel removal
for flat tire repairs, but the rider still needed a wrench to tighten
or loosen the thing, and nothing could stop him from stepping on it.

Removing the wheel for a repair is a very newfangled notion 😉 and
certainly not recommended with an oilbath Sunbeam. To change the tyre
you could unbolt the seatstay from the dropout.

Dear Marten,

Maybe "wheel disengagement on one side" would have been more precise
than "wheel removal," but it was shorter.

The mounting peg was part of Sharp's patented undo-one-side scheme
that let the rider unbolt one side of the wheel to remove and replace
a tube (or tire, for that matter) through the gap:

"The only disadvantage caused by the fitting of the 'Little Oil Bath'
was the difficulty of removing the inner tube on the rear wheel.
Punctures in those days could happen frequently because of the poor
state of the roads and the thin tyres then in use."

"To overcome this problem Sunbeam acquired the exclusive right to use
Professor Sharp's patented tyre removal system consisting of a divided
axle, a spacer and a bolt. When the bolt and spacer were removed the
wheel was only attached on the chain-stay side and so the inner tube
could easily be slipped off. The new system appeared on machines in
1905."

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Sunbeam.htm

Here's the mounting-peg/axle design:

http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/sunaxle.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel