The British drive on the wrong side in more ways than one

Quoted message said:

http://oldroads.com/pqdb_img.asp?p=fdbdown.asp?707&mod=&mak=Ivel

"This is an 1887 cross frame Ivel bicycle. Built in Biggleswade
England, by Dan Albone.Owner is Ian Verrall of Waihi, New Zealand.
There are only 6 of these left world wide."

No, the photo isn't reversed--the monster spoon brake lever is on the
normal right-hand side.

This is nothing new. From Sheldon Brown's site:

"There are also observable national trends: In countries where vehicles
drive on the right, it is common to set the brakes up so that the front
brake is operated by the left lever.

"In countries where vehicles drive on the left, it is common to set the
brakes up so that the front brake is operated by the right lever."

Here in Canada, traffic travels on the right side of the road. I have my
right lever operating my front brake, contrary to the national standard.
That way I can brake and signal at the same time.

--
K.

Lang may your lum reek.

(Király) said:

Quoted message said:

http://oldroads.com/pqdb_img.asp?p=fdbdown.asp?707&mod=&mak=Ivel

"This is an 1887 cross frame Ivel bicycle. Built in Biggleswade
England, by Dan Albone.Owner is Ian Verrall of Waihi, New Zealand.
There are only 6 of these left world wide."

No, the photo isn't reversed--the monster spoon brake lever is on the
normal right-hand side.

This is nothing new. From Sheldon Brown's site:

"There are also observable national trends: In countries where vehicles
drive on the right, it is common to set the brakes up so that the front
brake is operated by the left lever.

"In countries where vehicles drive on the left, it is common to set the
brakes up so that the front brake is operated by the right lever."

Here in Canada, traffic travels on the right side of the road. I have my
right lever operating my front brake, contrary to the national standard.
That way I can brake and signal at the same time.

Dear K,

The brake lever shows that the photo is not reversed--all spoon brakes
were on the right.

The _drive_ is on the wrong side, meaning the chain.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

The brake lever shows that the photo is not reversed--all spoon brakes
were on the right.

The _drive_ is on the wrong side, meaning the chain.

Oops! Now I feel silly for not noticing that. 🙂

--
K.

Lang may your lum reek.

"Király" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:hvJ9i.9547$kY6.6503@edtnps82...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The brake lever shows that the photo is not reversed--all spoon brakes
were on the right.

The _drive_ is on the wrong side, meaning the chain.

Oops! Now I feel silly for not noticing that. 🙂

--
K.

Lang may your lum reek.

http://everything.blockstackers.com/index.pl?node_id=1796068

(Király) said:

Quoted message said:

The brake lever shows that the photo is not reversed--all spoon brakes
were on the right.

The _drive_ is on the wrong side, meaning the chain.

Oops! Now I feel silly for not noticing that. 🙂

Dear K,

To be fair, the monster spoon-brake lever on the right is what catches
the viewer's attention in that picture, not the sprocket.

I felt considerably sillier recently--I must have seen spoon brake
levers before in various books, but somehow I never really noticed
them until James Thomson posted a link to this picture:

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

The actual spoons are small and hidden behind the enormous tires, so I
was baffled by the enormous levers. Kinder and better-informed RBT
regulars had to explain the obvious to me.

I don't know why the spoon brake levers are always on the right, but
it seems to be a rigid custom. Maybe someone will find a picture
showing a left-hand spoon brake lever, but I'll want to check the
buttons on any clothes in the photograph, lest it be a reversed
photograph like the famous one of Billy the Kid.

It may be just a matter of the right hand usually being stronger and
the huge but primitive brake demanding a python-like squeeze to
produce any results. Despite the giant lever, the spoon just presses
down on the top of the tire, unlike modern pads pushing toward each
other from the side.

I long to sneak a push-down spoon brake into either a wheel-ejection
thread or else introduce the monster levers into a debate about
handlebars fatiguing.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

http://oldroads.com/pqdb_img.asp?p=fdbdown.asp?707&mod=&mak=Ivel

"This is an 1887 cross frame Ivel bicycle. Built in Biggleswade
England, by Dan Albone.Owner is Ian Verrall of Waihi, New Zealand.
There are only 6 of these left world wide."

No, the photo isn't reversed--the monster spoon brake lever is on the
normal right-hand side.

Elegant-looking design, independent of the left-side drive. But the
near-absence of chainstays and the single tube instead of a top tube and
downtube makes me wonder about --- maybe the rest all broke at the
junction of the seattube with the downtube/rear stays.

--

David L. Johnson

It is a scientifically proven fact that a mid life crisis can only be
cured by something racy and Italian. Bianchis and Colnagos are a lot
cheaper than Maserattis and Ferraris.
-- Glenn Davies

Quoted message said:

http://oldroads.com/pqdb_img.asp?p=fdbdown.asp?707&mod=&mak=Ivel

"This is an 1887 cross frame Ivel bicycle. Built in Biggleswade
England, by Dan Albone.Owner is Ian Verrall of Waihi, New Zealand.
There are only 6 of these left world wide."

No, the photo isn't reversed--the monster spoon brake lever is on the
normal right-hand side.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Dear David,

Curiously, Ivel was the British bicycle equivalent of Lamborghini. The
company was more famous for its sturdy turn-of-the-century tractors
than its exotic bicycles:

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp

The Ivel's inventor, Dan Albone, was penalized for the scandalous use
of illegal high-tech equipment in a bicycle race:

"In 1890 Dan was penalised 46 m (50 yards) for using a cycle with
pneumatic tyres in a half mile open race."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Albone

Such desperate characters might well rely on fragile bike designs that
didn't last long!

Actually, production runs were limited and many bikes were devoured by
the scrap-metal drives of the First World War, so it's common for
these curious bikes to be as scarce as hen's teeth.

In fact, thick-wire cantilever frames were widespread. Sharp's
"Bicycle & Tricycles" shows a dozen or so bizarre designs in its frame
chapter, with tensioned wires replacing down tubes and chain stays.

But even the lavish use of normal tubing is no guarantee of a
normal-looking bicycle, as the Dursley-Pedersen demonstrates:

http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/originals/various_img/1906_1/dursley1906a_big.jpg

The D-P is sorta-kinda a pre-Moulton.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

(Király) said:

Quoted message said:

The brake lever shows that the photo is not reversed--all spoon

brakes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

were on the right.

The _drive_ is on the wrong side, meaning the chain.

Oops! Now I feel silly for not noticing that. 🙂

Dear K,

To be fair, the monster spoon-brake lever on the right is what catches
the viewer's attention in that picture, not the sprocket.

I felt considerably sillier recently--I must have seen spoon brake
levers before in various books, but somehow I never really noticed
them until James Thomson posted a link to this picture:

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

The actual spoons are small and hidden behind the enormous tires, so I
was baffled by the enormous levers. Kinder and better-informed RBT
regulars had to explain the obvious to me.

I don't know why the spoon brake levers are always on the right, but
it seems to be a rigid custom. Maybe someone will find a picture
showing a left-hand spoon brake lever, but I'll want to check the
buttons on any clothes in the photograph, lest it be a reversed
photograph like the famous one of Billy the Kid.

It may be just a matter of the right hand usually being stronger and
the huge but primitive brake demanding a python-like squeeze to
produce any results. Despite the giant lever, the spoon just presses
down on the top of the tire, unlike modern pads pushing toward each
other from the side.

I long to sneak a push-down spoon brake into either a wheel-ejection
thread or else introduce the monster levers into a debate about
handlebars fatiguing.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

It looks like Fräulein Mitzi (second from the right) has what might be the
earliest knobbies....

Chas.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://oldroads.com/pqdb_img.asp?p=fdbdown.asp?707&mod=&mak=Ivel

"This is an 1887 cross frame Ivel bicycle. Built in Biggleswade
England, by Dan Albone.Owner is Ian Verrall of Waihi, New Zealand.
There are only 6 of these left world wide."

No, the photo isn't reversed--the monster spoon brake lever is on the
normal right-hand side.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Dear David,

Curiously, Ivel was the British bicycle equivalent of Lamborghini. The
company was more famous for its sturdy turn-of-the-century tractors
than its exotic bicycles:

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp

The Ivel's inventor, Dan Albone, was penalized for the scandalous use
of illegal high-tech equipment in a bicycle race:

"In 1890 Dan was penalised 46 m (50 yards) for using a cycle with
pneumatic tyres in a half mile open race."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Albone

Such desperate characters might well rely on fragile bike designs that
didn't last long!

Actually, production runs were limited and many bikes were devoured by
the scrap-metal drives of the First World War, so it's common for
these curious bikes to be as scarce as hen's teeth.

In fact, thick-wire cantilever frames were widespread. Sharp's
"Bicycle & Tricycles" shows a dozen or so bizarre designs in its frame
chapter, with tensioned wires replacing down tubes and chain stays.

But even the lavish use of normal tubing is no guarantee of a
normal-looking bicycle, as the Dursley-Pedersen demonstrates:

http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/originals/various_img/1906_1/dursley1906a_big.jpg

Quoted message said:

The D-P is sorta-kinda a pre-Moulton.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

One slip and you're in deep trouble....

Chas.

Quoted message said:

http://oldroads.com/pqdb_img.asp?p=fdbdown.asp?707&mod=&mak=Ivel

"This is an 1887 cross frame Ivel bicycle. Built in Biggleswade
England, by Dan Albone.Owner is Ian Verrall of Waihi, New Zealand.
There are only 6 of these left world wide."

No, the photo isn't reversed--the monster spoon brake lever is on the
normal right-hand side.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

OF COURSE Sheldon's got something relevant in his garage:

http://sheldonbrown.org/gunnar/index.html