Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

With all the excitement going on about re-configuring bikes I got swept up & decided that with a new 1936 model Carbine Roadster coming along, it was time to get racey.

So, .... after riding the old bush bike around town for a while I decided to revert it back to its origins. Fortunately this was easy & cheap & a racer is reborn.

By simply rolling the bars to their original position, substituting a lightweight racing saddle for the old comfy chair, removing that unatractive luggage rack & she's back into performance mode.
I'll ditch those heavy Dunlop thornproof tyres soon & fit some lovely lightweight roadster ones, then a little bit of cotton bar-tape & we're ready to go night racing. By using the latest development in water fueled lighting technology I can now see arms lengths ahead. No batteries going flat here, & the suspension saddle does away with the need for complicated, heavy & expensive suspension units when riding these country roads round here.
By using a high tech skip tooth roller chain transmission, frictional losses are kept to a minimum too.

That's the key to a successfull design, ... simplicity.
I'll take 'er for a spin tomorrow & see how she handles.

Actually I was surprised to discover that the seat pin is a Number 4 size, which translates to 26.8mm & sure enough my 26.8mm 3ttt seat post slips right in without any sign of tightness. This tends to confirm the view from two sources that it was indeed originally built as a road racer.
Anybody got some 28" wooden rims? [Yes, I'm serious]

If this works out I will just have to get the fork ends & half the rear triangle re-nickled & give 'er a lick o' paint to tart the ole girl up a bit.
Yes, nickle plating because chrome plating wasn't invented untill 1928 & this was on the road long before then.

Yer a real bugger, you know that? (I'd like to admit that I admire some of the things you come up with but ... )

Wooden rims. You can buy them new. I can't remember the link but they are available if you're silly enough.

Cotton bar tape? Where do you get that from? Much as I like the modern, thick, padded stuff, there've been a couple of jobs where I've yearned for the old stuff.

Cotter pins. There have been some 'improvements' that have proven to be merely different. Getting rid of cotter pins is NOT one of them. I don't miss the sodding things a bit (and my Road Chief came with cotter pins ... though she wears a sensible square taper crank spindle now )

Richard

Where's your pioneering spirit. Nothing wrong with simple, low cost cotter pin technology. You just need a workbench, a file, a vyce, a BBH [bleedin' big hammer] some drifts, an anvil, a few carefully selected swear words & the patience of Job. No problem. Some inexpensive spare cotters & you have the complete crankset workshop.
Square taper cranks? Pffft. Tools of Satan they are. Just a marketing ploy to get you to pay more. Good old blacksmith technology, ... that's what gets you home safely.

Wood rims were regarded as being light, but I occasionally think, lighter than what? The rolled edge Westwood rim of the day was a marvel in strength to weight ratio & I would like to use the wood rims only because of the lovely appearance that they impart.
It was really only in the late 20's[?] when wood rims & singles were invented for board tracks that truly light wheels came into being.

I hope that you noted the integrated stick holder in the horizontal part of the seat pin. Wonderfull safety feature that.

Cotton tape? Have a look in Spotlight stores. I got some white tape there about 15 years ago. I also got some "Off 'N On Glue" I haven't tried it yet but it seems to be like the glue on a 'Stick It' notepad. It works with cotton, wood, glass & plastic, so sticking a length of cotton tape on a chromed bar shouldn't be a real problem.

europa wrote:Cotton bar tape? Where do you get that from?

Alan Summer
819 New Canterbury rd, Hurlstone Park, Sydney, NSW
02 9558 2424

(No internet or email)

Kid Carbine

Another old machine saved from landfill. Inch pitch chain and sprockets and set wheel as they were called before they changed to fixed wheel. Miller carbide bicycle lamp. Thanks for sharing it.
I couldn't post the URL correctly, but if you search the name of the lamp you will see some images of Miller Bicycle lamps.
oldtimer

oldtimer wrote:Kid Carbine

Another old machine saved from landfill. Inch pitch chain and sprockets and set wheel as they were called before they changed to fixed wheel. Miller carbide bicycle lamp. Thanks for sharing it.
I couldn't post the URL correctly, but if you search the name of the lamp you will see some images of Miller Bicycle lamps.
oldtimer

http://home.websolutionswa.com/lamps/miller.html

I read in a recent Ride Magazine article when they were talking about the 1926 Malvern Star ridden by Les Einseidel in the Melbourne to Warnambool race, that he used wood rims as they were lighter than the steel rims at the time.

The other noteworthy thing was the tyre had "Inflate Hard" as there were no pressure gauges, and the problem was that if inflated too hard, the rims would split !!!!

Can't wait to see it done with a spit & polish !!

Michael

We might be waiting a while to see it finished as I have at least 5 other machines in front of it in the restoration que with three being done together, besides, it's fun to ride [over short distances] & will hopefully help me restore some physical fitness to my weary & aging body.

Many of the early wood rims for 28" tyres had a steel liner that rolled over the rim's edge, so it would be difficult to split one of those, but without it, & a line of perforations around the rim [spoke holes] I can see that it could be possible in some instances.

Oldtimer

I didn't know about the term 'set wheel' before but will use it henceforth. I certainly like the sound of it more than that girlie term 'fix-ie'

The lamp is in fact a Riemanns "Phaenomen" [Yes, the spelling is correct] & the lamp looks to be a little more flash than the ones depicted on the Miller site. [Thanks Mike]
This is followed by the letters E. R. CH. G. If anyone knows what it means I would be most pleasd to hear from you.

Oh yeah, if anyone has an identifiable Brooks B10 or pre war B18 in ANY condition, I would be glad to hear from you too.
E-mail link is at the bottom of this post.