Oppy's Nullabor Bike

User avatar
HappyHumber
Posts: 5072
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 11:48 pm
Location: Perth, (S.o.R.) W.A.

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby HappyHumber » Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:51 pm

uart wrote:Was it really stop and do it manually?
I'm sure with the right technique it was doable by foot whilst in motion. Much like shifting without indexing or 'clipping in' to traditional toe clipped pedals are a dying art for a lot of people these days.

You have to remember this bike was a pretty specific, customised build for a very experienced rider performing a pretty unique riding feat. This isn't what you'd call a regular consumer type set up for its day.
--
Hit me up via the BNA dm; I'll get an alert. If y'know, you know.

User avatar
hiflange
Posts: 1938
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 9:27 pm
Location: Perth
Contact:

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby hiflange » Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:56 pm

No, just push it over with your fingers. I guess you could try with your foot, but my guess is fingers

User avatar
uart
Posts: 3208
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2016 9:15 pm
Location: Newcastle

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby uart » Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:12 pm

HappyHumber wrote: Much like shifting without indexing or 'clipping in' to traditional toe clipped pedals are a dying art for a lot of people these days.
I do both of those things (shift without indexing and riding with traditional toe clips) on a weekly basis, but I still find the idea of manually shifting the chain while in motion a whole other level of difficulty. :)
RobertFrith wrote:No, just push it over with your fingers. I guess you could try with your foot, but my guess is fingers
While in motion or while stopped?
Last edited by uart on Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
hiflange
Posts: 1938
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 9:27 pm
Location: Perth
Contact:

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby hiflange » Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:27 pm

In motion would be fine I reckon. I'm sure I'm not alone in manually restoring the chain to one or other of the front rings following an over shift.

User avatar
HappyHumber
Posts: 5072
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 11:48 pm
Location: Perth, (S.o.R.) W.A.

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby HappyHumber » Thu Jul 20, 2017 9:32 pm

there's a maximum of 3 teeth difference between these rings. It's nowhere near as mammoth a shift of 16 teeth on 50-34 typical modern compact.
--
Hit me up via the BNA dm; I'll get an alert. If y'know, you know.

zebee
Posts: 1020
Joined: Sun Nov 10, 2013 8:37 am

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby zebee » Fri Jul 21, 2017 8:42 pm

There are bods on the Brompton mailing list with manual change front rings as Brommies only come with a single ring.

They tend to use a stick picked up at the last stop and shoved in a pocket.

User avatar
WyvernRH
Posts: 3179
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:41 pm
Location: Newcastle NSW

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby WyvernRH » Fri Jul 21, 2017 10:28 pm

uart wrote:Cool old bike, but at the risk of sounding really stoopid I've gotta ask one question. How the heck did you change chainrings without a front derailleur. Was it really stop and do it manually?
Ah, I can answer this one... No front derailleur was common on two front ring setups for pre-WWII French Cyclotouriste riders or 'constructour' builders. Saves weight you know... also front derailleurs of the period were not that effective and were mostly manually activated by levers directly attached to the front derailleur.
As I understand it you used your fingers or your heel for the down change and fingers for the up-change. It was said you could tell a 'real' mountain tourist by the lack of of finger above the top joint on his(her) first two fingers :P Lesser souls used a stick or a special metal 'gear stick' to lift the chain up onto the big ring. This was of course with a much bigger ring differences than we see with this 'Oppy' bike.

Richard

User avatar
uart
Posts: 3208
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2016 9:15 pm
Location: Newcastle

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby uart » Sat Jul 22, 2017 1:48 pm

WyvernRH wrote: Ah, I can answer this one... No front derailleur was common on two front ring setups for pre-WWII French Cyclotouriste riders or 'constructour' builders. Saves weight you know... also front derailleurs of the period were not that effective and were mostly manually activated by levers directly attached to the front derailleur.
As I understand it you used your fingers or your heel for the down change and fingers for the up-change.
Thanks Richard, those are some interesting insights.

I've seen photos of the very early front ones where there is basically just a lever (no cable) that directly pivots the derailleur manually. From memory the ones I've seen are basically just a lever that ends down near the seat tube, roughly where the bottom of a seat tube mounted bidon would go these days.

It's funny that when I'm out riding one of my old bikes other cyclists often comment on how difficult it must be for me to change gears with my old school down tube levers. I wonder what they would think if they saw those earlier (and much more difficult) incarnations. :)

BTW. The thing that surprised me so much on that Oppy bike is the very small tooth difference between the two rings. Don't get me wrong, I've ridden setups like that and I understand their usage. Back in the day of 5 (or less) gears on the rear cluster it was common to get the "range" from the rear cluster and just use the front for "half step" style fine tuning. It just seems weird to have a half step (which you're basically using on every shift) in an arrangement that's so difficult to shift. In a "dual range" type setup, where you only occasionally have to shift between high and low ranges, then I could better understand.
Last edited by uart on Sat Jul 22, 2017 5:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
hiflange
Posts: 1938
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 9:27 pm
Location: Perth
Contact:

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby hiflange » Sat Jul 22, 2017 5:29 pm

uart wrote: I've seen photos of the very early front ones where there is basically just a lever (no cable) that directly pivots the derailleur manually
Rod changers or "clangers" like this;
Image
There were certainly a number of front derailleurs available in 1939, and having ridden and competed in France Oppy would have been aware of them - the Cyclo Oppy RD is named for him after all. It must surely have been a choice to do without one on this bike.

User avatar
uart
Posts: 3208
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2016 9:15 pm
Location: Newcastle

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby uart » Sat Jul 22, 2017 5:48 pm

RobertFrith wrote: Rod changers or "clangers" like this;
Yeah that's exactly the type I was thinking of Robert. :)

Now I would have thought those old things would have been awkward enough, but lifting the chain manually with your fingers while riding, that's a whole different level of awkward. ;)

User avatar
WyvernRH
Posts: 3179
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 6:41 pm
Location: Newcastle NSW

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby WyvernRH » Sat Jul 22, 2017 6:53 pm

uart wrote:
RobertFrith wrote: Rod changers or "clangers" like this;
Yeah that's exactly the type I was thinking of Robert. :)

Now I would have thought those old things would have been awkward enough, but lifting the chain manually with your fingers while riding, that's a whole different level of awkward. ;)
First version of Campag front derailleur (this was post WWII but simular to the 'Le Chat' pre-war front derailleur). On the workstand it works fine on a close racing chainring setup like this. On the road I am just not flexible enough to reach down to the lever safely and wander all over the road whilst reaching down to the lever. No idea how they did this when racing the TDF!

Image

Richard

User avatar
hartleymartin
Posts: 5153
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2009 6:56 pm
Location: Fairfield, NSW

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby hartleymartin » Tue Oct 24, 2017 2:53 am

uart wrote:BTW. The thing that surprised me so much on that Oppy bike is the very small tooth difference between the two rings. Don't get me wrong, I've ridden setups like that and I understand their usage. Back in the day of 5 (or less) gears on the rear cluster it was common to get the "range" from the rear cluster and just use the front for "half step" style fine tuning. It just seems weird to have a half step (which you're basically using on every shift) in an arrangement that's so difficult to shift. In a "dual range" type setup, where you only occasionally have to shift between high and low ranges, then I could better understand.

I've been riding with 48/44/28 chainrings on a 14/17/20/24/28/32 6-speed freewheel for several years now. In practice, you don't shift the chainrings that often. You use the rear derailleur to get close up to about the gear you want and then shift up to the large rings if you want a slightly higher gear. Then, if you encounter a slight change in the gradient, you might shift back to the 2nd ring. You get more perspective on how gears were once used when you come to this after riding some years on a 3-speed Sturmey-Archer hub.
Martin Christopher Hartley

http://raleightwenty.webs.com - the top web resource for the Raleigh Twenty

User avatar
singlespeedscott
Posts: 5510
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
Location: Elimbah, Queensland

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby singlespeedscott » Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:03 am

So have we got anymore photos and info on this bike yet? I am particularly interested in the tyres. What size are they, 38mm or so?
Image

User avatar
hiflange
Posts: 1938
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 9:27 pm
Location: Perth
Contact:

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby hiflange » Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:56 pm

Got a bunch of photos. I'll put a few up. I've been holding off until we got the story bit more complete... stash of negs to scan, we're hoping there might be an Oppy pic in amongst them!

User avatar
ColinOldnCranky
Posts: 6734
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 4:58 pm

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Wed Aug 01, 2018 12:13 am

Cottered cranks too. They were fine enough in doing their job in the day. But, with the uneven and substantial and varying forces on the cranks over the distance on such a cruddy track, he would have gone thru a few spares.
Unchain yourself-Ride a unicycle

bicyclepassion
Posts: 720
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 1:38 pm

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike

Postby bicyclepassion » Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:32 pm

If the cotter pins were put in by a skilled and experienced mechanic, there is absolutely no reason why they would need any attention throughout that journey. Rough roads and power output of the rider don't make any difference if they are fitted properly.

User avatar
hiflange
Posts: 1938
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 9:27 pm
Location: Perth
Contact:

Re: Oppy's Nullabor Bike(s)

Postby hiflange » Sun Jun 25, 2023 1:00 am

This has been a long time coming...

Back in 2017 Happy Humber and I photographed the bikes donated at the conclusion of Oppy's trans continental ride. One to the WA Museum by Bruce Small and the second given to Aub Melrose (navigator, mechanic and driver of the crossing support crew), either by Oppy, who remained a lifelong friend of Aub's, or by Small.

WA Museum Bike
Private Collection Bike

HappyHumber and I finally made another visit to the keeper of the Melrose flame today. Melrose was also a keen photographer and after wading through literally hundreds of black and white negatives we struck gold - three processed but uncut rolls of 120 film with images from the Oppy crossing. There is some remarkable material in those rolls, but a few other treasures besides - photos from the 'Tandem Girls' crossing of 1938, as well as short handwritten and typed recollections and a letter from Oppy to Aub Melrose.

All in all a lot to digest. WAHCC members are currently working on an exhibition about cycle crossings which will run from October 2023 to January 2024 at the Museum of Perth.

If anyone here has photos or ephemera that could be of interest for the exhibition please let me know. We have a lot of display cases to fill. Loans would be great but we're happy to work with good quality facsimiles of documents and photographs if you can't bear to part with originals.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazon [Bot]