Bicycle Luggage 2 – Sologne Fishing Creel on 1946 Porteur Bicycle

As well as bicycle luggage, the Sologne Company made a range of other quality items. Not strictly for bicycles but ideal for the Porteur front rack, this is their fishing bag or creel, probably dating from the 1950′s/1960′s. Formed around the basket is a ‘jacket’ of leather-edged canvas, secured to the basket by leather straps. The hole in the top is to feed in the fish you have caught. There is a removable canvas strap. It is very light indeed and, being particularly large in size for a creel, there is plenty of space inside for other uses… I regularly use it for the post office run. More pictures of the porteur here.

The Wall of Death… on a bicycle!

My friend Rob recently alerted me to this short film by Benedict Campbell about the Ken Fox Troupe who are one of the few remaining Wall of Death acts. This film is a thing of beauty, every frame being exquisitely shot. It really conveys the atmosphere of this extraordinary performance, but also captures the personalities of the people involved. Of course, that is the motorcycle version of this act…. It reminded me that there were also bicycle versions of this dangerous entertainment. These included Barnum and Bailey’s Kinetic Demon of 1903, where the small diameter wooden track was at a full ninety degrees to the ground. The track was made of quite widely spaced vertical slats so that it could be viewed from ground level through the slats, rather than from above as in the motorcycle versions. Sometimes, for even greater dramatic effect and danger, the banked track was even suspended in mid air. Pictured here is the fantastic poster, surely one of the finest images ever of a cycling subject, for The 7 Wild Wheel Whirl Wonders. Between two and seven of these male and female cyclists raced around a 70 degree banked track 5 feet in height and just 20 feet in diameter! They were part of Forepaugh and Sells Brothers American circus of around 1905. Their acts also included the Diavolo, where cyclists, for some inexplicable reason dressed as devils, would charge down a steep ramp and then loop the loop around a wooden construction, whilst Barnum and Bailey featured a similar act where there was a large gap in the top of the loop – thus Looping the Gap! Unsurprisingly, injuries and even deaths were not uncommon. What a sight these performances must have been….

I was unable to find the source of the great image above. It was found in this excellent article about Looping the Loop

French Bicycle Luggage 1 – Panniers – Lafuma, Sologne, Berthoud

It’s always good to have luggage the fits the age and style of the bicycle… In this case the French touring bicycle. Below are examples of small panniers from three French makers, from different periods – Lafuma, Sologne and Berthoud. The Lafuma examples are the earliest, dating from the 1950′s/60′s, whilst the Sologne items were supplied new with an Alex Singer bicycle in 1970 and hardly used. The Berthoud pannier is new. Berthoud bought the Sologne brand many years ago and continues to make a range of their products today, largely to the old patterns, but brought up to date with modern attachments.

There has been much debate elsewhere about the quality of Berthoud items in comparison with the original Sologne pieces, and indeed I would agree that the finest bags pictured here are the Sologne ones, but one has to remember that as well as the problems of finding skilled workers today to make these items, the materials change over the years too. The leather used by Berthoud is not as good as the Sologne bags, whilst the canvas is much the same high quality. The backing boards on the Berthoud bags are also robust, probably better than Sologne. The plastic Rixen and Kaul attachments, which adapt to virtually any rack, are ugly and obtrusive but the latest versions of these work well in practice. Previous R & K fittings had design problems, were fiddly to adjust, and often broke. The point about the Berthoud items is that for the price, they are really a very fine quality item, and are well suited to a stylish modern bicycle. They also age nicely, the canvas fades a bit and they acquire ‘patina’. If you want the exceptional quality it comes at a price – Check out the beautiful items made by Shoichi Watanabe.

Lafuma comes third in my reckoning. Thinner canvas, cheapish quality leather and lightweight rivets and fittings, characterise these offerings. On all of the ones that I’ve seen, the backing boards distort badly and are not waterproof. Rather than the functional spring anchor on the reverse of the Sologne bag, there is a crude leather tie to secure the pannier to the rack – fiddly and not very secure. Nonetheless they look ‘correct’ and function reasonably on a period machine where they are likely to encounter only light use.

In later posts I will take a look at French handlebar bags and early cycling luggage.

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Bates of London in restoration – Classic Lugwork c.1949 – Pregnant tubes and wonky forks…

Generally I try to avoid ‘restoring’ bicycles. I much prefer to find original examples and then set about conserving their features. I will never re-paint a bike which has original transfers and most of its original enamel. I believe these should be preserved at all costs. Modern transfers rarely look like like the original ones and bikes that have been refinished usually shout ‘look at me I’m nice and shiny!!’, which personally I don’t want. This frame was painted in a modern hideous shade of lilac metallic, and had a mixture of Bates transfers, some saying ‘Bates of London’, and others ‘Bates of Westcliff on Sea’! In 1949 Bates were situated in London, before their move to Westcliff, and the company was run by Horace Bates. They were famous for their distinctive frames and unusual fork design. The main tubes were of Cantiflex tubing made for them by Reynolds, being standard diameter at the ends but 5-6mm bulged in the middle… leading to their nickname of ‘pregnant’ tubes. The fork had the unique Diadrant double bend, making the bikes easily recognizable during racing in an era where for some years advertising bike names on the machines was banned.

Currently in the process of restoration, here are some details of the lugwork on a c.1949 Volante road/track frame. The lugwork is nicely presented and you can see the evidence of extensive filing and finishing. It can be noted that there are imperfections, but these are filled by the enamel finish. This bike, being a road path machine, has mudguard clearance, Chater Lea track ends, and twin plate fork crown with round fork blades. The chrome to head, forks and rear ends is original. I’ll be distressing the new paintwork so that it doesn’t look too loud… Watch this space for further progress.

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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

1. 1947 Alex Singer in the snow last February and 2. Cartoon from 1896 issue of ‘Cycling’ magazine.

Robergel Trois Étoiles Spokes

Robergel were located in Perruel, on the river Eure, not far from Rouen. They made the nicest and best quality spokes that I have ever seen…. Trois Étoiles, or three stars. The quality of these extra light stainless items is superb. The transition from thinner gauge to thicker is very smooth, where they are butted at both ends. It’s no wonder that Herse and Singer both used their ‘rayons’ as far back as the 1940′s. On the head you will find either a three pointed ‘star’ or an ‘E’. The packaging is beautiful too, being a triangular carton on which they are claimed to be ‘pratiquement incassable’ – practically unbreakable – and ‘absolument inrouillables’ – completely rustless. Even the nipples were contained in a little triangular box. I remember the late Neville March, the collector of wonderful French bicycles of the ‘Golden Age’, telling me that he had never broken a Trois Étoiles spoke during the disassembly of numerous wheels. I recently acquired a stock of various lengths which should enable a number of French touring bicycles to be restored to original specification…. Merci Patrick!

BSA Light Roadster c.1914

Finding a bicycle in this state of originality is a great rarity and exciting when it happens. With the exception of the saddle leather (replaced by me on the original frame) and tyres this machine is absolutely correct and in a remarkably fine state for nearly 100 years of age. It was supplied by the Birmingham Small Arms Company Ltd. agent G.W.Pyne of Chatsworth Road, Clapton (East London) around 1914. It is the rare and slightly unusual ‘light roadster’ configuration with a sloping ‘road racer’ style top tube but riser handlebars… A bit of a contradiction, presumably to provide a sporty looking, somewhat rakish, but nonetheless practical mount!

The black enamel and green lining is nearly complete, and the nicely preserved transfers testify to the poor quality of the available modern reproductions of the originals which are inaccurate in both design and colour. It is fitted with an Eadie coaster brake to the rear and a pull up brake to the front. All the fittings are the usual top quality BSA items, nickel plated, everything stamped with the BSA piled arms trademark, including the chain and the celluloid inflator. The wheels are beaded edge 26 x 1 1/2 inch, fitted with modern Maloya tyres as fitted to Swiss Army bikes, so thankfully still available! The final image shows an early Hutchinson beaded edge tyre fitted to the machine when I acquired it. The bicycle is light, quite highly geared at 74 inches, and a pleasure to ride. BSA’s are amongst my very favourite machines due to the superb quality of everything they made, particularly before the Great War.

It’s perhaps interesting to compare this bicycle to my somewhat ‘over restored’ BSA path racer.

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Visit to Brooks Saddle Factory

A while ago now I visited Brooks saddle factory in Birmingham. I came across my photo’s and thought I should share them with you. The process involves a considerable amount of hand work. First, the leather shape is cut from the hides of fully tanned and dyed leather. The leather is soaked in water and then pressed into shape in a hydraulic press. It is then set aside to dry. Then follows the trimming, name stamping and leather finishing work. The chamfering of the skirts on some saddles like the Brooks Professional is done by the gentleman pictured below in a deft piece of handwork, using a skirt shave. The metal saddle frames are made, formed and pressed in the factory on an assortment of wonderful old machines, in either steel or titanium. The saddle cover is riveted to the base either by machine, or by hand for the large copper rivets of some saddles. This is done by very skilful workers using a large hammer from a great height, with extraordinary accuracy! The saddle then goes of for checking and packaging. I was impressed by the skill and dexterity of the workforce, and by the individuals who keep all the old machines working by constantly maintaining them and making new parts for them in the engineering shop.

All photo’s on this blog are copyright T.Dawson and are not to be reproduced without permission.

London Social Cycling Club cap badge c.1880′s – Friendship, Freedom and Unity

Amongst my large collection of early cycling club cap badges is this gem. In the 1880′s and ’90′s most club cap badges consisted of a winged wheel somewhere in the design, and quite often they were adorned with coloured enamels. This is a very unpretentious badge with no enamel, wings or wheels. Instead we have a signpost, and on the three rungs of the fence in front of the signpost are the words Friendship, Freedom and Unity. Unusually, when I googled the club name there was just one result. This related to an article in Cycling magazine from 1887 about the launch of a lifeboat, christened ‘The Cyclist’, paid for by 6000 subscriptions from cyclists, the London Social Cycling Club being mentioned as the largest subscriber. This suggests that they were a substantial club at that time. I love the message that this badge conveys, consequently it is perhaps my favourite of such badges, eclipsing many more showy designs.

Gaidou 1970′s Mixte 650B Randonneuse

One of a pair of bicycles hand built during the 1970′s to a high standard by a little known South of France constructeur – Gaidou. The other machine is a very similar specification Gent’s model in the same colour, still owned by the person I bought this one from. I particularly like the understated look of this machine. First thing to note is the use of Super Vitus tubing, one of the lightest and best quality tube-sets around at that time. The frame uses proprietary cut-out spearpoint lugs, nicely filed, and the finishing is very high standard in all respects. Particularly pleasing is the precision scalloping of the ends of the three tubes as they join the rear dropout (see below), a classy piece of work. All the fittings are top quality too, with Huret Jubilee front and rear derailleurs, Maxicar hubs and Super Champion 650B rims, Stronglight chainset, Mafac brakes with CLB levers, Phillipe bars and Atax stem. The bicycle is light and Tomoko reports that it is a pleasure to ride in all conditions on its Grand Bois 36 mm tyres.

I would be very grateful for any information on this fine artisan maker.

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