Thy were invented WAY before that, but cost the equivalent of the National Debt, and were "forn rubbish".
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It doesn't take much imagination to work out what the something was, that you hit. :eek2:
All you flash buggers with multi ratio, deraileurs! I recall transitioning from a fixed wheel, no brakes 28" to 27" semi racer with a 3 speed Sturmey-Archer and thinking that was the pinnacle!
The first run of these came out in metallic gold and one or two other colours, in the 60's.
The three speed gear changer was like a t-bar shifter on the top chassis rail with a white plastic handle and white circular housing.
Sides of the seat were white, maybe had whitewall tyres.
The next model definitely came out with the option of a metallic purple frame, maybe metallic green and maybe red.
Seat was black, t-bar handle was black, metal lever had 3 'racing' speed holes in it and the housing was oblong black............. might also have had a needle indicator in the top, sorta like the t-bar shifter in an XD Ford. Tyres were all black.
I bought a mint original gold one for $20 in about 1974 as an investment.......... was stolen a week later.
cheers, DL
The S-A back pedal brakes were, err, interesting*... but meant you could prop your bike up on a kerb.
*especially when the chain came off[bigsad]
My first and only bike as a kid was a BSA 10 speed - My Grandmother bought me and my brother one each when we were about 7 and the bikes were bigger than us and cost a fortune apparently - I rode that into my 20’s before moving it on and did thousands of KM on it. Ah the good old days when I was fit enough to not even think about riding 20K’s each way to a friend house or work - on mains roads with no helmet. [emoji56]
My 1st bike was a Malvin Star single cog. It was my furthers from when he 1st started working & he had to ride from railway station to his work approx 10k's. When I first started riding it under bar due to its size & I couldn't reach the peddles. I rode it until I started work age 16.
I guess the 4WD made it easier to get to those drivers who quickly pulled over but misjudged the hard shoulder a bit & finished up in the ****.
Re 1950's post.
My old Dad was a Club Racing cyclist waaaaaaaaaay back, & bought a Malvern Star treadly from a Police Auction Sale.
Pleased as punch with it until the next day the local Sergeant Copper called in to re-possess it as it was on their file as Stolen. Disappointed as buggery Dad was. Might have been for the copper's kid for all he knew.
Really it turned out for the best as far as I was concerned as the horizontal bar was too thin to donkey me to his work comfortably.
The next one was a Super Elliot & built like an Abrams Tank.
Personally, l longed to own one of those British Bikes that appeared here post WW2, the Black & White jobs, BSA & Raleigh I think they were., Sturmey Archer Gears, Hub Generators, Good seats, Tool Bag, Girly Handle Bars. Wait, on an Apprentice Wage? What was I thinking? I never did, but later I bought a British LR, a '95 Discovery so was happy with that instead.:clap2::twobeers::burnrubber:
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I was riding one of these once - front wheel hit a rabbit hole and the next thing I knew I was flat on my back, bike in the air with my hands still gripping the handle bars and feet still on the pedals.
My first bike had solid rubber tyres and the chain was missing. Lucky we lived on a hill, would roll down the hill on it then push it back to the top and do it all over again.
The buying experience with push bikes has certainly changed
My brother and I received push bikes one Christmas. Both second hand mine a Malvern Star brother a Raleigh. Neither had multiple gears just peddle power. New bikes were too expensive and that was with a relative who owned a bike shop
Big adventure was when off in the bush and found a safe that had been opened with a gas axe. Got to ride in the police car to show them what we had found
Bikes for my kids were new from a recognized brand and semi off road with shock forks and 10 gears. Price was about the same as going out for a family meal.