Thread: Interesting, Odd or Funny Pics II.

My 1st bike was one of those pedal brake single speed ones, but a few years later I inherited my Dad's Peugeot racing bike after he gave up on his get fit craze, my feet couldn't touch the ground so I had to hop off the seat when stopped, it had the quick release hubs which fascinated the kids at high school, and sometimes they would fiddle with them, so I found the wheels loose a few times, once while riding when the back wheel locked up in the frame!

Not sure where to post this - I didn’t know this system existed and it’s amazing. Forget the thumbnail and the name, the first half about the medical drones in use in Rwanda today is awesome. That bit starts around the 2 minute mark.

Wow Gav. Been following Mark on and off for years, mostly for his parcel pranks and squirrels, but this one, as you say, is awesome.

My first bike I built myself from scrounging bits and pieces from the hard rubbish collection. Back in the day it was a quarterly council service.

For a while I had no tyres, just rode it on rims. A bit dodgy on the corners though and you could hear me coming for miles.

Eventually I scrounged a worn out tyre and it went on the front so I had steering.

When it came to driving the rear wheel I had the the lot at different stages. Free wheel, fixed wheel, back pedal brakes and the good old Sturmey Archer 3 speed.

Back in the day when pedaling up hills I would stand to increase pedal pressure. The Sturmey were a bit old and would sometimes under this extreme load neutralise,
causing me eye watering pain.

My parents having concerns that they might not get grandchildren if this problem persists shouted me a new Sturmey Archer 5 speed!

Unlike the 3 speed, this has two gear levers with a cable going in both sides of the hub.

Never had derailers back then. They were for the rich. We used to call these "chain gears"

[QUOTE=crash;3186729]

Originally Posted by NavyDiver

Attachment 184437
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.

That rings a bell (No pun intended, or maybe a small one) Council gangs were installing concrete gutters & overnight had left a heap of sand on the median/nature strip. Being a clever arse even then, & had just learnt to ride a treadly, "my Gang" dared me to ride over it. Guess whose front wheel dug in & who went arse up in front of the girl I was trying to impress? Well I was about 10 years olde. A complete somersault & flat on my back on the adjoining bitumen road. ****, that hurt.

I have never tried to impress a sheila by riding a bike through a heap of sand since then & have employed other subtle methods.

Originally Posted by Homestar

Not sure where to post this - I didn’t know this system existed and it’s amazing. Forget the thumbnail and the name, the first half about the medical drones in use in Rwanda today is awesome. That bit starts around the 2 minute mark.

Now, if they could only fit a Camera & a couple of Tank Busting Hellfires to it they might be onto something, until then it remains a bit Pie in the Sky.

9/10 for trying.


TiC.

I've had loads of bicycles starting with a second hand Malvern Star 3 speed Sturmey that my father got at an auction about 60 years ago. It was a ripper bike and was my ticket to wag school and go for a day out, many days out...:-) Of course that bike got pinched but I got it back albeit with a back pedal brake. Bummer.

Much later on I got a Sturmey 5 speed which was even better...:-)

From there I graduated eventually to an all singing all dancing Reynolds 531 DB frame with derailleur gears - "half step plus granny" gearing - chain rings were 24, 40, 44 and sprockets 13,16,19,23,28,34 which meant always having the right gear for the job at hand. This bike carried me many, many kilometres as a hard core touring bike which was my "daily driver" for many, many years.

Much later on I managed to get a Moulton APB S7 which had a 7 speed Sturmey hub. Like most British mechanical things it had to be perfectly adjusted, and I do mean perfectly, in order for it to work properly. Especially if I wanted to get either first or seventh gear. And of course it leaked oil. It still does.

I still have, and use, the touring bike and the Moulton.Moulton_APB_S7.jpg

This guy's stop motion model assembly vids are usually astonishing, but this is something else again..



This is my skill level..

Screenshot 2023-03-19 at 2.25.59 pm.jpg