Post by sprockit on Oct 9, 2015 1:21:54 GMT
A number of forum members participated, earlier this year, in l'Eroica Britannia, an event for 'heroic bicycles' - machines which had to have been built before 1987, have steel frames, downtube gear shifters (not index!), brake cables which arced gracefully over the handlebars, and pedals equipped with toe straps. Most were racing bikes with drop handlebars and varying degrees of mudguard protection. Some displayed true vintage, whilst many others had been built specially for the event and polished to the 'n'th degree to glint and dazzle should the tiniest ray of sunshine fall upon the chrome or alloy.
The event itself was brilliant vintage, but what was the certain thing that made it heroic - the course, the rider, the distance, the bicycle? The course varied from good tarmac roads to rough gravel byways, from tiring climbs to long sweeping descents such as that into Hartington that seemed to go on and on, to trails along former railway lines which included lit tunnels. Riders came in all shapes, sizes, ages and levels of fitness - ladies as well! Distance to suit one's level of fitness, or vice-versa, but don't overdo it.
Bicycles ranged from proper vintage to mock vintage, to the heart-flutteringly romantic picnic hamper-equipped tandem which I passed, fell behind, and re-passed a number of times on the climb up out of Cromford, to racers, and to others built specially for the event, with 'competitors' putting finishing touches to them the previous day, many of which I feel will re-appear next year with different components.
The course is the type of challenge where you can set the bar to a height to suit yourself, This rider hasn't done much in the way of 25+ mile rides, so set the bar at a medium height. I'll be late- rather than mid-fifties if I enter again next year, but found the 55 mile course a relatively easy challenge this year, so may opt for the 100 miler. The bicycle: mine will be relatively bog standard original; many used this year will have been cleaned, stripped, rebuilt and lovingly polished in time for next year's event - in effect, a brand new 'heroic' bicycle.
But, Ladies and Gentlemen, I beg to differ in my definition of the term - THIS is MY heroic bicycle:
It's my daily ride-to-work bike, a BSA, old English three speed, originally built, using the hub gear to date it, in 1964, but my LBS thinks the frame may be older. It gets hammered, twelve miles a day come rain or shine, splashing through the puddles on a rough and often muddy canal towpath. It doesn't get much in the way of TLC - it's lucky if it gets cleaned once a month, and if it gets polished once a year it's even luckier! It does get regularly lubricated - chain, rear hub gear, and the front Dynohub has an oiling hole. Frame is 21 inch. Gearing is 48t-21t direct drive (2nd gear), with the Sturmey Archer AW hub gear giving a 25% reduction in first, and a 33.33% increase in third. I still have the original BSA chainring, and the original gearing was 48t-18t - they made 'em tough back then! The frames on my Viscounts resonate when I hit a bump, but on the BSA there's just a crash like dropping a bag of broken glass! I've had and enjoyed this bike since 1993, and it's pictured at the halfway point on my commute (in the home direction!).
It's stand-in is this one:
a Raleigh-built Triumph Twenty (folding version) from 1979. It's a great little bike, pictured at the site of what was Liversedge Central railway station, between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike, on what is now the Spen Valley Greenway.
However, I've been looking for something like this for a while, and recently, wha hae . . .
this popped up on eBay, and I acquired it for the princely sum of £26 ($40 US, $55 Aussies). It's about as far removed as you can get from the Aerospace models - I wanted an old English three speed Viscount, and that's just what I got! No frills, and just about as basic a model that Viscount produced.
Drive side
Non-drive side
Drivetrain
Standard gearing on this Viscount is 46t-19t, giving precisely the same gearing as on my geared-down BSA
Sturmey Archer AW 3-speed hub gear is date stamped June 1979 . . .
. . . and dates the bike to probably August or September of that year
Unusual rear chainguard attachment
it's normally a clip around the seat stay
Weinmann calipers, front
and rear
Union pedals
show many years of hard use
Transfers (decals)
Another view
Note the dry stone wall built from the local rock, Millstone Grit, and most of the grass in the picture is a variety with the name Yorkshire Fog!
A bike ride in the countryside
The standing stone stands some 12 feet high (3.5 metres) and is the tallest in West Yorkshire. It's one of a group of 4 or 5 (one has fallen and another has disappeared!) and they are virtually unknown to even local people because the road is a dead end. The horizon marks the Yorkshire/Lancashire border.
I've had some rides on my 'racing' Viscounts that have seemed epic for one reason or another - long rides in the dark, long climbs, lots of short climbs, or just because I've thoroughly enjoyed the ride: and yet for all that emotional interaction with them, I don't regard them as heroic.
My BSA, on the other hand, is my daily commuting bike, and as previously mentioned, gets battled through the puddles on rough muddy canal towpaths. It's flat handlebars make it my usual bike of choice if I am, or am likely, to be out riding in darkness. It doesn't get much in the way of cleaning or polishing, but is lubricated as and when needed.
The Triumph is a decent stand-in for the BSA, and has the added quality of being a very sturdy vintage folding bike, and it's small size makes it very useful for travelling on trains. It's also ace for my occasional commute through the streets of city-centre Manchester. I bought it from a local bike recycling centre.
The Viscount Metro 3 is at the other end of the scale from the Aerospace models. I like the simplicity of three speed bikes, and it's a no-nonsense, no frills, basic model. It's not quite as good as the BSA as the bottom bracket is lower, and the pedals ground quite easily whilst cornering. This particular one needs sorting. It's relatively rust free, but needs dismantling and cleaning. Something is also amiss in the geometry department, as the bike pulls quite noticeably to one side, and is impossible to ride no-hands as the front wheel tracks away to the right. Maybe it's been in some sort of accident which has twisted the frame or forks, I don't know.
What I do know is that so many thousands of neglected bicycles rusting in sheds, locked outdoors to fences, railings, lamp posts and other immovable objects, given a few strategic drops of oil and some air in the tyres, can and will serve their owners and users well, giving years of exemplary service, despite the lack of tender loving care, whilst the pedals on my Metro 3 bear testimony to long and hard use.
These, to me, are the bicycles that can be described as truly heroic.
The event itself was brilliant vintage, but what was the certain thing that made it heroic - the course, the rider, the distance, the bicycle? The course varied from good tarmac roads to rough gravel byways, from tiring climbs to long sweeping descents such as that into Hartington that seemed to go on and on, to trails along former railway lines which included lit tunnels. Riders came in all shapes, sizes, ages and levels of fitness - ladies as well! Distance to suit one's level of fitness, or vice-versa, but don't overdo it.
Bicycles ranged from proper vintage to mock vintage, to the heart-flutteringly romantic picnic hamper-equipped tandem which I passed, fell behind, and re-passed a number of times on the climb up out of Cromford, to racers, and to others built specially for the event, with 'competitors' putting finishing touches to them the previous day, many of which I feel will re-appear next year with different components.
The course is the type of challenge where you can set the bar to a height to suit yourself, This rider hasn't done much in the way of 25+ mile rides, so set the bar at a medium height. I'll be late- rather than mid-fifties if I enter again next year, but found the 55 mile course a relatively easy challenge this year, so may opt for the 100 miler. The bicycle: mine will be relatively bog standard original; many used this year will have been cleaned, stripped, rebuilt and lovingly polished in time for next year's event - in effect, a brand new 'heroic' bicycle.
But, Ladies and Gentlemen, I beg to differ in my definition of the term - THIS is MY heroic bicycle:
It's my daily ride-to-work bike, a BSA, old English three speed, originally built, using the hub gear to date it, in 1964, but my LBS thinks the frame may be older. It gets hammered, twelve miles a day come rain or shine, splashing through the puddles on a rough and often muddy canal towpath. It doesn't get much in the way of TLC - it's lucky if it gets cleaned once a month, and if it gets polished once a year it's even luckier! It does get regularly lubricated - chain, rear hub gear, and the front Dynohub has an oiling hole. Frame is 21 inch. Gearing is 48t-21t direct drive (2nd gear), with the Sturmey Archer AW hub gear giving a 25% reduction in first, and a 33.33% increase in third. I still have the original BSA chainring, and the original gearing was 48t-18t - they made 'em tough back then! The frames on my Viscounts resonate when I hit a bump, but on the BSA there's just a crash like dropping a bag of broken glass! I've had and enjoyed this bike since 1993, and it's pictured at the halfway point on my commute (in the home direction!).
It's stand-in is this one:
a Raleigh-built Triumph Twenty (folding version) from 1979. It's a great little bike, pictured at the site of what was Liversedge Central railway station, between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike, on what is now the Spen Valley Greenway.
However, I've been looking for something like this for a while, and recently, wha hae . . .
this popped up on eBay, and I acquired it for the princely sum of £26 ($40 US, $55 Aussies). It's about as far removed as you can get from the Aerospace models - I wanted an old English three speed Viscount, and that's just what I got! No frills, and just about as basic a model that Viscount produced.
Drive side
Non-drive side
Drivetrain
Standard gearing on this Viscount is 46t-19t, giving precisely the same gearing as on my geared-down BSA
Sturmey Archer AW 3-speed hub gear is date stamped June 1979 . . .
. . . and dates the bike to probably August or September of that year
Unusual rear chainguard attachment
it's normally a clip around the seat stay
Weinmann calipers, front
and rear
Union pedals
show many years of hard use
Transfers (decals)
Another view
Note the dry stone wall built from the local rock, Millstone Grit, and most of the grass in the picture is a variety with the name Yorkshire Fog!
A bike ride in the countryside
The standing stone stands some 12 feet high (3.5 metres) and is the tallest in West Yorkshire. It's one of a group of 4 or 5 (one has fallen and another has disappeared!) and they are virtually unknown to even local people because the road is a dead end. The horizon marks the Yorkshire/Lancashire border.
I've had some rides on my 'racing' Viscounts that have seemed epic for one reason or another - long rides in the dark, long climbs, lots of short climbs, or just because I've thoroughly enjoyed the ride: and yet for all that emotional interaction with them, I don't regard them as heroic.
My BSA, on the other hand, is my daily commuting bike, and as previously mentioned, gets battled through the puddles on rough muddy canal towpaths. It's flat handlebars make it my usual bike of choice if I am, or am likely, to be out riding in darkness. It doesn't get much in the way of cleaning or polishing, but is lubricated as and when needed.
The Triumph is a decent stand-in for the BSA, and has the added quality of being a very sturdy vintage folding bike, and it's small size makes it very useful for travelling on trains. It's also ace for my occasional commute through the streets of city-centre Manchester. I bought it from a local bike recycling centre.
The Viscount Metro 3 is at the other end of the scale from the Aerospace models. I like the simplicity of three speed bikes, and it's a no-nonsense, no frills, basic model. It's not quite as good as the BSA as the bottom bracket is lower, and the pedals ground quite easily whilst cornering. This particular one needs sorting. It's relatively rust free, but needs dismantling and cleaning. Something is also amiss in the geometry department, as the bike pulls quite noticeably to one side, and is impossible to ride no-hands as the front wheel tracks away to the right. Maybe it's been in some sort of accident which has twisted the frame or forks, I don't know.
What I do know is that so many thousands of neglected bicycles rusting in sheds, locked outdoors to fences, railings, lamp posts and other immovable objects, given a few strategic drops of oil and some air in the tyres, can and will serve their owners and users well, giving years of exemplary service, despite the lack of tender loving care, whilst the pedals on my Metro 3 bear testimony to long and hard use.
These, to me, are the bicycles that can be described as truly heroic.
