Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Weltrad German Bikes? Check out this photo.

Check out this bike. i just came across it on the internet. Does anyone read german? I was wondering if this bike is currently for sale, etc.

Here is the site : http://www.weltrad.de/index.php?cat=halbrenner&sid=0561c6ff55fd116f78e2b63e6f3ede1c/40481

i can barely get by with german. i do think it's for sale, but you have to contact them for the price

babelfish translates that last line to
"Price and equipment on request"

Does anyone read german? I was wondering if this bike is currently for sale, etc.


I will just translate the second half of the text, the first half ist just blahblah aubout what a style-statement this bike is...

- made to measure according to historical drafts

- original Torpedo hub (that´s the "Sachs"-Original) from 1960, NOS

- Wooden Rims (You may choose the look of another wood-type)

- The front brake is this old press-a-rubberpiece-on-the-tire

- lugged reynoldstubes, premium quality, special ornemental lugs

- leather bar-tape

- weight is only 10,3 kilo

Ask for price and details!

Forgive my poor English...

Regards, Heidelfix

that brake is great

The simplest things are the sweetest, in life:

http://www.weltrad.de/index.php?lang=en&cat=halbrenner&sid=0561c6ff55fd116f78e2b63e6f3ede1c/

Go to their home page, select english.

EDIT: ^ beat me to it.

That geometry looks horrible...

It's pure, classic, and timeless!

Is that NJS approved? Can I get an Aerospoke front?

That geometry looks horrible...

Those angles are about as retro as you can get. Ride it drunk and you still ride in a straight line.

Those angles are about as retro as you can get. Ride it drunk and you still ride in a straight line.

This particular bike will not ride very straight at all: if you look carefully (perhaps use a ruler), you'll notice that it has 0 trail! Let me remind you that, the more trail a bike has, the more stable it rides, but it's not very "lively" when steering.

This bike will be quite twitchy, and absolutely not your first choice to ride intoxicated.

I could bury you with a ton of links to references, but why be anal-retentie :)

Don't confuse me with any facts about my new favorite bike! :)

I think I want one for reasons unexplainable. Right side of my brain just kicked left side's proverbial ass.

Did I do this right? Discuss.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/jjvw1jjvw1/German-Bike.jpg

Yeah, that's right. It doesn't have any ridiculous amount of trail, but more than a Pista, make dern sure.

I don't think they had any intention of it being an "old school" track bike, so comparisons to track bikes and geo seem a bit unfair. Total turn of the century roadster/speedster. If that was their inspiration, then they hit it right on, geo, handlebars, coaster brake, tire width, etc.

I don't think they had any intention of it being an "old school" track bike, so comparisons to track bikes and geo seem a bit unfair. Total turn of the century roadster/speedster. If that was their inspiration, then they hit it right on, geo, handlebars, coaster brake, tire width, etc.

I really really really would like to try to climb some classic route on that rig - just to see if I could. And am not probably the only one

Wow, scorcher-tacular. I think I'm in love.

just realized, wood rims.

Did I do this right? Discuss.
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p271/jjvw1jjvw1/German-Bike.jpg

Almost; the line along the steering tube axis is not running exactly along the steering tube axis - looks almost as if you "cheated" to make it look as if it had more trail than what it really has.

But you didn't do that on purpose, huh? ;)

No. That fork is bent.

OK, not a huge difference, but it's as correct as I could muster.

I was wrong, it does have some trail, but still, it is very little.

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o197/old_fool/bikeparts/000001_zoom.jpg

I can never figure out the physics behind trail and the discussions always leave me confused, but I would assume that the head tube angle would act like a high trail fork--i.e. getting the front wheel out there and extending the wheelbase. It sounds like you all are saying that even a bike with a totally relaxed head tube angle could still be twichy, it doesn't make sense to me but it would be good to know if that is the case. If it is then this would still be "race" geometry, right?

Also, I'm glad others are enjoying this bike. I about lost my mind when I came upon it during a web search for european city bikes. I also bet the guy at ANT bikes in boston could make a cool ultra-retro-fixed gear racer like this. I'm already starting to save my money.

I would assume that the head tube angle would act like a high trail fork--i.e. getting the front wheel out there and extending the wheelbase. It sounds like you all are saying that even a bike with a totally relaxed head tube angle could still be twichy


The head tube angle is perhaps "relaxed", but that fork has a lot of rake.

Try this: take a bike with a fork that has lots of rake (like the one in this case), loosen the stem, turn the fork/front wheel 180 degrees, and re-tighten the stem, and try riding it like that. You'll notice that it's infinitely more stable - you almost don't have to hold the handlebar at all, to go straight. However, it will corner like a cow.


EDIT: useful link, I thought of putting it here for my own benefit:
http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/trail.html

So I checked it out again and I still like it, but they could have done a better job with a more classic crankset and stem.

I really really really would like to try to climb some classic route on that rig - just to see if I could. And am not probably the only one

It's been done - and by a guy who looks as old as the bike, I passed him riding up the Galibier...

It's been done - and by a guy who looks as old as the bike, I passed him riding up the Galibier...

Hey! I'm not old! You whippersnapper know-it-all, wait till you grow a bit of facial hair!! :D

I like the fork on that bike. I had a n 80's Univega that had a fork similar to that bike and it gave a plush ride. Does anyone still sell a fork with that kind of bend?

Needs risers.

Do they make wooden trispokes?

It reminds me of my old conversion.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c218/acampagnolo/Milano_Sport/carla_ebay_shot.jpg

It's been done - and by a guy who looks as old as the bike, I passed him riding up the Galibier...

When I went past I said "Nice bike!" and the guy on the mountain bike said "Thanks" - I hope he was being ironic.

It's been done - and by a guy who looks as old as the bike, I passed him riding up the Galibier...

no doubt it's been done, but not by ME!

I love that thing.

That brake looks positively lethal.

no doubt it's been done, but not by ME!

True. To be honest, it looked painful. The guy was riding a fixed gear, the gearing was tough, the bike was heavy.

By the way, I think Helsinki is the best city in the world. You're very lucky. I've been twice, and every time I go, I tell myself I must move there. Pity you've got the world's hardest language to learn.

It reminds me of my old conversion.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c218/acampagnolo/Milano_Sport/carla_ebay_shot.jpg


oh my god, that is beautiful. what are those bars?

I don't understand the wood rims.

Did they do that for purely retro-reasons?

Or, does wood have some cost/lightness ratio advantage, or something else?

Wood is the original carbon fiber.

True. To be honest, it looked painful. The guy was riding a fixed gear, the gearing was tough, the bike was heavy.

By the way, I think Helsinki is the best city in the world. You're very lucky. I've been twice, and every time I go, I tell myself I must move there. Pity you've got the world's hardest language to learn.

On the flip side, you really don't need to learn Finnish; everybody speaks english, including that 80+ lady that's explaining you why that branch of the postoffice is closed this saturday and where you should go to actually send your parcel.

I was stumped.

On the flip side, you really don't need to learn Finnish; everybody speaks english, including that 80+ lady that's explaining you why that branch of the postoffice is closed this saturday and where you should go to actually send your parcel.

I was stumped.

But I also want to know what the old lady mutters to herself as I leave the shop.

I heard "the cool kids" in Helsinki are leading a bit of a rebellion against English - rapping/graffitiing/writing in Finnish.

But I also want to know what the old lady mutters to herself as I leave the shop.
Oh, old ladies don't usually mutter anything. It's the young and middle-aged intoxicated men that do, some complicated phrase composed of perse, paska, perkele, vittu and saatana, using the rich case structure of the finnish grammar.




I heard "the cool kids" in Helsinki are leading a bit of a rebellion against English - rapping/graffitiing/writing in Finnish.

I don't speak enough Finnish to notice :)

Or I just don't hang out with the cool kids. Let's ask Bikkhu, if he's around.

Oh, old ladies don't usually mutter anything. It's the young and middle-aged intoxicated men that do, some complicated phrase composed of perse, paska, perkele, vittu and saatana, using the rich case structure of the finnish grammar.




I don't speak enough Finnish to notice :)

Or I just don't hang out with the cool kids. Let's ask Bikkhu, if he's around.

I am old and therefore not cool

I don't understand the wood rims.
Did they do that for purely retro-reasons?

I strongly suspect them to do it just for style-reasons. You can find many expensive retro-bikes these days in Germany - and the top-of-the-line - model very often will be equipped with these wooden rims... and Brooks-saddles and -leather bar-tape...

If you google *Fahrrad Holzfelgen* (i.e. bike wooden rims) you will find many pics.

To show just one: http://www.fahrradpage.de/photos/Sonstige/p7.htm