Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Origin of the Species

saw this on Sheldon and thought it was of humorous note...


Disc wheel

A disc wheel is a wheel with solid sides, instead of spokes. Although disc wheels are heavier than spoked wheels, they have less air resistance, and permit a cyclist to go noticeably faster. They are not usually used on the front, because they can cause severe handling problems in cross winds. They are not usually used for hilly conditions, because the added weight is too much of a disadvantage on the climbs.
The illustration is from Archibald Sharp's Bicyles and Tricycles, originally published in 1896, reprinted by the M.I.T. Press in 1977.

The front wheel has cutouts to reduce steering problems that result from crosswinds when disc wheels are used on the front.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/old-disc-wheels.jpg

jackass thread, surely

great post

Front is wood?

They installed the bullhorns backwards.

Also, compact geometry died in 1904. Get with it people.

in 1896 i would say yes

nice.

going to HomeDepot...

make me a 650? you know how we do…

walnut ok?

teak please. asian timber is njs, i hear

Nice bit of history OP.

They installed the bullhorns backwards.
.

Apparently the saddle is installed backwards too.

And i just figured out that's a light on the front. I thought it was a can of beer or something. Cup holder.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/old-disc-wheels.jpg

lantern! crash and that **** would set your wooden hed3 on fire!

Im surprised that image hasnt become the victim of some kind of photoshop yet.

Im surprised that image hasnt become the victim of some kind of photoshop yet.

You would really like that, wouldn't you?

maybe

lantern! crash and that **** would set your wooden hed3 on fire!

ahem... HED4.

Hed.1w

I fix:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v390/blickblocks/IMG_5156.jpg

Anybody else think it's weird that they made that engraving on the non-drive side?

going to HomeDepot...

Not sure if this came from the same article, but my friend was telling me the other day about how Sheldon actually made a disc wheel out of plywood. It involved lots of work, like cutting the hub in half and custom rigging the axle. I think he rode it in one race and threw it away.

in early 1897 the "new york flying wheelmen" sent a pigeon post with the message "this thred useless without driveside pics n00b"

650 disc rear? Corima prototype front? Compact geo with low gearing!?!?!
**** guys, not only were they ahead of their time, we're still doing it wrong.

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/1921/retrohipsterwi3.jpg

glad to know no one beat me to anything while i was tinkering.

glad to know no one beat me to anything while i was tinkering.

nobody cared

?

/doofo

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2249/2148509650_f0686b5060_o.jpg

this whole thread makes me uneasy... kinda weird

That book by Archibald Sharp is really interesting by the way. It's still in print, too!

i like the pbr can!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2249/2148509650_f0686b5060_o.jpg

I like how it says "aerosprok". Nice work. I might have to do that to my avatar guy (the full size one anyway).

nobody cared

?

/doofo

Before I looked at who posted that, I thought it was him. Nice work, you could seriously leave off the "/doofo" at the end and it would be equally effective.

this whole thread makes me uneasy... kinda weird


So it's not just me.


Interesting.

where can i buy that can holder?

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7240/kanyebr0.jpg

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/6479/18430900lo7.jpg