Are these roadsters?
11-19-14, 10:58 AM
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Are these roadsters?
I recently acquired a 10-speed Schwinn Suburban and suddenly felt compelled to add a 3-speed Speedster as well. So out of curiosity, i wondered what type of bicycles these would be today. When I was a kid about 40 years ago, one went through the stores and the domestic manufacturer's catalogues and saw the "lightweight" models classed as "tourers" or "touring style" with North Road type bars and broad saddles, while "racers" had rams horn bars and narrow saddles. Outside of the bars and seat, these bikes pretty much could share everything else. Today of course that nomenclature is quaintly outdated.
So looking around the net, it appeared that the old "tourers" are actually roadsters- at least in the way you sit and ride them. Except the Schwinns (and Huffy Sportsman I had as a an 11 year old) as well as others are made in in the US, not Holland or the UK, and the American bikes may wear derailleurs instead of three speed hubs.
As i've looked around the net, I've not yet seen the US bikes of the old "tourer" ilk called roadsters explicitly (maybe I didn't look hard enough?). Since tourer or touring now refers to something quite different than these old upright posture bikes, should I refer to them as roadsters, or is that definition pretty strict? What should they be called then? Sorry, but "commuter bike" is to be disregarded as that's a fairly recent term, not really in use much back then. Same goes for "grocery getter- let's be honest, any bike can be used to get groceries.
I'll admit, "Suburban ten-speed roadster" has a nice ring to it...
So looking around the net, it appeared that the old "tourers" are actually roadsters- at least in the way you sit and ride them. Except the Schwinns (and Huffy Sportsman I had as a an 11 year old) as well as others are made in in the US, not Holland or the UK, and the American bikes may wear derailleurs instead of three speed hubs.
As i've looked around the net, I've not yet seen the US bikes of the old "tourer" ilk called roadsters explicitly (maybe I didn't look hard enough?). Since tourer or touring now refers to something quite different than these old upright posture bikes, should I refer to them as roadsters, or is that definition pretty strict? What should they be called then? Sorry, but "commuter bike" is to be disregarded as that's a fairly recent term, not really in use much back then. Same goes for "grocery getter- let's be honest, any bike can be used to get groceries.
I'll admit, "Suburban ten-speed roadster" has a nice ring to it...
11-19-14, 11:22 AM
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No, I don't think so. But the meanings of words change. The same bike may be called an "English Racer" or a "Tourer" or, sometimes, a "roadster." All erroneously, I might add. To me, 'roadster' implies an English bike with rod brakes, usually 28" wheels. Raleigh DL1, for example. There were also some with 26" wheels.
Retro Raleighs: The Roadsters
Retro Raleighs: The Roadsters
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11-19-14, 11:57 AM
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Recently, people have been using the term "cruiser" for bikes with swept back handlebars. It annoys me, but I'm easily annoyed by new usages of words.
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11-19-14, 11:58 AM
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26" wheeled bikes ( and 27" for sure) that you are speaking of where called Light Roadsters :
Sports Roadster[edit]
A variation on this type of bicycle is the sports roadster (also known as the "light roadster"), which typically has a lighter frame, and a slightly steeper seat-tube and head-tube angle of about 70° to 72° degrees, fitted with cable brakes, comfortable "flat" North Road handlebars, mudguards and, as often as not, three, four or five-speed derailleur gearing. Sports or light roadsters were fitted with 26 x 1⅜ inch (ISO 590) traditional English size wheels with Endrick rims, hence a lower bottom bracket and correspondingly lower stand-over height and weighting around 35-40 pounds (16 – 18 kg).[SUP][4][/SUP] It was these bikes that were wrongly called "English racer" in the United States
11-19-14, 12:06 PM
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~>~
If you look at the period catalogs the Suburbans were "Lightweights".
Schwinn catalogs, 1971 - 1980 (20 of 579)
As noted "Roadster" is British terminology and goes back quite a-ways.
-Bandera
Schwinn catalogs, 1971 - 1980 (20 of 579)
As noted "Roadster" is British terminology and goes back quite a-ways.
-Bandera
11-19-14, 02:56 PM
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It depends on the audience.
If you're talking to us (the geeks, the readers of Sheldon Brown), it's a light roadster.
If you're talking to a civilian born before 1960, it's a touring bike.
If you're talking to a civilian born after 1960, it's a town bike, townie, or city bike.
If you're talking to a certain confused college student I talked to recently, it's a "pedestrian bike." Go figure.
If you're talking to us (the geeks, the readers of Sheldon Brown), it's a light roadster.
If you're talking to a civilian born before 1960, it's a touring bike.
If you're talking to a civilian born after 1960, it's a town bike, townie, or city bike.
If you're talking to a certain confused college student I talked to recently, it's a "pedestrian bike." Go figure.
11-19-14, 08:44 PM
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11-19-14, 08:49 PM
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It depends on the audience.
If you're talking to us (the geeks, the readers of Sheldon Brown), it's a light roadster.
If you're talking to a civilian born before 1960, it's a touring bike.
If you're talking to a civilian born after 1960, it's a town bike, townie, or city bike.
If you're talking to a certain confused college student I talked to recently, it's a "pedestrian bike." Go figure.
If you're talking to us (the geeks, the readers of Sheldon Brown), it's a light roadster.
If you're talking to a civilian born before 1960, it's a touring bike.
If you're talking to a civilian born after 1960, it's a town bike, townie, or city bike.
If you're talking to a certain confused college student I talked to recently, it's a "pedestrian bike." Go figure.
I have seen "roadster" referring to 3 speed 26" wheeled bikes but usually as rhm noted, 28" wheeled rod braked ride over all obstacles bicycles.
11-19-14, 09:17 PM
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1920s and 30s Raleigh catalogs refer to all kinds of different bikes as "roadsters" and "light roadsters." They all have upright bars, but various wheel sizes, some with caliper brakes, some with rod brakes. My guess is that it's a term from the advent of safety bikes in the 1880-90s.
11-19-14, 09:30 PM
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It depends on the audience.
If you're talking to us (the geeks, the readers of Sheldon Brown), it's a light roadster.
If you're talking to a civilian born before 1960, it's a touring bike.
If you're talking to a civilian born after 1960, it's a town bike, townie, or city bike.
If you're talking to a certain confused college student I talked to recently, it's a "pedestrian bike." Go figure.
If you're talking to us (the geeks, the readers of Sheldon Brown), it's a light roadster.
If you're talking to a civilian born before 1960, it's a touring bike.
If you're talking to a civilian born after 1960, it's a town bike, townie, or city bike.
If you're talking to a certain confused college student I talked to recently, it's a "pedestrian bike." Go figure.
and not to p*** noglider off, but i call the heavier duty bikes with wide motorcycle style bars "Cruisers"
11-19-14, 09:40 PM
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Funny that the light roadsters were often as heavy as the standard roadster... the Raleigh Sports is not a light bike.
11-20-14, 04:44 AM
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That's ok, we used the term "cruiser" as a racing class back in the late 90's at Waterford Oaks when my son was hammering his PK Ripper (bmx) on the BMX track. Anything with 24" wheels fit the class but really never caught on.
11-20-14, 06:14 AM
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They called 24 inch bmx bikes cruisers since the beginning unless I am mistaken(WAY before the late 90's). They're still called that as far as I know?,,,,BD
11-20-14, 06:23 AM
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11-20-14, 06:55 AM
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