Originally Posted by
gilesa
That is a lovely idea, but seems improbable to me. The lamp lighter has to open the door, turn on the gas and light the mantles.
Tricky from the saddle! And you would expect to see some specific adaptations on the bike for such a specialised task.
Actual data: the pair outside my childhood home were lit every night by a man with a pole.
Wikipiedia does mention tal bikes used as a means to light lamps, maybe some lamps had the gas knob up high so the public couldn't tamper with it?
I did just get my goofy lamplighter finished off, and it even has some C&V on it!
The crank set is from a Raleigh, and the Heron does have an eye stamped on it so I believe this dates the crank to 1961 or earlier.
I used a "styria" 3 speed hub which is a, supposedly, higher quality Sturmey knock off, I just wanted it because it was 36 hole so I could lace it to an old MTB rim I had. I did have to join 2 cables together for the shifter and used a tandem brake cable for the rear.
and yes, this is the same bike I posted a little while back, both the upper wheels spin backwards when you ride forwards, in this first photo with the fresh paint job the chain that drives the rear wheel backwards is not installed, but the bike is now done, just waiting for spring, I did go ride it around a bit today at an empty (snow free!) parking lot in town...
