Let's build Glide-o-Bikes
#27
feros ferio
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Look at the boxes of my four childhood Erector sets, which I am now saving for future grandchildren. The picture on the lid consistently depicts one or two boys with the models they are either building or operating.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
#28
feros ferio
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: www.ci.encinitas.ca.us
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Bikes: 1959 Capo Modell Campagnolo; 1960 Capo Sieger (2); 1962 Carlton Franco Suisse; 1970 Peugeot UO-8; 1982 Bianchi Campione d'Italia; 1988 Schwinn Project KOM-10;
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That was the key: plans! Great business model -- make a few detailed scale drawings of an invention that would never "fly" (so to speak), and collect money mailing out copies thereof.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
#29
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Aaron

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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#30
Batteries not included.
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Hmm.... I have an old bike frame, a welder, plenty of free time, a bit of engineering know-how, and a huge propensity for doing stupid and dangerous things...
And now I have a really bad idea to work with.
Maybe when it's not so hot outside, I'll see what I can throw together...
And now I have a really bad idea to work with.
Maybe when it's not so hot outside, I'll see what I can throw together...

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#31
Newbie
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Britain's "Tomorrow's World" programme showed one in the late 60s. The wingspan was as wide as a jumbo, flight deck was a tight fitting coccoon just tight and squeezy enough to accommodate a man riding his bike, fuselage was too narrow for a gnat to ride in but nearly as long as the runway, and it attained an altitude of.... 6 feet, for about a quarter mile. Well, mankind has to start somewhere, just look at the innovative and daring proto-machines now taking to the skies like the globe-encircling solar panel plane. Anyway, the moral being of course, if you want to build and fly one of these things, you would probably need to buy or rent Oklahoma. That might just about give you enough space for the thing.
#32
Decrepit Member
^^
Welcome to BikeForums. It's interesting that you resuscitated an eight year old zombie thread for your first post.
How did you happen upon it (the thread)?
Welcome to BikeForums. It's interesting that you resuscitated an eight year old zombie thread for your first post.

How did you happen upon it (the thread)?
#33
my bikes have chrome
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Welcome to bikeforums, The P. I never would have seen this if not for your necromancy, so only now do I realize Glide-o-Bike rules. (You can tell by the existence of the Glide-o-Bike Airport, also pictured.)

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A race bike in any era is a highly personal choice that at its "best" balances the requirements of fit, weight, handling, durability and cost tempered by the willingness to toss it and oneself down the pavement at considerable speed. ~Bandera
A race bike in any era is a highly personal choice that at its "best" balances the requirements of fit, weight, handling, durability and cost tempered by the willingness to toss it and oneself down the pavement at considerable speed. ~Bandera
#34
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Glide-O-Bike zombie thread breathes lives is re-animated again.
But now includes additional details and a glossary of "Air Terms Every Boy Should Know" for the winning bidder.
https://www.auctionzip.com/auction-l...ampaign=alerts
I've never heard of or seen one of these things, but I'm a little surprised and ashamed no one in my neighborhood came up with this idea.
Of course, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, but I like to think that wouldn't have stopped us.
It would have taken Jimmy's mother to do that.
But now includes additional details and a glossary of "Air Terms Every Boy Should Know" for the winning bidder.
https://www.auctionzip.com/auction-l...ampaign=alerts
I've never heard of or seen one of these things, but I'm a little surprised and ashamed no one in my neighborhood came up with this idea.
Of course, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, but I like to think that wouldn't have stopped us.
It would have taken Jimmy's mother to do that.
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WTB: Slingshot bicycle promotional documents (catalog, pamphlets, etc).
WTB: American Cycling May - Aug, Oct, Dec 1966.
WTB: Bicycle Guide issues 1984 (any); Jun 1987; Jul, Nov/Dec 1992; Apr 1994; 1996 -1998 (any)
WTB: Bike World issue Jun 1974.
WTB: Slingshot bicycle promotional documents (catalog, pamphlets, etc).
WTB: American Cycling May - Aug, Oct, Dec 1966.
WTB: Bicycle Guide issues 1984 (any); Jun 1987; Jul, Nov/Dec 1992; Apr 1994; 1996 -1998 (any)
WTB: Bike World issue Jun 1974.
#35
Randomhead
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wow, what a fun thread.
OTOH, it's an unstable design. CG behind the center of lift of the main wing. Oops. The only way it would fly is off a cliff, but it would almost surely end up porpoising into the ground, which is an undesirable flight characteristic
OTOH, it's an unstable design. CG behind the center of lift of the main wing. Oops. The only way it would fly is off a cliff, but it would almost surely end up porpoising into the ground, which is an undesirable flight characteristic
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#36
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https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/20...lugtag/399689/
Half of them aren't even meant to fly. Ironically, some that are are the worst. Like the flitetest guys famous for giant foam RC planes did horribly.
The actual MacReady cycle-powered aircraft were quite something - remember reading a book about that in high school and later meeting someone who'd been part of the tech team. If I'm remembering correctly from the book, early on when they switched from team members flying to a professional cyclist they took him up in a Cessna for some basic flight training but quickly decided it was just too different from their giant creation and it was better to just learn to fly that directly.
Last edited by UniChris; 05-30-19 at 08:12 AM.
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#37
1/2 as far in 2x the time
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Comic Book Submarine
Great marketing!
"Look at the picture above. Look how the Glide-O-Bike's front wheel is taking off the ground. She goes gliding along, Fellows, and that's not all. You can bank, ground-loop, stall and side-slip. Absolutely nothing like this for fun and thrills."
I don't know what a ground loop is, or a side-slip, but we are talking about wind assisted wheelies here...
Now after closer reading, I know for sure I would have bought one of these in my younger days... and I would have wondered why it wouldn't really fly!
I tried to convince my mom once that a submarine in the back of a comic book was real because it seemed real to me... Until she told me what fiber board was. I was all set to bring it to the lake too...
"Look at the picture above. Look how the Glide-O-Bike's front wheel is taking off the ground. She goes gliding along, Fellows, and that's not all. You can bank, ground-loop, stall and side-slip. Absolutely nothing like this for fun and thrills."
I don't know what a ground loop is, or a side-slip, but we are talking about wind assisted wheelies here...

Now after closer reading, I know for sure I would have bought one of these in my younger days... and I would have wondered why it wouldn't really fly!
I tried to convince my mom once that a submarine in the back of a comic book was real because it seemed real to me... Until she told me what fiber board was. I was all set to bring it to the lake too...
Thanks to both for posting. Lasers, x-ray glasses, and Sea Monkeys...
#39
www.theheadbadge.com
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The team that won the 2013 Long Beach Flugtag though - pretty epic:
-Kurt
#40
Partially Sane.
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I dunno why some folks hate zombie threads, this one's even better than the Drew thread. 👍😉
#41
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Boys were absolutely nuts for model airplanes in the Lindberg-ww2 era, probably more so than for bicycles. It's a golden age for model airplanes.
This Glide-o-Bike does not look like it would work, but it does look like a contemporary model plane, with the very short nose due to the heavy engine. Some models had to lift off the ground or have a certain box size within the fuselage but the pure ones were really strange looking if you are accustomed to looking at 737's. I built something like this in the 1990's though I think mine was called a Texan...

This Glide-o-Bike does not look like it would work, but it does look like a contemporary model plane, with the very short nose due to the heavy engine. Some models had to lift off the ground or have a certain box size within the fuselage but the pure ones were really strange looking if you are accustomed to looking at 737's. I built something like this in the 1990's though I think mine was called a Texan...


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Genesis 49:16-17
Genesis 49:16-17
#42
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Ditto on all of it, especially the sea monkeys. I really wanted those, but a quarter was a lot of money back then. And Reese's peanut butter cups @ a nickel each just cut into my sea monkey money too much. 😁
I dunno why some folks hate zombie threads, this one's even better than the Drew thread. 👍😉
I dunno why some folks hate zombie threads, this one's even better than the Drew thread. 👍😉
best box top toy ever was a frogman that kicked and shot a spear
fixing balsa airplanes with tape and paper matchbook covers for the rudders
cheap bamboo/paper kites
raiding dad's handkerchiefs and nut drawer to make parchutes
in lot o ways kids today have missed out
more to the OP point , what I really enjoyed when I were the plans and things to build from popular science, popular mechanics and and mechanics illustrated from the 30's and 40's (from the library......i am not that old) built many things from those
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Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or whole biked 57,58)
Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or whole biked 57,58)
#43
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That immediately calls to mind The Boy Mechanic, the bound volumes of which I enjoyed reading on visits to grandparents are probably mouldering in a cellar somewhere, but fortunately they have been scanned
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12655
The Sea Monkeys incidentally are quite a saga... no personal experience but there's a lot to read online
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12655
The Sea Monkeys incidentally are quite a saga... no personal experience but there's a lot to read online
Last edited by UniChris; 06-03-19 at 12:53 PM.
#44
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Well... the Wright Brothers did originally make bicycles.

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"My only true wisdom is in knowing I have none" -Socrates
"My only true wisdom is in knowing I have none" -Socrates
#45
Friendship is Magic
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#47
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My father and I used to fly rubber powered free-flight quite a bit when I was younger. Mostly little 18 inch wingspan stuff. I've actually got a couple of laser cut 18" kits that I need to build. I think a Cessna 180 and an Aeronca Champ

I've also got a 2 meter Gentle Lady kit that I would really love to get built up, but I think I'll wait until I get a house so I don't have to figure out where to keep it in an apartment

#48
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
#49
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Ha, good one. 😁 I was gonna ask about this pic, but while it was loading the pic itself, it paused a second. “The Trial of Dr. Henry Blake”, of M*A*S*H* fame. He was way cooler than Potter, but Potter was still OK. 😉
BTW, that must actually be Klinger in the pic, wearing ladies’ slippers like that. 🤪😁
BTW, that must actually be Klinger in the pic, wearing ladies’ slippers like that. 🤪😁
#50
Senior Member
11 yards at an altitude of 3 feet, eh??

A lot of people could probably bunny hop that far... I could "fly" over cow guards plus a few feet, bitd, no wings required.