It is much lighter than one would think... but it was not made for epic hill climbing or racing but rather, leisurely rides around the neighbourhood and in the park.

Received another cygnet today (coaster equipped) and took it out on the town... would guess the bike weighs less than 30 pounds, is very easy to pedal, comfortable, and faster than it looks.

Heck yeah, it's different.

It's interesting, thanks for posting.

Arvon and I were talking this morning when he dropped off the second Cygnet and told me he was able to get copies of the original technical documents to see how the original bicycle frame was made (not easy) and although he could reproduce anything from the original designs he opted to make ride-able and serviceable versions that people could enjoy.

It is a delightful bike to ride and many people took it out for a spin this evening and I could see it was smile inducing...

Is the frame springy? Does the rear wheel get pressed up into the fender when you ride it?

It is a rigid frame made with chromoly tubing... was told that the straight gauge carbon steel version that was made to test was not strong enough to support the design and it did have it's wheel pressed into the fender after it failed.

The builder weighs 275 pounds so is also an excellent bike tester... his personal Cygnet is a number of years old and he rides it on the road with an 8 speed drive.

Makes me wonder how robust the original Cygnet was as materials technology was not as advanced and would suspect the original must have been made of nearly solid tubes.

I am not so sure about that. I was able to get up close and personal with the c.1880s highwheeler pictured earlier in the thread (on display in a museum.) I "pinged" the backbone (curved main tube) with my fingernail, and was suprised to hear the same ringing sound I would expect to hear when doing the same to the straight gauge chromoly tubing on my Viscount Aerospace G.P. The build quality of the bike given it's vintage was very impressive to me.






It would be neat to ride one; the upright riding position as well as the feel of the frame would make for a different riding experience.

-James

That's really cool. I dig it.

The joints? We all know sciencemonster is the weakest link on the bicycle, but he gets a good deal stronger - not weaker - after all the joints.

The men's bike has compact geometry!

Any idea if the name Cygnet has anything to do with the swan like look?

I'm sure it does.

A few folks have stopped by the shop to drop off injured bikes and a few have taken the Cygnet out for a spin and came back with glowing reviews and big smiles.

On lady rides an Electra which is a smooth riding machine (now) and said the Cygnet had a ride that was every bit as nice and thought the bike was really fast... it does get out and go.

The stem is a custom and has no top bolt and to adjust you need to release the stem bolt from the bottom... will need to do that and will aim for a universally friendly position.

Being hand built it is a pretty expensive bike which would be beyond the means of most but it is nice to be able to offer it up for rides so people can experience the design.