Vintage Fun in Tokyo
 

Summer in Tokyo, as it seems is presently the case in the eastern parts of the USA, is not a good time for riding. It's okay while you're moving, but when you stop it's horrible. I've been walking, slowly, a lot recently as a result. Last Thursday, however, it cooled down considerably and so, when a fellow vintage bicycle friend suggested getting together with a couple of other, like-minded friends on Saturday evening, I agreed. We were to celebrate. The occasion was the finishing of 3 separate builds - a 1936 Hetchins tandem, a 1938 Hetchins Brilliant and a 1949 Ephgrave No.1. They were hoping that I would be able to finish my 1950 Thanet Silverlight but I hadn't even started... I took my 1950 Hetchims MO instead.

We met up in the large park near where I live, called Yoyogi Park, to have some fun riding each other's machines and then retire to a local Irish-style pub nearby - if Lenton58 is reading this he will remember it as it's where I took him and his family for dinner when they were in Tokyo back at the end of March. I didn't make the park so the photos I took were at the pub.

The tandem - I'd never ridden one before, or even seen one up close, and was amazed. Up front it's hard to keep the cycle going straight at first as the weighted back is all over the place and I kept over-correcting. On the back it's worse. You have no brakes and find yourself wanting to steer all the time. The only thing you can do is to completely trust the pilot and go with him. It's also odd that if you back-pedal the other pedals do the same as they're linked. You can freewheel, however, if your partner freewheels at the same time.

[IMG]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6149/...1f59626a28.jpg
IMG_6290 by Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]

The tandem's gears were Cyclo and the brakes Resilion, the latter being of particular interest to me as the restoration of my Thanet involves replacing the caliper brakes with Resilions, which it was originally built for. The friend whose machine it is bought it complete but in very rough condition and has done a good job of restoring it. I was also interested in the excentric bottom bracket, necessary for adjusting the bb back and forth for chain tension.

[IMG]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6008/...eec913a839.jpg
IMG_6296 by Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]

The Hetchins Brilliant was also a basket-case, complete, and was restored by its owner. He's a funny guy whose eyes glaze over when the conversation turns to anything post-1930s. I was particularly surprised to see that the vibrant chain and seat stays were so much thicker than on my 1950 MO. Also of interest was the Trivelox rear derailleur, completely new to me, with a freewheel that slides in and out over the hub and the wheel spoking, radial on the freewheel side and crossed on the other.

[IMG]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6001/...9ee614a767.jpg
IMG_6275 by Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6123/...6ebc010aae.jpg
IMG_6284 by Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6137/...a94152a981.jpg
IMG_6283 by Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]

Lastly, the Ephgrave with its Osgear gear set. This bike must be one of the nicest, lightest bikes of the period that I've ever ridden. It felt very modern. This machine, unlike the other 2, has its original paint and it's lovely. I didn't try changing gears but I understand you have to do it with 2 movements, forward then back.

[IMG]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6129/...6a5f6d8476.jpg
IMG_6299 by Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]

We had a great evening!

As always, very interesting bikes. That sliding freewheel is very strange, what controls it's movement? The fork on the Ephgrave is very nice looking, as is the whole bike. You sure get to see some cool things.

The quadrant lever on the top tube pulls the freewheel out while a spring inside pushes it out when the lever is released (I think it's that way round), while the hanger/guide/tension arm is static and keeps the chain where it is, forcing it to change cogs.

The Ephgrave is lovely - if you look you can see how thin the seat and chain stays are.

They sure are, wow! I viewed the hi-res version on your flickr site, the lugs are really pretty. I also saw the shifter mechanism for the Ephgrave, it looks complicated.

Yeah, that's why I didn't touch it when I rode the bike :)

I didn't know this but it's the lug cut that denotes whether an Ephgrave is a No.1, a No.1 Super or a No.2. The lugs on this one are No.1.

Thanks for sharing, very cool.

Yeah, great bunch of bikes! Can't wait to see the Silverlight, too - feel free to post some teaser pics!

It's a pleasure, mazdaspeed!

Here you are Wotan - not a great photo but I'll post more when I get the Resilion brakes fitted:

[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3276/...98a9903d0f.jpg
1950 Thanet Silverlight by Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]

Looks great! Isn't this the bike with the strange bottom bracket area?

Yes, that's right, inspired, apparently by aircraft design.

[IMG]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3154/...e9b9aa9cf0.jpg
1950 Thanet Silverlight by Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]

Beautiful bikes!

That Thanet is a corker! I saw a couple at the bike museum in Wales last year - definitely on the wants list.

Did you shift the Trivelox derailleur? What were your thoughts? Did you prefer it or otherwise compared to other early shifters you may have used?

How are Resilon brakes? Are they sufficient for a tandem? Or is it a case of sticking to flat land. Maybe a Sturmey drum brake rear?

I love folks who get into the really old bikes. Wish I knew more of them.

Amazing bikes. That was a great era for bicycle innovation. I would love to find something very unique and distressed for a long term affair.

I think the Thanet is actually my favorite of the bunch.

I did shift the Trivelox and found it changed very smoothly and easily. Impressive 1930s technology compared to the 2 other 'older' shifters I know - the 1953 Campag Gran Sport on my Hetchins MO and the 1960 Benelux derailleur on my girlfriend's Vindec Sportster.

The front Resilion brake was okay but the back was crap. However, I have ridden another Resilion-equipped machine and those brakes were fine, so I guess it's either an adjustment problem on the tandem, or the blocks are old and hardened. For a long time Resilion were considered the ultimate in stopping power. I meant to check if there was a drum brake too but forgot.

Just found this about the TriVelox gears on the Hetchins Brilliant. It seems that the hub is referred to as a 'splined' hub and the benefit is that you get perfect chain line in all 3 gears. Seems cool to me.

Great entry on Disraeli Gears, too:
http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/...ue_-_1937.html