willydstyle

This saddle looks super comfy, though heavy and hard to mount.

Any other cool images of old bike tech that went the way of the dodo when something better came along?

garage sale GT

Those wacky ten speed cassette hubs.

davester

If my memory serves correctly, that seat was called "The Bummer".

JohnDThompson 

Plenty to choose from here:

100 Years of Bicycle Component and Accessory Design: Authentic Reprint Edition of The Data Book: Noguchi-san, Fumiyo Noguchi: 9781892495013: Amazon.com: Books

It's interesting to see the same ideas pop up over and over again as if they were new.

willydstyle

Bianchigirll 

I think that predates the 'Bummer' by a few years and actually looks homemade from a set of handlebars.

fietsbob 

Durstley Pedersen bikes The Pedersen Bicycle, history

The Golden Boy 

Forum member dddd has one of those designed bikes- either did race or still races it.

The Golden Boy 

An my personal favorite- the Suntour Command Shifter:








They're the shift levers that mount inboard of the brake levers, since I ride mostly on the ramps and the hoods- shifting is always right by my fingers. Love 'em.

willydstyle

I read about those on Sheldon's page, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around how they work.

dweenk 

I have only found one of those and the owner would not part with it - he was waiting to locate another. I'd love to try a set.

Bianchigirll 

Does anyone actually do this anymore? Or what he doing actually extinct?

Pars 

I believe Bianchigirl has a set of those for sale right now...
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...roof-sale.html

hairnet

manta saddle

IthaDan 

'Testicles Relaxing'

Awesome.

Bianchigirll 

Sorry that is not the answer I was looking for.

OldsCOOL

That Manta.....an adequate name. Wonder why I havent seen one until now?

Italuminium

This image wins the internet.

79pmooney

They work quite well. With palms on the hoods, you shift by pushing down with your thumb. Been on my Mooney for the past 20 years. Biggest issue (now) is that the available FWs are not spaced quite like the old SunTours, so the indexing isn't perfect. I haven't gone to brifters (and have no plans to) so I cannot compare, but the shifting is quite natural and easy. Also the shifters are so well protected by location that they never get damaged.

When I was looking at index, '95, it was so much cheaper to go Command than brifter that they seemed like a no-brainer. Now, with a few bucks spent to buy two or three FWs and a second set of shifters, it still doesn't look like an entirely stupid move.

Ben

FBinNY 

That's Dan Henry, an active NY area cyclist from a few decades back. He invented the route marking system that bears his name and is still popular today in many variations. I've ridden with him many times including route marking trips. The markers are fast to put down with paint carried in the water bottle, and we could usually mark routes by bike in close to the same amount of time it would take to simply ride the route.

The hip support "saddle" made from web and an inverted handlebar is his own invention, as is a progressive suspension system (see photo) using a swing arm pivot and bungee cords.

Dan was an iconic figure in his time, and the photo brought back fond memories of an old friend.

BTW- the "saddle" was easy to install and adjust. It used a quill stem which fit securely in a shimmed seat tube.

willydstyle

What a bad-ass. Thanks for sharing your memories!

Bianchigirll 

I wasn't sure if in this GPS and smart phone world anyone still marked routes the old fashioned way.

Mr Henry sounds like a great guy.

Pompiere

There is an annual ride near me that still uses that method. Late last summer, I was riding with a group that was following the markings from earlier in the year, when we encountered a fresh stretch of chip and seal that covered up the route. The group leader had ridden the route before, so he made an educated guess as to where to get back on track. A few miles later, we found the markers again and completed the ride.

FBinNY 

I continued using Dan Henry markers -- modified to a solid ball with a stick, which I could paint with a blob of paint spread and the stick pulled out in something like 10 seconds -- for decades, until I stopped organizing or leading large organized rides. Where different rides split off from each other, we'd add some kind of reference.

Part of the genesis for Dan's markers was to find something unique to us, that was easily identified, and distinct from the utility markers all over the roads. These days, many running clubs here in the NY area continue to use the markers as do some bike clubs.

IMO- I don't believe that smart phones and online maps or cue sheets displaced these, though they might have helped. If I were organizing this type of large ride, I'd still prefer the markers which are easily seen and followed without breaking stride, and without dependence on any technology. But the type of group ride these were about isn't as popular these days. It's rarer for clubs to have large organized rides on public roads (open to traffic)where riders rode at their own pace, without any kind of support. Back then, rides like these, and weekend get togethers at a mountain lodge with 5-10 marked routes of various length were common, and we didn't worry (as much) about riders who got lost or crashed suing the organizers.

autoteacher

"Testicles Relaxing" that's The Balls!