# Cycling related things that are not seen any more...



## mr_hippo (26 Jul 2013)

or rarely seen! Some like mileometers and tyre driven speedos have been superseded by better things but are still available; others are transient creatures, e.g. indicators, enjoying a brief moment of fame and then disappearing for years.
Some that I remember -
Flint catchers
Multi coloured hub cleaners - similar to pipe cleaners
Race blades - very short mudguards
Wheel carriers - ride to your race/TT on road wheels then change them to race wheels that you carried
Bidons with a cork stopper and plastic straw - awful taste!
Walls (or similar company) ice cream flag used under the saddle as a tool/spares roll
Cylindrical battery packs for dynamo lighting
Thick oilskin capes and sou'westers
Metal head badges
Single coloured bikes with gold lining and discrete decals
Soft shell helmets, we used to call them 'hairnets'
Brake shoes and brake blocks
Split inner tubes with two sealed ends, could, in theory, replace the tube without removing the wheel
Cyclist's maps - 50 miles around (major cities)

Does any mow do a mobile mount/dismount?
The tourists dismount - cocking the leg over the handle bars not the saddle - stationary use only!


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## Shut Up Legs (26 Jul 2013)

I used to have one of those "speedos" with a kind of sprocket that got moved around a notch every time a spoke hit it, thus increasing the number count on the attached speed. Simple but effective (and slightly noisy).Oh yes, and front headlights that ran on a pair of D size batteries . Bloody things weighed a ton, and didn't put out much light, either.


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## Deleted member 23692 (26 Jul 2013)

mr_hippo said:


> Multi coloured hub cleaners - similar to pipe cleaners


The neighbour's got these on her bike, and the hubs are sparkling clean.

Cotter pins
Handle bars gips with multi-coloured plastic tassels
Cow horn handlebars


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## HLaB (26 Jul 2013)

I dont see many Massive (D Cell Powered?) EverReady lights these days.


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## tyred (26 Jul 2013)

Still have a set of D cell Every Ready lamps as it happens. They're currently on a vintage Raleigh touring bike that I have been playing with in the past week. They were easy to fit as they matched the brackets on the bike and are adequate for being seen with in twilight on these long summer days.


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## MossCommuter (26 Jul 2013)

mr_hippo said:


> Multi coloured hub cleaners - similar to pipe cleaners


 
Genius! I might put one of these: http://www.purpleharry.co.uk/products/bike-floss on a hub and see how it goes.


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## Davidc (26 Jul 2013)

Race blades are still around as are brake shoes and blocks, which fit Weinman centre pulls on a bike I recently helped restore. The brake parts were a bit pricey though.

I had one of those battery packs, which made my dynamo legal in Germany on a tour many years ago. There was a relay in the pack, with a high resistance coil across the dynamo power, which switched to batteries when you stopped or slowed and the dynamo output dropped off. It did the same as a modern standlight capacitor, but would go on running the lights for hours if you didn't turn them off. I sold it at a bike fair in the 1990s. It was quite heavy, with 4 D size cells in it.

Add to the list:

Rod brakes
Butcher's (etc) bikes
People smoking pipes as they ride along at 5 mph


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## Pale Rider (26 Jul 2013)

An uncle of mine had a narrow leather strap around each hub.

The buckle would tinkle against the spokes, but it worked a treat - the hubs were always gleaming.


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## SpokeyDokey (26 Jul 2013)

Spokey Dokies!

Little rubber covers for the ends of down tube shifters.

Those pumps with red/white/blue plastic rings on.


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## HLaB (26 Jul 2013)

Davidc said:


> Butcher's (etc) bikes


I've seen a few on display outside shops but I can't recall I've seen any moving; the closest I've seen/heard  is the local shop delivery person on a squeaky mtb, balancing a massive tray on their bars.


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## snorri (26 Jul 2013)

You don't see these handlebar mounted drinks bottles that you could drink from with a straw either.


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## Herr-B (26 Jul 2013)

mr_hippo said:


> . . . others are transient creatures, e.g. indicators, enjoying a brief moment of fame and then disappearing for years.


Guess what my mum bought me for xmas? Go on, guess.

I thought, hmmm, these will go lovely on my road bike, and will free my arms up to keep holding the bars!!!!

Oh no, I didn't really.


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## GrumpyGregry (26 Jul 2013)

Pale Rider said:


> An uncle of mine had a narrow leather strap around each hub.
> 
> The buckle would tinkle against the spokes, but it worked a treat - the hubs were always gleaming.


Some of the less tragic hipster sort use carradice straps, sometime lightly modded, sometimes not, on their dildo-barred fixies.


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## Deleted member 23692 (26 Jul 2013)

Woods valves on inner tubes


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## palinurus (26 Jul 2013)

mr_hippo said:


> Wheel carriers - ride to your race/TT on road wheels then change them to race wheels that you carried


 
True these aren't seen often now, but I know of one local rider who rides to events in this way. I like the approach.

I just ride there on my race wheels (which aren't really, I could tour on them).


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## palinurus (26 Jul 2013)

mr_hippo said:


> Split inner tubes with two sealed ends, could, in theory, replace the tube without removing the wheel


 
The Velib' hire bikes in Paris use these.


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## wiggydiggy (26 Jul 2013)

Those sticky out arm things


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## palinurus (26 Jul 2013)

mr_hippo said:


> (major cities)
> 
> Does any mow do a mobile mount/dismount?
> The tourists dismount - cocking the leg over the handle bars not the saddle - stationary use only!


 
First one- Yes, sometimes but only since learning to do it for cyclocross- I'm not a native.

Second- I've seen this in Dalston, but I don't think the rider was a tourist.


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## palinurus (26 Jul 2013)

mr_hippo said:


> Flint catchers
> Multi coloured hub cleaners - similar to pipe cleaners
> Metal head badges
> Single coloured bikes with gold lining and discrete decals


 
Plenty of these in London. I _think_ I've seen flint catchers recently.


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## palinurus (26 Jul 2013)

wiggydiggy said:


> Those sticky out arm things


 
There are loads of those in use! I bet you see five this week now you're thinking of them.


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## wiggydiggy (26 Jul 2013)

Haha I havent actually seen any in 4 years of commuting, I see a few old boy type riders on my runs but none have these...


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## palinurus (26 Jul 2013)

Maybe it should be 'cycling related things that are not seen any more except in east London'.


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## roadrash (26 Jul 2013)

bicycle clips,
i always wondered why these were sold in pairs , ok one for your trousers on the drve side ,but surely you dont need one on the other side.


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## Dave 123 (26 Jul 2013)

HLaB said:


> I've seen a few on display outside shops but I can't recall I've seen any moving; the closest I've seen/heard  is the local shop delivery person on a squeaky mtb, balancing a massive tray on their bars.




Come to Cambridge.......


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## glasgowcyclist (26 Jul 2013)

Ffoeg said:


> Woods valves on inner tubes




A month ago I bought a couple of new tyres in Lidl and they came with Woods valved inner tubes.

GC


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## HLaB (26 Jul 2013)

Dave 123 said:


> Come to Cambridge.......


Despite it only being 70 miles or so down the road I've only been once and I cant remember much


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## Deleted member 23692 (26 Jul 2013)

roadrash said:


> bicycle clips,
> i always wondered why these were sold in pairs , ok one for your trousers on the drve side ,but surely you dont need one on the other side.


 It was very easy to snag your trousers on the cotter pin nut. Cotterless cranks were a god send


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## snorri (26 Jul 2013)

It's been ages since I spotted a cyclist with one of these yellow plastic wristband things


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## youngoldbloke (26 Jul 2013)

Nail on cleats for use with toeclips and straps. Plus fours. Long socks. Real chamois pads.


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## dave r (26 Jul 2013)

The right angled pins on the underside of the crossbar, sorry top tube, to attach your pump to, oiling points on bottom brackets and hubs, you flicked the top up and poured oil in.


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## MickL (26 Jul 2013)

A peg and a bit of cardboard, makes you sound like Harley Davidson on heat when your wheels go round.


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## Herbie (26 Jul 2013)

User13710 said:


> Those red plastic discs on a stalk that stick out to fend off cars. I only know one person who still has one - he's a long-distance touring type, and has modified his so it hinges out from the end of a long stick attached across the rack on his bike.


 
I haven't seen one of those for a while but they were quite common....doubt if they were any use though?


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## GrumpyGregry (26 Jul 2013)

youngoldbloke said:


> Nail on cleats for use with toeclips and straps. *Plus fours. Long socks*. Real chamois pads.


Eddie wears those all the time on FNRttC. Damn it. I've got a pair of Rapha plus fours.


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## GrumpyGregry (26 Jul 2013)

Gigantic yellow plastic capes with matching sou'westers and gloves.


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## snorri (26 Jul 2013)

This thread is taking all the oldies out of the woodwork, or are you all regular visitors to bicycle museums?


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## dave r (26 Jul 2013)

GregCollins said:


> Gigantic yellow plastic capes with matching sou'westers and gloves.


 
I don't have the sou'westers and gloves but I do have a bright yellow cape, it lives in my work bag, along with other things that could be unknown to science.



snorri said:


> This thread is taking all the oldies out of the woodwork, or are you all regular visitors to bicycle museums?


 
Having been a cyclist for over 40 years I remember most of whats on this thread. anyone remember the big square white plastic lights? I think they were called wonderlights and they ran off a door bell battery, the light output was such that a candle would have been a better option, I used to train on unlit country lanes with a set of these on the bike, its amazing that I didn't hit something
.


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## dave r (26 Jul 2013)

Some fascinating stuff on here

http://classiccycleus.com/home/repair/memorabilia/


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## robjh (27 Jul 2013)

dave r said:


> anyone remember the big square white plastic lights? I think they were called wonderlights and they ran off a door bell battery, the light output was such that a candle would have been a better option, I used to train on unlit country lanes with a set of these on the bike, its amazing that I didn't hit something
> .


 
I thought Wonderlights were the (relatively) slimline versions that appeared in the early 80s - they were white and plastic but much thinner than earlier stuff, and sat in a bracket that mounted on your handlebars or similar. They had a tendency to bounce out when you went over a road bump. They replaced the large box-shaped ones that you used to fit on the mount on your forks - or at least they did on my bike. Of course maybe they were all Wonderlights, and these were just the next generation of them.


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## ColinJ (27 Jul 2013)

roadrash said:


> bicycle clips,
> i always wondered why these were sold in pairs , ok one for your trousers on the drve side ,but surely you dont need one on the other side.


I once managed to get a left trouser leg hooked over the end of my bottle cage and almost crashed!


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## Accy cyclist (27 Jul 2013)

Has anyone mentioned the drinking bottles with the tubes,on the handlebars? Or chrome sometimes with leather toe clips?


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## robjh (27 Jul 2013)

Or what about yellow reflective Sam Browne belts - the round-your-waist and over-your-shoulder contraptions? I wore them on both bike and motorbike for many years, but I haven't seen one on a cyclist for a long time now. Mind you, Tredz still sells them so someone must be buying.


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## ColinJ (27 Jul 2013)

Accy cyclist said:


> Has anyone mentioned the drinking bottles with the tubes,on the handlebars?


Lazy bugger - _yes_!


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## broadway (27 Jul 2013)

wiggydiggy said:


> Haha I havent actually seen any in 4 years of commuting, I see a few old boy type riders on my runs but none have these...


 
Funny thing today saw some for the first time in years.


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## MontyVeda (27 Jul 2013)

roadrash said:


> bicycle clips,
> i always wondered why these were sold in pairs , ok one for your trousers on the drve side ,but surely you dont need one on the other side.


it depends on how wide one like ones trousers.


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## Havoc6 (27 Jul 2013)

Proper lights


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## avalon (27 Jul 2013)

531 frames. I have three but in my part of the world nearly everyone else has alloy or carbon.


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## shouldbeinbed (27 Jul 2013)

roadrash said:


> bicycle clips,
> i always wondered why these were sold in pairs , ok one for your trousers on the drve side ,but surely you dont need one on the other side.


 
A couple of quid in decathlon & you can have them white or yellow, I have a couple of pairs, generally for when I'm riding in office wear and don't want to get my suit trousers too creasey by being tucked into my socks. One for each side helps with not catching flappy material on an empty bottle rack.


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## shouldbeinbed (27 Jul 2013)

robjh said:


> Or what about yellow reflective Sam Browne belts - the round-your-waist and over-your-shoulder contraptions? I wore them on both bike and motorbike for many years, but I haven't seen one on a cyclist for a long time now. Mind you, Tredz still sells them so someone must be buying.


 
Sam Browne's are available in the 'H' place so probably why most haven't seen them recently  . It is an essential piece of my kit as; along with pedal reflectors; it screams cyclist to other road users in a way the ubiquitous builders/delivery man hi-viz vest doesn't. 

It is also small & easily stowable off the bike allowing me to dress like a normal person, ride suited and booted etc without carrying unnecessary tat about with me.


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## dave r (27 Jul 2013)

robjh said:


> I thought Wonderlights were the (relatively) slimline versions that appeared in the early 80s - they were white and plastic but much thinner than earlier stuff, and sat in a bracket that mounted on your handlebars or similar. They had a tendency to bounce out when you went over a road bump. They replaced the large box-shaped ones that you used to fit on the mount on your forks - or at least they did on my bike. Of course maybe they were all Wonderlights, and these were just the next generation of them.


 
Thats them, as seen on this Grifter
http://raleighgrifter.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=genchat&action=display&thread=1516
the brackets tended to go brittle and shatter.


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## dave r (27 Jul 2013)

avalon said:


> 531 frames. I have three but in my part of the world nearly everyone else has alloy or carbon.


 
I had several 531 framed bikes


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## GrumpyGregry (27 Jul 2013)

robjh said:


> Or what about yellow reflective Sam Browne belts - the round-your-waist and over-your-shoulder contraptions? I wore them on both bike and motorbike for many years, but I haven't seen one on a cyclist for a long time now. Mind you, Tredz still sells them so someone must be buying.


I bought one in black and white last year with matching arm bands. Just the thing for a commute in darkness. And round here, a thing you hardly ever see, is people commuting on bikes in the dark.


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## junglegusset (27 Jul 2013)

dave r said:


> Thats them, as seen on this Grifter
> http://raleighgrifter.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=genchat&action=display&thread=1516
> the brackets tended to go brittle and shatter.



They are the wonder lights I remember, but that's no Grifter, if I'm not mistaken it's a Raleigh Tuff 2 Burner, quite valuable now I believe.


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## SpokeyDokey (27 Jul 2013)

robjh said:


> I thought Wonderlights were the (relatively) slimline versions that appeared in the early 80s - they were white and plastic but much thinner than earlier stuff, and sat in a bracket that mounted on your handlebars or similar. They had a tendency to bounce out when you went over a road bump. They replaced the large box-shaped ones that you used to fit on the mount on your forks - or at least they did on my bike. Of course maybe they were all Wonderlights, and these were just the next generation of them.


 

I'd forgotten about the brackets - used to annoy me when they went rusty.


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## Deleted member 23692 (27 Jul 2013)

Havoc6 said:


> Proper lights
> View attachment 26810
> 
> 
> View attachment 26811


 ..... along with front fork leg bosses for the lamp brackets....... and the awesome Ever Ready 800 battery


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## MontyVeda (27 Jul 2013)

dave r said:


> Thats them, as seen on this Grifter Burner
> http://raleighgrifter.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=genchat&action=display&thread=1516
> the brackets tended to go brittle and shatter.








i remember thinking those lights were a pinnacle of design.... just goes to show how bad bike lights were before them... and for a decade or two after.


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## Deleted member 23692 (27 Jul 2013)

Can't remember what they were called but... those hard sponge airless no puncture tyres.


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## ufkacbln (27 Jul 2013)

palinurus said:


> Maybe it should be 'cycling related things that are not seen any more except in east London'.


 
.. or in my Garage.

I have virtually everything on this list fitted to one of the stable, or in the spares box


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## ufkacbln (27 Jul 2013)

Then my contributiion....

The "Eco-Bulb"

IN the early days this company brought out a replacement bulb for rear lights which had 3 LEDS

Simply replace your original bulb and extend battery life


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## Saluki (27 Jul 2013)

mr_hippo said:


> or rarely seen! Some like mileometers and tyre driven speedos have been superseded by better things but are still available; others are transient creatures, e.g. indicators, enjoying a brief moment of fame and then disappearing for years.
> Some that I remember -
> 
> Multi coloured hub cleaners - similar to pipe cleaners


 
I have some 'similar to pipe cleaners' cleaning things but for my cassette, bike floss. I got them from here. They are excellent. Harry is a lovely chap too.


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## Saluki (27 Jul 2013)

MossCommuter said:


> Genius! I might put one of these: http://www.purpleharry.co.uk/products/bike-floss on a hub and see how it goes.


Ah! Didn't see your post before I put mine up.
They are are an excellent product. The bike polish and helmet/glove/shoe sanitiser is great too.


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## palinurus (27 Jul 2013)

Cunobelin said:


> Then my contributiion....
> 
> The "Eco-Bulb"
> 
> ...


 
Those were pretty good. I ran a really cheap rear dynamo light with one of those in for some time.


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## palinurus (27 Jul 2013)

roadrash said:


> bicycle clips,
> i always wondered why these were sold in pairs , ok one for your trousers on the drve side ,but surely you dont need one on the other side.


 
Bicycle clips were invented a long time ago when people wore flared trousers, it was possible then to get the left trouser leg caught in the chain.


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## smokeysmoo (27 Jul 2013)

junglegusset said:


> They are the wonder lights I remember, but that's no Grifter, if I'm not mistaken it's a Raleigh Tuff 2 Burner, quite valuable now I believe.


 
Certainly is a Raleigh Burner, and indeed they are worth a few quid these days so they are 

I was never allowed a BMX as a kid, but I used to bum rides off of my mates whenever I could.

The only thing that was 'Wonder'ous about those God forsaken Wonder lights was that they sold in the numbers they did. I lost count of how many plastic wingnuts I broke through constant re-tightening of the crappy brackets!


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## MontyVeda (27 Jul 2013)

public information films....


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## Cycleops (27 Jul 2013)

Ffoeg said:


> Can't remember what they were called but... those hard sponge airless no puncture tyres.


 
Pneumatic?


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## smokeysmoo (27 Jul 2013)

MontyVeda said:


> public information films..


He deserves to have a bad accident with those ridiculous handlebars! They make a Raleigh Chopper look safe


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## Deleted member 23692 (27 Jul 2013)

Cycleops said:


> Pneumatic?


Nope. They were simply a hoop of hard spongy stuff with a tread moulded on the outer face and the inner face was shaped to fit a rim. Absolute buggers to get on/off a rim.


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## avalon (27 Jul 2013)

MontyVeda said:


> public information films....



But they're not wearing helmets. If they were they wouldn't need to worry too much about being seen.


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## oldroadman (27 Jul 2013)

In the workshop a while ago, a little book from the Holdsworthy Company, with lots of little bits and pieces, dated from the 60's. All line drawings, no photos, stuff like toeclips, straps, Crodoni plusses, long socks, appalling lights, inner tubes, etc., and prices in old money. Lot's of 3/11d. Cost of the book 6d.
Title: Bike Riders Aids.
Not likely to be a big seller now, I suspect!


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## Tyke (27 Jul 2013)

Skirt guards on Women`s bike rear wheel.
EverReady lights with key to lock them to bike


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## ayceejay (27 Jul 2013)

Something I haven't seen on a bike for a long time is a kid riding 'no hands' belting down hill with no fear of being knocked off.


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## Mugshot (27 Jul 2013)

ayceejay said:


> Something I haven't seen on a bike for a long time is a kid riding 'no hands' belting down hill with no fear of being knocked off.


That reminds me, not something I hadn't seen for a while but something I'd never seen before. A copper on a bike. It was a WPC and I caught up with her on a stretch of my local cycle path, your post reminded of her as she was obviously practicing her no handed cycling. She did it for a little while with her hands by her sides, then she tried it for a while with her hands on her hips. I guess she heard my cassette clicking eventually as she grabbed back hold of her handlebars and looked round very sheepishly  . I congratulated her on doing very well as I cycled past  .


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## Mugshot (27 Jul 2013)

MontyVeda said:


> public information films....



I'm pleased to say I could remember almost all the words to the song 

How about this one?


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## MontyVeda (27 Jul 2013)

Tyke said:


> Skirt guards on Women`s bike rear wheel.
> EverReady lights with key to lock them to bike


the skirt guard is still popular in Holland & Denmark where ladies will more than happily cycle to work in a skirt & heels


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## Archeress (27 Jul 2013)

Ffoeg said:


> Nope. They were simply a hoop of hard spongy stuff with a tread moulded on the outer face and the inner face was shaped to fit a rim. Absolute buggers to get on/off a rim.



Getting them off was easy with a Stanley knife

Hugs
Archeress x


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## dave r (27 Jul 2013)

smokeysmoo said:


> Certainly is a Raleigh Burner, and indeed they are worth a few quid these days so they are
> 
> I was never allowed a BMX as a kid, but I used to bum rides off of my mates whenever I could.
> 
> The only thing that was 'Wonder'ous about those God forsaken Wonder lights was that they sold in the numbers they did. I lost count of how many plastic wingnuts I broke through constant re-tightening of the crappy brackets!


 
I used to find I got about two winters out of a Wonder light bracket then the thing would shatter when I put the light in.


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## Dave 123 (27 Jul 2013)

HLaB said:


> Despite it only being 70 miles or so down the road I've only been once and I cant remember much




70? You need a better map....


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## HLaB (27 Jul 2013)

Dave 123 said:


> 70? You need a better map....


My mistaken guess, its only 47miles or 50 from where I live


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## Cyclopathic (28 Jul 2013)

smokeysmoo said:


> Certainly is a Raleigh Burner, and indeed they are worth a few quid these days so they are
> 
> I was never allowed a BMX as a kid, but I used to bum rides off of my mates whenever I could.
> 
> The only thing that was 'Wonder'ous about those God forsaken Wonder lights was that they sold in the numbers they did. I lost count of how many plastic wingnuts I broke through constant re-tightening of the crappy brackets!


 
The brackets were truly awful. 
How on earth can it have been that the technology of bike lights remained so archaic for so very very long. In the 80s and even into the 90s there were mostly these things which hadn't really changed in their basic design since the end of world war two. Just what the hell was going on? It makes no sense.


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## tribanjules (28 Jul 2013)

ColinJ said:


> I once managed to get a left trouser leg hooked over the end of my bottle cage and almost crashed!


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## ufkacbln (28 Jul 2013)

The tyres were (and still are) Greentyres



.. and the video is misleading they took far more effort than that, and you could actually buckle a rim tryingto fit.

I put them on a bike belonging to my MiL as she hated punctures, but they were awful, no suspension effect, very little grip on anything but the best surfaces and lethal in the wet

They are however brilliant for wheelchairs and other equipment where a puncture is a massive issue, and performance isn't[/media]


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## Crackle (28 Jul 2013)

robjh said:


> Or what about yellow reflective Sam Browne belts - the round-your-waist and over-your-shoulder contraptions? I wore them on both bike and motorbike for many years, but I haven't seen one on a cyclist for a long time now. Mind you, Tredz still sells them so someone must be buying.


I've got one. Last used in a Scottish summer.


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## ufkacbln (28 Jul 2013)

MontyVeda said:


> the skirt guard is still popular in Holland & Denmark where ladies will more than happily cycle to work in a skirt & heels


 
Copenhagen Cycle Chic a commentary on cycle fashion

... or an extreme!


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## robjh (28 Jul 2013)

referring to Sam Browne belts :


Crackle said:


> I've got one. Last used in a Scottish summer.


 
I never actually got rid of mine. It still lurks in robjh's box of cycling junk memories in the darkest recesses of the shed.


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## shouldbeinbed (29 Jul 2013)

The yellow horn and microphone things that played almost police sirens and spacey noises.

A pal of mine nearly chopped his fingers off and took quite a nasty fall when the mic bounced out of its clip and he stuck his hand in his spokes trying to catch it as it dangled. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


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## the_mikey (29 Jul 2013)

Those concrete bricks with a bicycle tyre shaped slot that was usually filled with leaves and dog poo and offered no way of locking up your bike, if you were luck, after parking in one you'd still have a bike and the front wheel would still be straight and true.


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## thegravestoneman (29 Jul 2013)

I still have and use so many of the things mentioned on here, but one thing that isn't seen anymore is me going lickety split round the country side I barely manage lickety now.


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## compo (29 Jul 2013)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Those pumps with red/white/blue plastic rings on.


 
You mean like this. I have had this one since the '70's and it is still in regular use, and miraculously, dent free.


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## Chris Norton (29 Jul 2013)

HLaB said:


> I've seen a few on display outside shops but I can't recall I've seen any moving; the closest I've seen/heard  is the local shop delivery person on a squeaky mtb, balancing a massive tray on their bars.


 

Still available for purchase. Guess who?

http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/delibike.html

We have one for display purposes but is used when one of the owners son's wants to go down the gym.


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## Accy cyclist (30 Jul 2013)

What about the inner tubes( early TdF style) worn around the body?!


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## youngoldbloke (30 Jul 2013)

Accy cyclist said:


> What about the inner tubes( early TdF style) worn around the body?!


Not inner tubes but Tyres - tubulars or 'tubs'. No support vehicles allowed so if you punctured you ripped the tub off the rim and crossed tour fingers that there was enough glue left to hold the fresh tyre on. (see also the OP re _Walls (or similar company) ice cream flag used under the saddle as a tool/spares roll. _Commonly also used to wrap your spare tub, and held under the saddle with a spare leather toestrap).


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## YahudaMoon (30 Jul 2013)

compo said:


> You mean like this. I have had this one since the '70's and it is still in regular use, and miraculously, dent free.


 

I clocked one in our community bins only a few weeks back, I was somewhat happy  with my vintage Afa french bicycle pump

A few weeks later my new £25 Zefal high pressure pump flew of my bike, as I went to retrieve it a car went over it  oh well.........


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## Venod (30 Jul 2013)

Wheel spindle wing nuts


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## youngoldbloke (30 Jul 2013)

Sew on YHA badges on your saddlebag, along with those embroidered sew on badges from all the interesting places you visited.


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## MossCommuter (30 Jul 2013)

Does anyone remember those "child seats" that were effectively a mini-saddle attached to the cross-bar, so that the child sat in front of dad?

I remember ours, I don't remember riding on it but I remember my "little" (now 38 year old) brother on it.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (30 Jul 2013)

Bike brake lights


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## snailracer (30 Jul 2013)

Cyclopathic said:


> The brackets were truly awful.
> How on earth can it have been that the technology of bike lights remained so archaic for so very very long. In the 80s and even into the 90s there were mostly these things which hadn't really changed in their basic design since the end of world war two. Just what the hell was going on? It makes no sense.


Despite the development of halogen bulbs and white LEDs, most bike lights are still rubbish. Even the expensive ones are often rubbish for road use, because they have poor beam shape.


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## Cyclopathic (30 Jul 2013)

snailracer said:


> Despite the development of halogen bulbs and white LEDs, most bike lights are still rubbish. Even the expensive ones are often rubbish for road use, because they have poor beam shape.


 
What is going on then. Surely with bulb and battery technology as it is there should be some good lights out there for a fair price.


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## snailracer (30 Jul 2013)

Cyclopathic said:


> What is going on then. Surely with bulb and battery technology as it is there should be some good lights out there for a fair price.


It is about the lenses/optics, rather than bulbs or batteries.
The mass-market for decent bike lights has been cannibalized by cheapo rubbish lights, at least that's how I see it in the UK.


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## SpokeyDokey (30 Jul 2013)

compo said:


> You mean like this. I have had this one since the '70's and it is still in regular use, and miraculously, dent free.


 

Yes that's the one - was it called a Bluemel or similar? Or is my old brain confusing me?


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## SpokeyDokey (30 Jul 2013)

Also short 'racer' mudguards - about 8" long.


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## compo (30 Jul 2013)

SpokeyDokey said:


> Yes that's the one - was it called a Bluemel or similar? Or is my old brain confusing me?


 
That's correct, Bluemels. lovely pumps and very efficient, only problem is the metal is very thin and only too easy to dent.


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## Davidc (1 Aug 2013)

compo said:


> That's correct, Bluemels. lovely pumps and very efficient, only problem is the metal is very thin and only too easy to dent.


Bluemels also made mudguards. Originally from the same wafer thin ali alloy, then from plastic. SKS still make mudguards under that brand name.

I had one of those pumps until the end of the '90s but it got bent in a crash. I could get 100psi with that pump, but can't get near that with any hand pump I've used since.

I still use trouser clips. I have one pair my grandfather passed to me - wartime so half the width of any normal ones but made of excellent spring steel, and another pair I bough when I picked up a new Peugeot bike in Southampton in 1976, again good spring steel. Both are much better quality than the steel now used.


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## youngoldbloke (1 Aug 2013)

Had one of those pumps too in the 1960s, mine had a Campag push on chuck. You had to buy the correct length pump for your frame, and the ONLY position for it was inside the frame triangle on the seat tube!


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## compo (1 Aug 2013)

youngoldbloke said:


> Had one of those pumps too in the 1960s, mine had a Campag push on chuck. You had to buy the correct length pump for your frame, and the ONLY position for it was inside the frame triangle on the seat tube!


 
Whilst I am inclined to agree about pump length and positioning I had the pump many years before my present bike. It is too long to fit inside the frame anywhere so has to go where it will!


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