# Bike trends that went out of fashion



## johnnyb47 (27 Sep 2017)

Hi again.
I was just thinking about all the things ,we once thought were trendy in the world of cycling ,but have now been relegated to history. Some of these old trendy bike fashions you may of had may be a little to embarrassing to own up to as well :-) :-)
I always liked those thick foam grips on my road bike back in the 80s. I think the expensive ones were made by a company called Grab On. I could never afford them and always settled for the cheaper ones. For some reason I would always buy the lovely poo brown coloured ones , and now looking back on this they looked absolutely awful. They would go soggy in the wet weather and hold water like a sponge. It was horrible riding home from school on a cold winters day with these things soaking wet and the skin on your palms looking like a prune.If I remember rightly the cheap ones would wear away really quickly and would look terrible after a few months, with the chrome bars showing through. Does anybody remember those Huret mileometers that would bolt on to your front wheel. A little peg attached to your spoke would turn the spigot on the huret. Where those things ever accurate. When led lights first made an appearance they were truly awful in design and quality. The front ones didn't even emit a white light. They were actually green and I can remember the police around here took a very dim view on anyone using them. Back in the 70s though were probably were the most embarrassing cycling trends happened. With the advent of platform shoes and drain pipe trousers doing the rounds ,the Chopper bike was kitted up like nothing else. A gear stick robbed off your dads old Vauxhall viva was the must have accessory fitted to any self respecting Chopper owner. Yes we must not forget though that it wasn't complete, without the Whip aerial, furry covered leopard skin seat and a bulb horn. 
We may think and remember it as cringe worthy nowadays, but you got to admit it certainly brought a bit of character into our lives back then. 
All the best.
Johnny


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## Ming the Merciless (27 Sep 2017)

Mud guards. Seems riders prefer the badger stripe of honour now.


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## Accy cyclist (27 Sep 2017)

Around here it seems to be front and rear lights that've gone out of fashion.


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## classic33 (27 Sep 2017)

Accy cyclist said:


> Around here it seems to be front and rear lights that've gone out of fashion.


Don't think they've ever been in fashion round these parts.


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## 400bhp (27 Sep 2017)

23mm tyres

25mm tyres 

28mm tyres

23mm tyres

25mm tyres

28mm tyres

Just thought I'd save a bit of time and set out those items going out of fashion and back in fashion in the future.


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## Profpointy (27 Sep 2017)

YukonBoy said:


> Mud guards. Seems riders prefer the badger stripe of honour now.



I've never understood that. Apparenlty.mudguards aren't cool but looking like you've had an attack of explosive dysentry which has spread all up your back to the top of your head is cool presumably


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## raleighnut (28 Sep 2017)

Profpointy said:


> I've never understood that. Apparenlty.mudguards aren't cool but looking like you've had an attack of explosive dysentry which has spread all up your back to the top of your head is cool presumably


That's why several bikes are needed, some with mudguards, some without.


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## lutonloony (28 Sep 2017)

Profpointy said:


> I've never understood that. Apparenlty.mudguards aren't cool but looking like you've had an attack of explosive dysentry which has spread all up your back to the top of your head is cool presumably


I have no problem with cyclists who choose the dysentery look, I object to following them on club " runs" though.
I do remember having the little 6" ish alloy mudguards, which seemed to do very little


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## RoubaixCube (28 Sep 2017)

Helmets


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## raleighnut (28 Sep 2017)

lutonloony said:


> I have no problem with cyclists who choose the dysentery look, I object to following them on club " runs" though.
> I do remember having the little 6" ish alloy mudguards, which seemed to do very little


Only there to keep the crud off yer brake pivots although I do remember being told that 'mudguards' were a legal requirement and these fulfilled that (Myth?)


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## rrarider (28 Sep 2017)

Wonder lights. These were very popular in the 1980s and easy to attach and detach, so that the front light made a very handy torch.


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## bpsmith (28 Sep 2017)

Yellow Saddles?


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## Vantage (28 Sep 2017)

Purple anodized parts. Ugh.


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## clockworksimon (28 Sep 2017)

My 5 speed 'racer' in the early 80s had really short chrome mudguards as was the fashion of the time. 

For a while I also fitted really wide cowhorn bars to my racer to help with 'scrambling' round the woods and doing wheelies.


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## Drago (28 Sep 2017)

Penny farthings seem to be scarce recently.


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## davidphilips (28 Sep 2017)

Biopace, rapid rise (normal low) rear derailleurs and delta brakes.


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## Tin Pot (28 Sep 2017)

Can I get a flag on my bike with something humourous and offensive on it?


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## Cycleops (28 Sep 2017)

johnnyb47 said:


> I always liked those thick foam grips on my road bike back in the 80s. I think the expensive ones were made by a company called Grab On. I could never afford them and always settled for the cheaper ones. For some reason I would always


Still available https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handleb...m-maxi-handlebar-sleeves-for-drop-bars-black/


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## Threevok (28 Sep 2017)

Bench seats


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## Oldfentiger (28 Sep 2017)

Handlebar bottle holders


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## Drago (28 Sep 2017)

8 track players.


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## nickyboy (28 Sep 2017)

Riding wearing a tweed suit, and a tie


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## Drago (28 Sep 2017)

Being strafed by Messerschmitt's.


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## Tin Pot (28 Sep 2017)

Million lumen lights.


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## Threevok (28 Sep 2017)

Drago said:


> Being strafed by Messerschmitt's.



True - although I still have stuff thrown at me, by little Fockkers


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## winjim (28 Sep 2017)

The Oxford fold out safety reflector.


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## roadrash (28 Sep 2017)

These..


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## roadrash (28 Sep 2017)

and these...


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## mjr (28 Sep 2017)

YukonBoy said:


> Mud guards. Seems riders prefer the badger stripe of honour now.


Around here, that's called a skunk stripe. Smells like it too, thanks to the shoot that runs off the crop fields.


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## spen666 (28 Sep 2017)

Obeying the Highway Code

Mind you that seems to have gone out of fashion for all road users, cyclists, pedestrians and motorists


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## Alex H (28 Sep 2017)

Oldfentiger said:


> Handlebar bottle holders



Complete with bottles sporting plastic tube 'straws'


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## spen666 (28 Sep 2017)

Frenchmen wining the Tour de France seems to have been out of fashion for many years


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## petek (28 Sep 2017)

The bottom end of your back mudguard HAD to be painted white.
That's gone.


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## Dogtrousers (28 Sep 2017)

petek said:


> The bottom end of your back mudguard HAD to be painted white.
> That's gone.









The patch became law on 18th October 1934, under the ‘Road Traffic Acts 1930 to 1934, the Pedal Cycles (White Surface) Provisional Regulations’ 
https://thefrugalcyclist.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/white-tail-english-mudguards-aka-fenders/


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## petek (28 Sep 2017)

My first proper two-wheel bike was a Raleigh and that had a white bottom end to the back mudguard.
That said it came second hand.
I seem to remember reading or being told that the relevant law ended in 1954. I was born in 52 and got that bike for my 7th birthday.
It was like new.
People looked after their bikes in those days.


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## Gasman (28 Sep 2017)

Oval/square chainrings, right angled cranks, shaft drive, automatic transmission.

Maybe not fashions as such but they keep being 'rediscovered' from time to time


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## Dogtrousers (28 Sep 2017)

petek said:


> My first proper two-wheel bike was a Raleigh and that had a white bottom end to the back mudguard.
> That said it came second hand.
> I seem to remember reading or being told that the relevant law ended in 1954. I was born in 52 and got that bike for my 7th birthday.
> It was like new.
> People looked after their bikes in those days.


And here, from Hansard in 1953, are discussions of the repeal of the white surfaces regulation:
_LORD LEWELLIN: The comparatively small areas of white surface involved now appear, after experiment, not to give any effective extra safeguard, and I am told that the technical advisers of the Ministry have come to the conclusion that that is an unnecessary provision. If it gives a false sense pf security, it is better repealed rather than that people should be put to the trouble of painting these surfaces white when, in effect, they do no good._​


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## petek (28 Sep 2017)

Dogtrousers said:


> And here, from Hansard in 1953, are discussions of the repeal of the white surfaces regulation:
> _LORD LEWELLIN: The comparatively small areas of white surface involved now appear, after experiment, not to give any effective extra safeguard, and I am told that the technical advisers of the Ministry have come to the conclusion that that is an unnecessary provision. If it gives a false sense pf security, it is better repealed rather than that people should be put to the trouble of painting these surfaces white when, in effect, they do no good._​


We had proper legislators deliberating on stuff that actually mattered back in those days.


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## raleighnut (28 Sep 2017)

Dogtrousers said:


> Those big butterfly nuts that those of us who couldn't afford QRs used in place of wheel nuts.


I've got a lovely set on the front wheel of my Raleigh Equipe


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## dave r (28 Sep 2017)

rrarider said:


> Wonder lights. These were very popular in the 1980s and easy to attach and detach, so that the front light made a very handy torch.



Yes I had Wonderlights, they ran off a doorbell battery and you'd have been better off with candles on the bike, I can't believe I trained down pitch black lanes with them on the bike. The plastic brackets would go brittle after 12-18 months then shatter when you put the lights on the bike.


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## Ming the Merciless (28 Sep 2017)

Chain guards


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## KnackeredBike (28 Sep 2017)

Drago said:


> Penny farthings seem to be scarce recently.


I have always idly wondered, if your normal bike was broken and you only had a penny farthing at at back of the shed - could you use it for a utility ride? If you could avoid stopping, have somewhere suitable to mount and dismount and legs for the extreme fixed gearing?


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## Ming the Merciless (28 Sep 2017)

Cycling capes


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## palinurus (28 Sep 2017)

[QUOTE 4975852, member: 259"]Still very popular in countries where cycling is very popular.[/QUOTE]

I'd love a reasonably lightweight commute bike with a chaincase.


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## palinurus (28 Sep 2017)

YukonBoy said:


> Cycling capes



True, I buck the trend a few times a year though.


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## palinurus (28 Sep 2017)

dave r said:


> Yes I had Wonderlights, they ran off a doorbell battery and you'd have been better off with candles on the bike, I can't believe I trained down pitch black lanes with them on the bike. The plastic brackets would go brittle after 12-18 months then shatter when you put the lights on the bike.



They were proper shoot, but it was either those, Ever-ready or nick the corroded old dynamo off your dad's bike back then.


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## dave r (28 Sep 2017)

YukonBoy said:


> Cycling capes



I've still got my old cape.


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## johnnyb47 (28 Sep 2017)

This is not a bike tend but more of a rider trend I saw today. As I was driving home from work today I spotted an elderly lady setting off on her bike. Nowadays most cyclists I see, just cock there leg over and start pedalling but this lady ,set off in fashion I haven't seen for years .She stood by the side of her bike and put one foot on the pedal whilst scooting her other leg along to gain momentum before mounting the bike. 
Wow a blast from the past. My Gran used to set off like that many many moons ago :-)


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## midlife (28 Sep 2017)

Flint catchers lol


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## dave r (28 Sep 2017)

midlife said:


> Flint catchers lol
> 
> View attachment 375946



I haven't seen one of those for years.


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## midlife (28 Sep 2017)

Prevents punctures...


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## tonyg52 (28 Sep 2017)




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## Profpointy (28 Sep 2017)

KnackeredBike said:


> I have always idly wondered, if your normal bike was broken and you only had a penny farthing at at back of the shed - could you use it for a utility ride? If you could avoid stopping, have somewhere suitable to mount and dismount and legs for the extreme fixed gearing?



Remember the gearing is quite low on a penny farthing. Important to makes sure it's got a back brake though else you could be in a right pickle.


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## Smokin Joe (28 Sep 2017)

Long socks with the trousers tucked in, as worn by the guy pushing off. Every club cyclist wore those during the winter -


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## Winnershsaint (28 Sep 2017)

Don't see many cycling capes these days out on the roads although there is an apparent market for them still. Not the most aero piece of apparel.


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## Bazzer (28 Sep 2017)

Ape hanger handlebars.


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## Drago (28 Sep 2017)

Tracker bikes.


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## rrarider (28 Sep 2017)

Suicide levers - my number two bike had them in the late 70s. I'm glad to say that I haven't seen a bike with those fitted for a long time.


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## wreck rider (28 Sep 2017)

Drop bars turned upside down. Used to see quite a few older fellas bikes sporting them when ah war a lad.


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## Smokin Joe (28 Sep 2017)

Musettes, or bonk bags as we used to call them. Often made out of deck chair canvas or could be bought with various cycling related logos on them. I still have a Rory O'Brien bag in the wardrobe.


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## raleighnut (29 Sep 2017)

rrarider said:


> Suicide levers - my number two bike had them in the late 70s. I'm glad to say that I haven't seen a bike with those fitted for a long time.









EDIT - also note that as well as 'suicide' levers this has wingnuts on the front wheel.


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## Drago (29 Sep 2017)

Nasty Huret derailleurs on every model of bike, except for the most expensive ones.


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## mjr (29 Sep 2017)

spen666 said:


> Obeying the Highway Code
> 
> Mind you that seems to have gone out of fashion for all road users, cyclists, pedestrians and motorists


Bloating the Highway Code with a load of evidence-free (and sometimes contrary to evidence) shoot in 1999 brought it into disrepute IMO. The cycling-specific section ballooned from 6 rules (3 of which were already a bit dodgy) in the 1970s edition to 24 rules now (and I'm not even going to count how many are bull), for example. The full code doubled from 150 rules to 307, from a 52-page glovebox/pannier booklet to a full 152-page rectangular-spine paperback to leave on the bookcase. It was a massive backwards step.



palinurus said:


> I'd love a reasonably lightweight commute bike with a chaincase.


Cases are pretty difficult with derailleurs but Raleigh still make a chain guard with a cutout for a front derailleur, part ACD215, which is pretty widely stocked by local bike shops in transport cycling areas and orderable elsewhere. Similar ones are available from SKS and Axa but aren't as easy to find in the UK. Most of them require you to remove the bottom bracket cartridge and fit the guard's support bracket behind around it, so it's easiest done at new BB time anyway.



Smokin Joe said:


> Long socks with the trousers tucked in, as worn by the guy pushing off. Every club cyclist wore those during the winter -


Now banned by UCI rules, aren't they? "Socks used in competition must not extend above 
the middle of the leg. Ankle socks are also allowed unlike long socks" And loads of club racers follow UCI rules even when they're not obliged to.


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## Ming the Merciless (29 Sep 2017)

Proper frame mounted pumps that did the job.


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## rrarider (29 Sep 2017)

YukonBoy said:


> Proper frame mounted pumps that did the job.


Not quite out of fashion yet, I bought a Topeak Road Master Blaster not long ago. Zefal make one that's much the same. I have an old traditionally shaped frame with the a top tube parallel to the road, so the pump wedges in alongside the seat tube. More modern frames don't have a convenient place to wedge such a pump.


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## derrick (29 Sep 2017)

Wavy chain stays


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## Reynard (29 Sep 2017)

YukonBoy said:


> Cycling capes



Decathlon sell them...

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/500-city-cycling-poncho-black-id_8397113.html


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## Ming the Merciless (29 Sep 2017)

Bazzer said:


> Ape hanger handlebars.



Apes riding bikes


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## youngoldbloke (29 Sep 2017)

Smokin Joe said:


> Long socks with the trousers tucked in, as worn by the guy pushing off. Every club cyclist wore those during the winter -
> 
> View attachment 375955





mjr said:


> Now banned by UCI rules, aren't they? "Socks used in competition must not extend above
> the middle of the leg. Ankle socks are also allowed unlike long socks" And loads of club racers follow UCI rules even when they're not obliged to.


Nothing to do with the UCI. Don't think any racers wore Plusses (except when training maybe). Anyway http://www.tudorsports.co.uk/tudor-sports-products.html still sell them, and the appropriate socks


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## Sharky (29 Sep 2017)

Don't see many frame numbers or adjustable wire toe clips anymore ...


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## derrick (29 Sep 2017)

YukonBoy said:


> Apes riding bikes


There are plenty of them around.


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## Sharky (29 Sep 2017)

and if you don't know what wire toes clips were, they were something like these .....






they were expensive !

and if you don't know what 1s 2d is - as your granddad.


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## mickle (29 Sep 2017)

Double and triple clangers. 
Tubs. 
Horizontal top-tubes. 
Round seatposts. 
Metal. 
Headbadges.
Lugs!
559.
Panniers (it's all about the bikepacking now).


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## johnnyb47 (29 Sep 2017)

And not forgetting bicycle clips to keep your trousers away from the oily chain. I can't remember the last time I saw anybody sporting these :-)


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## Profpointy (29 Sep 2017)

mickle said:


> Double and triple clangers.
> Tubs.
> Horizontal top-tubes.
> Round seatposts.
> ...



Ahem... "horizontal top tubes"; Crossbars if you please


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## Sharky (29 Sep 2017)

mickle said:


> Double and triple clangers.
> Tubs.
> Horizontal top-tubes.
> Round seatposts.
> ...



clangers - are you referring to the TV series?

or the seat tube levers you had to bend down to shift the chain on the front - I had one of these.


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## mjr (29 Sep 2017)

derrick said:


> There are plenty of them around.


Even more of them seem to be driving motor vehicles, though


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## BorderReiver (29 Sep 2017)

Spats! These would be really useful if they made a comeback and were manufactured out of a suitable breathable material. Kept the bottom half of your legs dry but weren't too hot and sweaty.


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## Racing roadkill (29 Sep 2017)

Spokey dokeys, playing cards held onto the seat stays with clothes pegs, hitting the spokes, to sound like a motorbike. One bar grip, replaced with a battery powered twist grip thing, that emulated various engine noises. Mag wheels on a Raleigh BMX. Rotors on the stem of a BMX. Air powered groupsets.


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## further (29 Sep 2017)

mickle said:


> Double and triple clangers.
> 
> Horizontal top-tubes.
> Round seatposts.
> ...


All my bikes have these


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## Drago (29 Sep 2017)

Kids on bikes.


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## snorri (29 Sep 2017)

It was a bad day when they stopped naming a lightweight bike with drop bars a "racer", and worse when they were renamed "road" bikes.
Many have been disappointed to find "road" bikes are not altogether suitable for many of the conditions likely to be encountered on UK roads.
IMHO.


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## johnnyb47 (29 Sep 2017)

Drago said:


> Kids on bikes.


That's one sight that's a rarity nowadays.On Christmas day the street was awash with new Christmas present bikes..


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## mjr (29 Sep 2017)

johnnyb47 said:


> That's one sight that's a rarity nowadays.On Christmas day the street was awash with new Christmas present bikes..


Not rare here. Can't say about the Christmas bit but one of my very young neices already has a pedal trike which just makes me


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## Racing roadkill (29 Sep 2017)

Dogtrousers said:


> Bearings that even an idiot like me can understand, take to bits, regrease and reassemble


http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/..._dm|pcrid|161810673982|pkw||pmt||prd|448796UK

Anyone who can't service these, needs to take a long hard look at themselves.


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## Bazzer (29 Sep 2017)

johnnyb47 said:


> That's one sight that's a rarity nowadays.On Christmas day the street was awash with new Christmas present bikes..



Do recall last year walking in Dunham Massey a day or two after Christmas and seeing loads of kids on new bikes and balance bikes. Not aware of it being translated into kids on bikes on the road, but may be it is the times I ride or the places I ride which give me this impression.


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## simongt (29 Sep 2017)

lutonloony said:


> I do remember having the little 6" ish alloy mudguards, which seemed to do very little


When I rebuilt a Dawes Fox a few years back, I recut the grotty metal mudguards into these wee mudguards - very fashionable at the time - for the simple reason that they help to keep dust, dirt & other debris from getting shotblasted into the brake spindles.


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## BalkanExpress (1 Oct 2017)

midlife said:


> Flint catchers lol
> 
> View attachment 375946



And rubber hoods on shifter levers


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## CanucksTraveller (1 Oct 2017)

Those yellow speakers that emitted 3 different siren noises when you pushed the button on the handlebar. A fixture on every Raliegh Grifter in the 80s.


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## Brandane (1 Oct 2017)

johnnyb47 said:


> And not forgetting bicycle clips to keep your trousers away from the oily chain. I can't remember the last time I saw anybody sporting these :-)


You haven't seen me heading for work then! I will be sporting one, (right side only) again tomorrow - more to prevent my trouser leg getting hooked by a tooth on the big ring than to protect from oil.


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## snorri (1 Oct 2017)

johnnyb47 said:


> And not forgetting bicycle clips to keep your trousers away from the oily chain. I can't remember the last time I saw anybody sporting these :-)


I have a selection of these hanging near my back door and wear one every time I use my bike! The only exception is when I'm on a foreign tour in lower latitudes when I may wear shorts.


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## Alan O (1 Oct 2017)

[QUOTE 4975445, member: 9609"]I still have a biopace big chain ring - i think they were all the rage when my bike was new[/QUOTE]
I have biopace chainsets on two bikes - one double and one triple - and I like them.


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## Alan O (1 Oct 2017)

YukonBoy said:


> Cycling capes


What, like this...?


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## simongt (1 Oct 2017)

Dogtrousers said:


> Bearings that even an idiot like me can understand, take to bits, regrease and reassemble


And of course the joy of when you're ready to re-assemble said 'traditional' bearings, no matter how carefully you've put them on one side after having lovingly cleaned them, there's ALWAYS one which has gone missing, having mysteriously rolled under the mat / workbench / cat etc..


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## Ming the Merciless (1 Oct 2017)

Step through frames


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## further (1 Oct 2017)

BalkanExpress said:


> And rubber hoods on shifter levers


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