Building a Raleigh Bicycle

Here is an interesting video of how a Raleigh bicycle was made in 1945. I lived in Nottingham, England in the 1960s when this factory was still in operation; it was huge and took up many city blocks. In fact the company started out on Raleigh Street in Nottingham in 1887, hence the company name.

An interesting part of the video early on shows a Bottom Bracket shell being made by pressing from a flat piece of steel. I was still building my frames in the 1970s with bottom brackets made in this fashion. (By a French manufacturer named Bocama (BCM); not by Raleigh.)

By the late 1970s early 1980s investment cast bottom brackets and lugs became available that were far superior for a quality hand built frame. Never-the-less many of my old frames from the 1970s with pressed steel BBs are still around.

Interestingly, in the industry of manufacturing bicycles, all the lugs were called “Brackets,” which is where the term Bottom Bracket comes from.

What the film didn’t explain was that when the frame was assembled, a brass ring was placed in a groove inside the socket of the bracket or lug, before the tube was pressed in. When the frame was later placed in a furnace, the brass melted brazing the joint automatically.

Another interesting item not mentioned was that Raleigh parts were a non-standard size and had special Raleigh threading, ensuring that if you bought a Raleigh bike you had to buy Raleigh parts when these needed replacing.

I suggest you click on the “Full Screen” icon, bottom right, to view the video in full screen mode. (Press the “Escape Button” return to normal view.) My thanks to Bruce Chandler for turning me on to this video.

                      

Too many hit and runs

I try not to report too often on cycling deaths because I hate to dwell on the negative. However, when a local cyclist died in the early hours of last Friday morning, it hit home personally because it happened in almost the exact same spot where I was hit in 2006. Savannah Highway (17) and White Oak Drive, Charleston, South Carolina.

Gerard Nieto was riding his bicycle when he was struck from behind and left to die by the roadside by a driver who did not stop. The driver, 32 year old Jason Frank Marion, did later come forward and surrender to the police on Tuesday.

As the collision happened at 1:45am one is left to wonder whether alcohol was involved. Hwy. 17 a wide road two lanes in either direction, with a center turn lane; the road is dead straight at this point and brightly lit. The lanes are of ample width, with plenty of room to pass a cyclist safely. (See picture above.)

So if a cyclist is hit, I have to wonder why; was the driver distracted, sleeping, or drunk? Had Marion done the right thing and stopped, and he had been drinking he would now be facing at least vehicular manslaughter charges and a possible lengthy jail term.

By killing someone on Friday and giving himself up on Tuesday, Marion is now charged with hit and run, and failure to exercise due care. If drink was involved it can never be proved; it is an incentive not to stop if you hit someone. Which is probably why I am seeing so many of these cases.

Marion’s bail has been set at $101,092 so the court is taking this somewhat seriously. But until the penalty for hit and run resulting in death is an automatic vehicular manslaughter charge, the same as DUI; these hit and runs will continue.

It should also be a murder charge if it can be proved a victim would have lived had he/she had immediate medical attention,

                         

Who will history remember?

Once again the Giro d’Italia is on us, to be followed by the Tour de France in a few months. This year’s Giro is exciting because there is no firm favorite; the race is wide open.

Even in a race where there are favorites and the end result is somewhat of a foregone conclusion; on any given day an outsider can win a stage, sometimes in spectacular fashion like a solo break away.

The art of a solo breakaway win is often all about timing, choosing the right psychological moment to attack. Often this comes as a chasing group catches another group or an individual.

Everyone in that chasing group gives a sigh of relief and eases up after many miles of chasing at flat out speeds.

At that precise moment someone else attacks and everyone goes, “Oh no, not again.” There is often hesitation as the riders wait for someone else to take the initiative and chase, and in that moment of hesitation a gap opens up.

Whether the solo break is successful depends on things like, how far it is to the finish, or is the chasing group organized. However, the deciding factor often is the shear strength and courage of the man out in front, on his own.

My reason for outlining such great performances that can happen on any given day is to point out that fifty years from now history will remember the top riders in the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, but these lesser riders not so much.

Yet without such riders there would be no sport of cycle racing, there would be no Grand Tours. Out of the 150 or so riders who make up the field of the Giro or TDF, only ten or so are in with a chance of winning.

The rest are the team members who work tirelessly for those who will win, all the way down to the domestiques and water carriers. Among these are some really good riders who are capable of pulling off a spectacular performance on any given day.

The same in any amateur club race held throughout the season, there will be maybe five or maybe ten riders who will be in with a chance to win, and the rest make up the field.

Some are young riders who will be the champions of the future; some are past champions. Some are those who will never aspire to greatness but enjoy the challenge of just taking part. But without them there would be no race.

Then there are those who never race, but just ride for the joy of it, or commute to work on a bike each day. Without them and the money they spend on bikes and equipment there would be no bicycle industry, and therefore no cycle racing.

In fifty years, history may not remember all the riders who on a certain day performed above their standing, and it will certainly not remember today’s average Joe on a bike, but without either of these there would be no cycle racing; no Giro d’Italia or Tour de France.

And without these theaters for the riders to perform in, there would be no great champions for history to remember.

                        

Boston Bike Share: The helmet issue

Look at the above picture; why is this woman not being hauled off to jail for child endangerment? Why are these children not being taken into protective custody?

The answer is simple; the picture is from Holland where 99% of the population ride a bicycle at some time or other; for most it is their main form of transportation.

Very few Dutch people wear a helmet while cycling, and as far as I know there are not huge numbers of people dying from head injuries. In fact Holland (The Netherlands.) is one of the safest places in the world to ride a bike.

By contrast the City of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, has a bike share program with 600 bicycles than can be rented and dropped off again at 61 stations. The program only nine months old is already drawing fire from the medical profession because it doesn’t offer helmets for rent.

It is my opinion that insisting that people who rent a bike wear a helmet is a good way to kill off a bike rental program; even suggesting it or making it optional is not good. People who think wearing a helmet is a good Idea, and want to wear one will bring their own.

There are those who say helmets could be rented along with the bike, but who feels comfortable wearing a helmet that someone else has used? Even if it is sanitized. The whole helmet issue really screws up a simple idea.

Bike rental is really an extension of walking. Let's say you are a tourist and you would like to visit a certain place, but it is a little too far to walk. You rent a bike with a minimum of formalities, you ride to where you need to be and you drop the bike off.

Add a helmet to the picture and all of a sudden a simple idea becomes a little more complicated. The person thinks, “Oh yes I could get hit by a car.” The point is you could get hit by a car while walking across the street, but no one suggested you put a helmet on your head when you put your shoes on this morning.

You could fall from your bike without another vehicle being involved; yes, and you could trip on a raised paving slab and fall on your head while walking. These rental bikes are usually heavy “clunkers,” very stable and not built for fast riding.

As previously mentioned, this Boston bike share program is still very new; is there any indication so far that large numbers of renters are getting their heads busted? The article that prompted me to write this is flawed anyway.

It implies that there were 630 cyclist deaths in the US during 2009 due to head injuries. I think you will find that is the total number of cyclists killed, not all will have died from head injuries. Those who did, getting hit by a car doing 50 or 60 mph, wearing a helmet or not will make little difference to the outcome.

The whole issue here is that motor vehicles, driven by careless, inattentive people kill most cyclists and pedestrians. The medical profession should be addressing that fact. 

Until our society also wakes up to that fact and local governments start changing infrastructure, speed limits, etc. and law enforcement start doing their job; insisting that cyclists wear a little Styrofoam helmet will have little or no impact on cyclist fatalities and injuries.  

I have said this before, but it bears repeating. Implying that even a casual bike renter should wear a helmet is like allowing everyone to fire guns randomly anywhere they please, and then suggesting that we all wear bullet proof vests.

Don’t pad the potential victim; control the missile, slow down the projectile.

                        

Asleep at the wheel

It is no secret that when I left the bike business in 1993 I fell on hard times financially; it was the reason I had to give up framebuilding. People stopped buying road bikes in favor of mountain bikes.

My car reflected my financial status; it was a piece of junk, 1975 Mercury Station Wagon. Not the one pictured here; mine was in much worse condition and in need of repair. Not the kind of vehicle one would take pictures to save and show to their grandchildren.

It did however, come with certain advantages; it gave me right of way for one. On those six and eight lane freeways they have in Southern California it is necessary to make several lane changes long before your exit. People are not too good at letting you do this; you are forced to just put on your turn signal on and ease on over.

I found with a car like a beat up 1975 Mercury Station Wagon people tended to give way real quick when I started to change lanes; he who has the least to loose, has right of way, it’s an unwritten law.

A big disadvantage with my old clunker, the air conditioning didn’t work; but in Southern California I could manage without it. Although the climate is hot, the air is dry and driving with all the windows down was actually quite pleasant.

My arm resting on the top edge of the door, my hand on the rear view mirror; the breeze blowing up my shirt sleeve keeping my body’s natural cooling system, namely my armpit, working efficiently.

The only problem with this form of nature’s air conditioning is that it broke down at any time I went below speeds of thirty miles per hour, which on LA’s freeways is most of the time.

Something I find hard to understand. Everyone knows how difficult it is to sleep in a room without air conditioning on a hot summer night; you can’t sleep because you’re hot and uncomfortable.

How is it then, under the exact same circumstances, driving a car on the freeway you can’t stay awake? Aren’t you even more uncomfortable than you are in bed without air conditioning? So why does the discomfort not work for you when you most need it to stay alert?

One time the freeway I was on took a path through a steep canyon when traffic came to a standstill.

There was no exit, and I was in the fourth lane of a six lane freeway; I was stuck.

I could see traffic was stopped two or three miles ahead up a long gradient; it would be a while before we moved again.

It was late afternoon and I started to feel sleepy. I decided not to fight the urge to doze; I turned the engine off and lay down on the front bench seat. This was another advantage of these old cars; the front seat was like a sofa with no obstruction in the center. The person behind me would be sure to lay on the horn when we started moving again.

I have no idea how long I slept but I awoke to find traffic was moving by me on either side at about twenty-five or thirty miles per hour. The person behind me instead of alerting me when traffic started moving must have decided to go around me.

People following seeing no one in the driver’s seat (Because I was laying down.) assumed it was an abandoned vehicle and continued going around me.

I had just discovered another advantage of my chosen mode of transport; a person can lie down, take forty winks in the middle of a six lane freeway and people will let you rest and simply go around you.

My unusual afternoon nap had refreshed me enough that I was now fully alert as I completed the final leg of my journey. Had I brought ‘Sleeping at the Wheel’ to a whole new level?