Bobbies on Bicycles

Nothing portrays an image of the UK better than a British Bobby on a bicycle. Road safety is all about visibility, and believe me the police officers you see in the picture above were extremely visable.

It used to be a requirement in the British police that applicants be at least six feet tall; add the tall helmet to that and they would appear to be nearer seven feet. Then sit them on the good old British “Sit up and beg” roadster bike, that the average person would need a step ladder to mount, and they would stand out in traffic like a Willie Nelson tour bus.

Many was the time in the 1950s when I’d be out training at night with the local chain gang, and one of the group would be sure to have a dead battery in his tail light, the local Bobby would chase us down on his big old Raliegh "All-Steel" bike with a Sturmey-Archer three-speed hub gear.


You can imagine my dismay when I recently came across this image (Left.) of a modern British police officer on a bike.

My first reaction was, “WTF do you look like?” Everything I loved about my homeland is slowly disintegrating. The British Bobby has become “Euro-Fred.”

Gone is the authority figure; he looks like a Mall Food Court Janitor, or a Parking Lot Attendant on his way home from work. And where did they get the helmet? Wal-Mart or Halfords?

This is the British Police for Cris’sakes, couldn’t they design something purpose built that offers protection and a little dignity.

These images came with a story in the British, Sun Newspaper, about a young police officer, killed while on duty on his bike, when he was stuck by a lorry. (Heavy flat bed truck or box van.)

I do not want to make light of this tragic incident, but the reaction by the Manchester, UK police department, was to ban police officers from riding bikes, until they can receive more training. That pisses me off; how about banning drivers who don’t know how to overtake cyclists without running them over.

Britain is apparently spending millions of taxpayer’s money on promoting cycling in big cities to ease congestion and to fight obesity, both of which will cost taxpayers even more in the long run.

By banning police officers from riding, the Manchester Police are sending out a message that cycling is dangerous. If a police officer is not safe on a bike, what hope for the rest of us, is what most people must be thinking.

I just hope they don’t have a terrorist attack or an armed robbery in Manchester, because the police there might just say, “Hey, that’s too dangerous, we can’t handle that.”

I must agree with the Sun Newspaper, the police authorities are wrong on this one. There has been a tragic loss of a young life, one of their own, and they are not facing the real problem. A few sloppy, selfish, drivers who have a complete disregard for human life.

They should be using this tragic waste of a young life to arouse public outrage and awareness of bicycles on the road, and push for harsher penalties for reckless and inattentive drivers who kill cyclists. Like revoking their license and forcing them to ride a bike.

Once a Cyclist....

Once a cyclist, always a cyclist.

At heart anyway if not by active participation.

Eric Clapton, in his youth, rode a bike as well as played guitar; he even raced a little and rode a few time-trials.

The guitar became his number one passion and won out over the bicycle, but the bicycle keeps popping up now and then throughout his life and career. In his early days with Cream he made an album called Disraeli Gears.

The story goes that one day in the recording studio Eric was telling the other band members about his bike racing and his road bike. One of them asked, “Did it have those Disraeli gears?”

This was quite funny because what he really meant was derailleur gears. Benjamin Disraeli was a British prime minister in the 1800s during Queen Victoria’s reign. This is how, the now famous album, got its name.


I recently discovered Eric Clapton has a personal blog. He doesn’t write much, mostly posts pictures of his travels, and of objects that interest him.

Recently he posted a picture of a Unicanitor bicycle saddle along with pictures of some cowboy belt buckles. You would be hard pressed to find more dissimilar objects than these and no one but an ex-cyclist would find a bike saddle interesting enough to take a picture.

A search through the archives, unearthed a picture of a Cinelli badge, the kind they used to put on their steel handlebar stems. Also, a fixed gear Cinelli track bike.

I checked back through all the previous posts via the “Back” button to the very first one posted on November 17th, 2006. At the top, he wrote:

“Driven by insatiable passions, governed by the need to be free and independent.......these are some of the things that stop me in my tracks.”

This quote is followed by photos of two different Ferrari cars, and a Dodge Night Runner truck. The fourth picture is of a vintage Cinelli Special Corsa road bike that appears to be in new condition.

Just goes to show how the experience of riding a simple machine like a road bicycle, even briefly in one’s life, can become embedded in a person’s psyche, their subconscious, and it never leaves.

Suicide Shifters

Suicide shifters is a term I never heard until I came to the US; it is a name given to the lever operated front derailleurs used in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

I came across this rare picture from 1952 of André Darrigade (with Lucien Lauk) reaching down to change chainrings on his Simplex-equipped La Perle bike. When I started racing that same year, I used this same equipment and I can assure you there was nothing “suicide” in their operation.


The most popular lever operated front changer was the French made Simplex, (Above.) which is the one being used by Darrigade in the top picture. It simply pivoted in the center and you pushed the knob on the lever inwards toward the frame to shift up to the big ring, and opposite to shift down. Simplex also made chainrings and bottle cages (both pictured here.) The chainrings were often used with different make cranks like the Italian Gnutti or Magistroni.


Huret, (Above.) another French make, was also popular; I used this one. It worked on a helical, or screw like cam. You pushed the lever forward to go to the small ring, and back to change up.

Huret also had an interesting rear derailleur, it used twin down tube levers and twin cables. (Note: Two cables on the chainstay that also needed a double cable stop.)

(The twin levers: Left.) The large lever shifted gears, while the short lever tensioned the chain. On a smooth road, you could run the chain slack for less friction.

Another front changer I had fist hand experience of was the British made Cyclo-Benilux. (Above.) This one had a twist rod held with two clamps on the seat tube. You twisted the rod to shift up and down. I liked this one because I found I could reach behind my right leg and the knob at the top of the rod would be right where my hand naturally fell. Unlike the other changers that you had to reach between your legs to operate the lever.

None of these changers had return springs, they were manually operated both ways. Most of them had a simple friction device to hold it where you put it. But on most of them if the chain rubbed it would automatically knock the changer yoke out of the way, and no further adjustment was needed.

This equipment was simple, to the point of being crude, but they got the job done. We became used to it, and skilled in its operation. There was nothing “suicide” about it.

There are probably few people in America with actual experience of using these. (I would be interested to hear comments from any.) The 1970s generation probably gave them the name. They look more awkward to use that the actually were.

I can imagine in years to come, the cyclists who grew up with down tube friction shifters will fade away, and the “Brifter”* generation will then dub these suicide shifters.

Top picture from The Wool Jersey.
Other pictures from Classic Lightweights, UK.
Brifters* Combination brake and gear shift levers.

Update on 1940s American Framebuilder Mike Moulton

On April 6th last, I wrote about an California framebuilder named Mike Moulton in a piece named “1930s Moulton Special.”

Later I emailed Ted Ernst who raced at a national level in the US as early as the 1950s; here was what Ted was able to find out:

Dave:
I got in touch with a few guys in regards to Mike Moulton; the memories are sketchy.

He didn't start to build until after the war, sometime like 1947 or so and only built for a few years. Framebuilding was more a hobby as he was a full time employee at Lockheed Aircraft. Guys raced on his bikes all around especially in those early years when the Burbank track was up and running around 1948/9.

From what was said he had no direct connection to the bike game, as far as club or business affiliation, but went out to the races watched, talked to the guys, enjoyed the mechanics of it all and started building and selling, probably for about 4-5 years until he dropped away.

They were nicely done and at the local level here had moderate success. Like so many others, a brief encounter and duration in the game. I'll keep ears open, and any old codger comes along, I'll try to get more info and relay to you.
Ted Ernst

[Ted Ernst, (Lower Right) competing in the National Board Track Championship in 1956. Picture from Wool Jersey.]

Last week I received a picture of an all chrome Mike Moulton frame built in 1949; still owned by the original owner Joe Cirone. Joe won the California State Championship on this bike in 1949, 50, and 51.

Here we have a known Mike Moulton frame; if you look closely at the picture at the top of the page, his name is stamped on the front of the fork crown. Looking at the distinct style of the head lugs and comparing them to the frame I wrote about on April 6th; my opinion is that the two frames are the work of the same builder.

The unknown frame (Left.) also had the name “Moulton Special” which was found under the many coats of paint applied over the years. As I previously stated, “How many framebuilders named Moulton can there be from that era?”

If the unknown frame was indeed built by Mike Moulton, then it was from the 1940s not 1930s as the owner had guessed it was. However, because of WWII, bicycles developed very little during those years and a 1940s frame will look pretty much the same as one built in the 1930s.

It appears that Mike Moulton built frames as a hobby, but even so they were very well crafted and were raced successfully in the 1940s, and a few of these frames still exist today. There would have been few American builders at that time; US framebuilding didn’t proliferate until the 1970s.

I find it interesting because we share the same last name, though not related as far as I know. This is a small but never-the-less important part of American cycling history and should be remembered and documented, even if it is only on a blog such as this. I am hoping that there will be more information forthcoming, maybe from family members and decendents of Mike Moulton.

1930s Moulton Special

About a year and a half ago, I received the following message:

Sir: I have a bike that was custom made for me by a Lockheed Engineer by the name of Mike Moulton, his name is stamped on the fork. He made this for me in 1949 and I raced it all over America as well as a member of the All American Team that toured Japan in 1951. I won three California State Championships on the bike, 49,50, 51. Are you any kin to Mike?----Joe Cirone.


I did not receive pictures of this bike, but Joe later described it as being all chrome. I replied that I was not related to this framebuilder, Moulton is a fairly common English name. This was the first time I had heard of Mike Moulton.

Recently I received pictures of a 1930s “Moulton Special.” The owner found the original decals, buried under many coats of paint, when he started sanding.



I am inclined to think that the same person built the two frames. They were built within a decade or so of each other, and how many framebuilders named Moulton can there be?



If there is anyone reading this who has heard of Mike Moulton or the “Moulton Special” please let me know. I would be interested, and so would the current owner of this bike.




You can view more pictures here.