Recently a bicycle race from Bath to Kensington, 106 miles, for the (captaincy) and (subcaptaincy) of the Middlesex Bicycle Club commenced in the Bath Market-place, the competitors being Mesate, Pearce, Leaver, Goulding, Percy, Tyne, Spencer, and Walker. The diameter of the driving wheels varied from 45 to 52 inches. The first six miles of the race, which was over a capital road, were done in a very short space of time. At Newbury, which is about midway, the first two riders to arrive were Walker and Tyne. Here the wheel of Tyne's machine collapsed, making him lose two hours in the first half of the race. He went on again, but was quite out of the running. The race was won by Mr. Walker, of the Middlesex Bicycle Club, who started at ten minutes past five a.m. and arrived at Kensington at fifteen minutes past three p.m. - the greatest speed on record for the distance.

Sorry for any errors.

So a modern rider typically takes at least 4 hours to do a century ride and that is at top amateur/pro levels. Averaging 25 miles per hour for that long is very difficult. Most avid club cyclists will average around 16 mph in the real world and can finish a century in around 6-7 hours.

In this race, it started at just after 5 am and was won by the finishing rider just over ten hours later at fifteen minutes past 3 pm. So the average speed of the winning rider was just over 10 miles per hour. You'll have to forgive me for not knowing metric time but in real units, the race was 170 km, and the average speed was 17 kph.

In terms of wheel size, the 700c wheels of today are around 28in in diameter. The racers here were riding between 45-52in. So 45in is 1.143m, and 52in is 1.32m

I speculate that these were likely Penny-farthing or Ordinary velocipedes

The frame is a single tube following the circumference of the front wheel, then diverting to a trailing wheel. A mounting peg is above the rear wheel. The front wheel is in a rigid fork with little if any trail. A spoon brake is usually fitted on the fork crown, operated by a lever from one of the handlebars. The bars are usually mustache shaped, dropping from the level of the headset. The saddle mounts on the frame less than 18 inches (46 cm) behind the headset.

One particular model, made by Pope Manufacturing Company in 1886, weighs 36 pounds (16 kg), has a 60-spoke 53-inch (130 cm) front wheel and a 20-spoke 18-inch (46 cm) rear wheel. It is fitted with solid rubber tires. The rims, frame, fork, and handlebars are made from hollow, steel tubing. The steel axles are mounted in adjustable ball bearings. The leather saddle is suspended by springs.[32]

Another model, made by Humber and Co., Ltd., of Beeston, Nottingham, weighs only 24 pounds (11 kg), and has 52-inch (130 cm) and 18-inch (46 cm) wheels. It has no step and no brakes, in order to minimize weight.[33]

A third model, also made by Pope Manufacturing Company, weighs 49 pounds (22 kg) and has forged steel forks. A brake lever on the right of a straight handlebar operates a spoon brake against the front wheel.[34]

All three have cranks that can be adjusted for length.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny-farthing

The original posted article from 1874 is on page 2 at the top right of the news paper archived here: https://archive.org/details/NPDP18740922/page/0/mode/2up?q=bicycle&view=theater

I didn't think aluminum rims or clinchers were a thing all the way back then.

Here are all the rest of the cycling highlights of The Iron Age like chainless drive too.

stationary trainer:

https://archive.org/details/IronAgeVol54Jul121894/page/n95/mode/1up?view=theater

::: spoiler Bonus riding lawn mower:

I'm not sure I can link like that to archived images from a catalog. Page 279 is missing from the scan. This is the whole catalog: https://archive.org/details/sears-roebuck-catalogue-111/page/n136/mode/1up?view=theater The bicycle section starts on page 137 of the slider.

For reference:

At this early point in the history of license plates in the United States of America, none of the 45 states, territories, or the District of Columbia, was issuing its own plates.[1][2][3][4] The State of New York remained the only state that required vehicle owners to register their automobiles. The system of using the owner's initials as the registration number, begun in 1901, remained in effect. This would change in 1903 when a number was assigned to each owner to display on their vehicle. Across the country the increases in the number of automobiles was being noticed, and there were many cities, like Chicago, that had already begun to require their owners to register their vehicles.[5][6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_States_for_1902

1902

• February 12 – The 1st Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance takes place in Washington, D.C..
• March 7 – Second Boer War: Battle of Tweebosch – South African Boers win their last battle over the British Army, with the capture of a British general and 200 of his men.
• March 10 – Clashes between police and Georgian workers led by Joseph Stalin leave 15 dead, 54 wounded, and 500 in prison.[1]
• April 2 – The Electric Theatre, the first movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles.
• May 20 – Cuba gains independence from the United States.
• July 2 – Philippine–American War ends.
• August 22 – Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first American President to ride in an automobile, a Columbia Electric Victoria through Hartford, Connecticut.
• August 22 – A 7.7 earthquake shakes the border between China and Kyrgyzstan killing 10,000 people.
• September 1 – The first science fiction film, the silent A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans La Lune), is premièred at the Théâtre Robert-Houdin in Paris, France, by actor/producer Georges Méliès, and proves an immediate success.[7]
• November 16 – A newspaper cartoon depicting U.S. President "Teddy" Roosevelt refusing to shoot a bear cub inspires creation of the first teddy bear by Morris Michtom in New York City.
• December 30 – Discovery Expedition: British explorers Scott, Shackleton and Wilson reach the furthest southern point reached thus far by man, south of 82°S.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1902

Shifter is a youtube/peertube channel with lot of great insights on cycling.

Every year he collects stuff to gift to bike commuters and I there are some good suggestion in it.

Hey guys,

So... I've been using a small electric pump for my bikes and e-scooters over the last few years.

They are nice, but really aren't designed to be used as often as I do.

I'm a fan of low-tech gear, so I'm looking for a good quality floor pump that will last the next 20+ years. Obviously, it needs to be serviceable and have easily replaceable parts. And it needs to be accurate, for sure. LOL

I'm reading reviews from Wirecutter and various cycling sites, and they are all over the place with recommendations. I think a lot of their choices are driven by affiliate links, so there's that.

Does this unicorn exist?

Edit: I want to thank eveyone for their generous help. I ended up getting the Advent X groupset and got it installed. Although I still have some tweaking left.

I have a Triban RC100 that I wish to convert to 11 speed.

I got as far as choosing the Sensah Srx Pro and the Shimano RS100 wheels. But got stuck after that.

Which cassette would be compatible with both and what chain length would I need? I am looking for something that gives me some offroad climbing gears.

Thank you for your help.

I wanna try doing this some day

(By overnight I mean set off in the evening (well rested) and cycle until the morning)

I know about the obvious stuff like a bright vest, blinking rear light and wearing light colored clothes but is there anything else that I need for when nightfall hits?

First, the good news: My friend is essentially okay, aside from some bumps and bruises. His bike took some damage, but likely not catastrophic: From what we could tell, both derailleurs on his bike and the bar tape were damaged; there may be other damage we couldn't identify immediately, such as the handlebars themselves.

We were riding on this road with two lanes, no shoulder, and there's a light at the bottom of a hill, with a right turn lane. The light was green, so our group was cruising at a pretty high pace - probably 25 or 30 mph - in the right lane (not the turn lane, the through lane) and some driver needed to turn right, but couldn't wait a few seconds. So, they went into the LEFT lane, then turned right in front of our group, hit one of our riders, and kept going.

("Must get in front...oh I have to turn here..." Shitty driving habits in general, I'll bet.)

A few other cars stopped, and someone called the police, who took a report and got an ambulance to check out the victim. Hopefully they'll do some investigation and find the guilty party. The cross street leads into a neighborhood with no other exits, so there's a good chance the perpetrator lives there. Also there is a camera at that light, and one person thought to note the exact time it happened, in case the camera does continuously record.

I hope they find the driver. They deserve to pay for all damages and a huge fine.

Our friend commented that his bike was likely worth more than the minivan that hit him, which is almost certainly true, given it was an older model van and his bike is a high end Pinarello. He also noted that none of us stopped his bike computer, which was good for a laugh.

The ride leader's husband was able to come and pick up her, the victim, and another rider that wasn't comfortable continuing after the crash (we were only about halfway through the planned route). The rest of us pedaled on, albeit a bit more subdued for a while.

I don't know why roofed bikes and bike-caravans have appealed to me so much for years. They are expensive and take up a lot of space at home. I probably won't buy one. And yet I'm always looking to see what's new in this area.

They would be handy in spring and autumn. So here's my list which velomobiles are available with a roof:

• Quadvelo https://www.quadvelo.com/
• Podbike https://www.podbike.com/
• BAYK https://bayk.ag/newsticker/
• Onomotion https://onomotion.com/blog/
• Citkar https://www.mubea-umobility.com/insights/blog
• Hopper https://hopper-mobility.com/

And which may be ready for series production in 2025:

• ELF https://organictransit.com/ (Study according to "Das MÖ")
• Pedilio https://www.pedilio.de/
• iris https://www.grantsinclair.com/product-page/iris-etrike-electric-vehicle
• Twike https://twike.com/
• Veemo SE https://veemo.ca/

In my opinion, it would be enough for a cargo-bike manufacturer to offer an optional roof like the one built by "Ekki Mobil". (picture in title) A cargo-bike with a box at the front would be ideal. It would also be much cheaper than any of the velomobiles listed above. What do you think about it?

cross-posted from: https://lazysoci.al/post/19204414

Just the other day in regards to the bike made with vape batteries people were saying that homemade electric bikes were dangerous due to the expertise required when dealing with batteries. Electric bikes are fantastic, but your lives are even better.

I'm slowly but surely transitioning from driving to cycling to the point I'm going to have to change jobs to stop driving all together. While this surely has many health and environmental benefits, I was wondering about the financial benefits. Those of you who have already made the transition, how much have you save by not driving?

I'm trying to convert both my wife and I's bikes into ebikes so we can ride them more often and drive our cars less. I've never done somethings like this. For the very little I've done so far, there are three types of kits: front hub motor, rear hub motor and mid drive motor. Which of these is best for inner city commuting? Which one is cheap and easy to install?

Interesting design. I wish I could try it.

Ifixit take on current bike/e-bike manufacturers.

I wanted to share my experience with waxing my bike chains.

I was resistant to waxing my chains because it seems that a lot of people felt it was "too much work".

But having to constantly clean black shit off my chains after every ride, then spend time degreasing and re-lubing, I figured I'd try waxing when I got my gravel bike.

Now, thousands of KM later and having converted all three bikes to waxed, there's no way I'd go back. The time saved could be measured in hours per month.

First, the biggest complaint is chain prep. Yeah, regardless if you're waxing or not, you'll need to prep a new chain by removing the factory grease. With waxed, you do this once, and no more worrying about degreasing ever again. Make like easy and get Silca's chain stripper, and it's a 10 minute, one-step process.

Ongoing chain maintenance couldn't be easier. After every ride, give the chain a quick wipe (or not). My chain stays clean, even after a 200 km ride.

And if you ride in wet or dirty conditions? Guess what, you're in for a LOT of work if you lube your chain. With waxed, keep a second (or third) chain ready to go, and you just swap it out (10 seconds of effort). Take the dirty chain, give it a wipe if it's only been wet, or pour boiled water onto it if you want to "reset" the chain to bare metal. Then drop it into the waxing pot for a re-wax. You don't have to stand at the pot, so there's no real time commitment here. I've spent more time completely dirtying large microfiber cloths trying to get my chain "clean" when lubed (hint: it's never clean if you use a wet lube, not without solvents and an ultrasonic cleaner).

For actual immersion wax, I do it every 1000 km (sooner than you need to), and use a drip wax every 200 - 250 km to keep things fresh.

Honestly, wax is easier, cleaner, and takes less time to maintain vs wet lube.

The only downsides? The initial cost to get started. But this is offset by not having to replace chains or other components prematurely. You actually save money in the long-term when using waxed chains.

Some might argue that "you can't run waxed chains in muddy or constantly rainy conditions". Well, at the same time, your wet lube isn't really helping matters in those situations, either. Waxed is still better, and you can swap chains much faster than you can clean the grinding paste from a wet lubed chain.

Who would I not recommend waxed chains to? Someone who rarely uses their bike. Drip lube will be "good enough" in those cases. But anyone else would benefit from waxing their chain.

Nice read about a trip on the buffalo bicycle (which was posted about here some time ago), with an interesting view on the "world bicycle relief".

Hi, I hope this is the right place to ask. I decided to start commuting by bike as it's only about 15 minutes each way. So I got my first bike and learned how to ride. It's a cheap Chinese MTB from my country's version of amazon. This was a few months ago now. Since then I've been riding almost everyday and taking longer trips along the river trail near my home.

So I'm thinking about getting a lower end Shimano groupset. But I'm wondering what I'll get out of upgrading. Will there be a noticeable difference in performance? Smoother shifting? More speed in top gear?

Thanks for any insight you can share :) any essential gear recommendations would be great too!