Daniel Rebour; a cyclist's eye view

[Brucey]

comment re the 'good, bad, ugly' thread has spurred me to start another thread that invites contributions and links to similar resources on the internet. Anyone who has ever looked at an old bicycle catalogue has probably seen Rebour's wonderful line drawings. There is at least one book of them published now and there are plenty on the internet. So anything goes so long as it is Rebour-related/

Here's a few for starters;






Mid 1960s campagnolo equipment


shimano 600EX (from the mid-80's) somehow looks retro, in Rebour style


first generation shimano XT; originally conceived as a touring groupset, but caught the MTB wave

cheers

[Brucey]

early dura-ace crankset from; https://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.com/2014/05/component-style-old-and-new.html


book



cheers

[Brucey]

stronglight 99

[pga]

Thanks Brucey for taking me back to the wonderful world of Rebour. I have been a fan for years.

[Brucey]

when did you last see someone pulling one of these out by the side of the road?


"easy to service" cabling....?

[thirdcrank]

I used to have one that came in a swish plastic pouch but I think it was an early lesson in cognitive dissonance, even before I knew what it meant. Apart from the box spanner which was ideal for dealing with fitting Racer brake levers, I don't remember any of the tools being any use at all. In particular, those large spanner sizes in short, flimsy tools were in chocolate teapot territory. But these were MAFAC tools so they must be just the ticket.

[JakobW]

when did you last see someone pulling one of these out by the side of the road?


"easy to service" cabling....?

Interesting placement of the bell as well - guessing this might be a case of one being a legal requirement but not wanting to take up space on the bars?

[LuckyLuke]

Interesting mini biography here, and more beautiful illustrations.

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2012/05/ ... =true/amp/

Apparently, on their honeymoon in 1948, him and his missus set a new mixed tandem record in Paris-Brest-Paris! Chapeau to both.

I often refer to "Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance" when tinkering. It's illustrated throughout by a chap called Todd Telander. I do find illustrations much clearer than photos to work from.

Best wishes,

Luke

[Brucey]

Interesting placement of the bell as well - guessing this might be a case of one being a legal requirement but not wanting to take up space on the bars?

well yes I suppose so, either that or it is some kind of early warning system in case of imminent underpant failure...?

FWIW there is no way I could ride with a bell there, my thighs would hit it.


brings a whole new dimension to the phrase 'breast pocket'

cheers

[jimlews]

when did you last see someone pulling one of these out by the side of the road?

Yesterday afternoon.
But it was me who "pulled one of those out". But the MAFAC tools are in the (later?)plastic pouch.
A cycling chum has the same but, in a MILREMO branded pouch.

Well done Brucey, for reminding us of DR, He was an excellent technical illustrator.

[Brucey]

...Yesterday afternoon. ....

good work fella! I must say that I always thought they would be of most use on mafac brakes and perhaps for tightening loose stuff; the chances of getting tight things undone with many of the tools seemed fairly remote to me, but maybe that is OK for a take-along tool kit where weight is at a premium.



Q. is the thing on the frame a quick-acting compressed gas inflation gadget? If so I didn't realise they were around in 1950.

cheers

[Bmblbzzz]

brings a whole new dimension to the phrase 'breast pocket'

cheers

Interesting cable run.

[pwa]

Thanks Brucey for these images. They are indeed beautiful. And from the point of view of information imparted they pick out detail that a photo might not, so they have a value beyond aesthetics. I wonder why illustration like this has become so rare, because it is widely recognised that people like it. We only have to think of Wainwright's walking guides, the appeal of which is just as much in the hand drawn illustrations as in the walks they describe.

[thirdcrank]

... Q. is the thing on the frame a quick-acting compressed gas inflation gadget? If so I didn't realise they were around in 1950
...

AFAIK, they were around long before that. Quite a while ago we had a thread where this type of equipment was discussed and I dug out some souvenir editions of the comic with reproductions of old pics. There was one dating back to the early days of the TdeF when riders were not allowed any mechanical assistance. As I type, it's occurred to me that the thread topic was tyresavers. The pic was so fuzzy I could not do a worthwhile scan to illustrate the tyresavers. The riders was festooned with spare tubs and had both a normal pump and a compressed gas thing: not a titchy one but the size of a small fire extinguisher - similar to that pic but bigger.
==========================================================
viewtopic.php?p=126613#p126613

That's the earlier thread about tyresavers.

The rider was Lucien Buysse and I've even quoted the page in the comic where it was printed - pp40-41 June 24 2000 Tour special - I've had a qick look at images online and can't find it. But does it matter?

[JakobW]

I wonder why illustration like this has become so rare, because it is widely recognised that people like it. We only have to think of Wainwright's walking guides, the appeal of which is just as much in the hand drawn illustrations as in the walks they describe.

I think the short answer is 'it requires a skilled illustrator and is therefore more expensive (in time and money) than taking a photo'. (And these days digital renders are starting to displace photos in a surprisingly large number of places.)

I've had that Rebour book on a list for years to see if a cheap second-hand copy pops up; I may have to bite the bullet and go for a new one...