Off road history.

Trips, adventures, bikes, equipment, etc.
User avatar
pedalsheep
Posts: 1324
Joined: 11 Aug 2009, 7:57pm

Re: Off road history.

Post by pedalsheep »

Yes looks great. I backed it too.
'Why cycling for joy is not the most popular pastime on earth is still a mystery to me.'
Frank J Urry, Salute to Cycling, 1956.
Mike_Ayling
Posts: 385
Joined: 25 Sep 2017, 3:02am
Location: Melbourne Australia

Re: Off road history.

Post by Mike_Ayling »

amediasatex wrote:
colin54 wrote:
rualexander wrote:Roughstuff Fellowship have some great old photos on their instagram account
https://www.instagram.com/rsfarchive/

What a fantastic selection of photo's, well done the archivist(s).


Agreed, excellent and I'm thankful they've taken the time to digitise and present them, there are thousands and thousands of pictures sitting in desk drawers and boxes in the loft that will liekly never see the light of day yet give us an amazing glimpse into the past, I can only hope more will surface as time goes on.


Gotta take your hat off to those blokes!
Most of them just on the touring bikes of the day, none of that wimpy fat tyres and suspension stuff!

Mike
User avatar
Gattonero
Posts: 3730
Joined: 31 Jan 2016, 1:35pm
Location: London

Re: Off road history.

Post by Gattonero »

Mike_Ayling wrote:...
Gotta take your hat off to those blokes!
Most of them just on the touring bikes of the day, none of that wimpy fat tyres and suspension stuff!

Mike


True, but speeds were much, much slower in that day.
It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best,
since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.
Thus you remember them as they actually are...
Mike_Ayling
Posts: 385
Joined: 25 Sep 2017, 3:02am
Location: Melbourne Australia

Re: Off road history.

Post by Mike_Ayling »

Gattonero wrote:
Mike_Ayling wrote:...
Gotta take your hat off to those blokes!
Most of them just on the touring bikes of the day, none of that wimpy fat tyres and suspension stuff!

Mike


True, but speeds were much, much slower in that day.


I suspect that today's faster speeds are due to the new technology, wimpy fat tyres and suspension stuff plus better brakes rather than the cyclists abilities!


Mike
iandriver
Posts: 2521
Joined: 10 Jun 2009, 2:09pm
Location: Cambridge.

Re: Off road history.

Post by iandriver »

CTC Cambridge have some wonderful photos of the club in the 1930s https://ctccambridge.org.uk/ctccambridgein1930s

In the part of North London I grew up in, the river Lea was my real escape from the city, so my gas pipe single speed kids bike was my first go anywhere machine.

I still have the same basic criteria for a bike, it needs to go pretty much anywhere. I've got a Rock Lobster 853 MTB that I have had for many years, that now turns more heads than anything new.

I commute on a general purpose CX bike (rack and mudguard mounts), that to me is just a general purpose bike. Even my most road bike is a Kinesis 4S that has deep drop callipers and 32mm tyres. That coped very well with the dirt roads in Provence around the sunflower fields, as well as the like of Mont Ventoux.
Supporter of the A10 corridor cycling campaign serving Royston to Cambridge http://a10corridorcycle.com. Never knew gardening secateurs were an essential part of the on bike tool kit until I took up campaigning.....
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Off road history.

Post by reohn2 »

Mike_Ayling wrote:
Gattonero wrote:
Mike_Ayling wrote:...
Gotta take your hat off to those blokes!
Most of them just on the touring bikes of the day, none of that wimpy fat tyres and suspension stuff!

Mike


True, but speeds were much, much slower in that day.


I suspect that today's faster speeds are due to the new technology, wimpy fat tyres and suspension stuff plus better brakes rather than the cyclists abilities!


Mike

You mean bicycles made for the terrain they're to ridden over?
I own four(solo) bikes,discounting the folder which is specific of purpose,I could do all my cycling on any one of the remaining three,but eash is optimal for any given terrain,in the past most people could afford one bike and so used it for everthing.
Things have changed due to more disposable income.

PS,all have 'wimpey fat tyres' to a greater or lesser extent :wink:
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
slowster
Moderator
Posts: 4629
Joined: 7 Jul 2017, 10:37am

Re: Off road history.

Post by slowster »

Gattonero wrote:True, but speeds were much, much slower in that day.

reohn2 wrote:You mean bicycles made for the terrain they're to ridden over?

They were riding their bikes considerable distances both on-road and off-road, often the former in order to get to and from the latter, of which Wayfarer's Over the Top ride was an example.

If you are able to avoid riding on the road because you use a car to get to the trails or because you have good off-road riding on your doorstep, then it may make sense to have a bike that is much more biased to off-road use, but that potentially limits exploring further afield using roads to link off-road trails.

I recall one club run where we notched up 100 miles, with a long section of rough stuff in the middle forming a highlight of the ride. You could ride that section faster on an MTB or a so called monster cross bike, and you could ride the road part faster on a racing bike. But a traditional touring bike was - and remains - the best bike for the whole ride, providing the optimum compromise of speed and comfort.
Mike Sales
Posts: 7882
Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm

Re: Off road history.

Post by Mike Sales »

Years ago I crossed Nant Rhyd Wylim (Wayfarer's Pass) twice in one day on my Galaxy. I reached the road end and found I had lost my tool roll, so I turned round and retraced my tyre tracks. I didn't find the tools.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Off road history.

Post by reohn2 »

I ride on/offroad rides all the time,it depends on the ratio of off to onroad riding involved and how rough the rough bits are as what bike suits,especially as I'm getting older.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
iandriver
Posts: 2521
Joined: 10 Jun 2009, 2:09pm
Location: Cambridge.

Re: Off road history.

Post by iandriver »

slowster wrote:But a traditional touring bike was - and remains - the best bike for the whole ride, providing the optimum compromise of speed and comfort.


Have to disagree. My Surly Long Haul Trucker is the bike that gathers dust in my shed. Great for loaded touring, total overkill the rest of the time. A light tourer/ Audax maybe. I much prefer a machine that's more nimble than something that's designed for camping trip loads.
Supporter of the A10 corridor cycling campaign serving Royston to Cambridge http://a10corridorcycle.com. Never knew gardening secateurs were an essential part of the on bike tool kit until I took up campaigning.....
slowster
Moderator
Posts: 4629
Joined: 7 Jul 2017, 10:37am

Re: Off road history.

Post by slowster »

iandriver wrote:
slowster wrote:But a traditional touring bike was - and remains - the best bike for the whole ride, providing the optimum compromise of speed and comfort.


Have to disagree. My Surly Long Haul Trucker is the bike that gathers dust in my shed. Great for loaded touring, total overkill the rest of the time. A light tourer/ Audax maybe. I much prefer a machine that's more nimble than something that's designed for camping trip loads.

The Long Haul Trucker is NOT a traditional touring bike. It is a modern heavy duty touring bike optimised for load lugging. Traditional touring bikes are/were not designed to be at their best when carrying heavy loads: such use was generally limited and for the most part they were/are used lightly loaded, e.g. with a saddlebag for day rides. In other words, the sort of bikes in many of the RSF images, e.g. old model Dawes Galaxy, Claud Butlers, Jack Taylors etc. You might call that a light tourer, but they were and are simply traditional touring bikes.
User avatar
Gattonero
Posts: 3730
Joined: 31 Jan 2016, 1:35pm
Location: London

Re: Off road history.

Post by Gattonero »

Mike_Ayling wrote:
Gattonero wrote:
Mike_Ayling wrote:...
Gotta take your hat off to those blokes!
Most of them just on the touring bikes of the day, none of that wimpy fat tyres and suspension stuff!

Mike


True, but speeds were much, much slower in that day.


I suspect that today's faster speeds are due to the new technology, wimpy fat tyres and suspension stuff plus better brakes rather than the cyclists abilities!


Mike


Big difference betwen "suspect" and "having seen/having ridden" :wink:

According to you, anyone riding a tyre over 1.75" is "a wimp"? Millions of them out in the woods :lol:

By the way, not only looking at the racing tracks but the dedicated trails in today's day are far, far more demanding than any trail that was ridden in the early '90s. And are ridden faster.

Truth is: cyclists have honed their skills, Is called "evolution" :wink:
It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best,
since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.
Thus you remember them as they actually are...
Bmblbzzz
Posts: 6259
Joined: 18 May 2012, 7:56pm
Location: From here to there.

Re: Off road history.

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Mike Sales wrote:Years ago I crossed Nant Rhyd Wylim (Wayfarer's Pass) twice in one day on my Galaxy. I reached the road end and found I had lost my tool roll, so I turned round and retraced my tyre tracks. I didn't find the tools.

Hopefully they were either found by someone who is still making good use of them, or will be found by archaeologists several centuries from now!
Bmblbzzz
Posts: 6259
Joined: 18 May 2012, 7:56pm
Location: From here to there.

Re: Off road history.

Post by Bmblbzzz »

slowster wrote:
iandriver wrote:
slowster wrote:But a traditional touring bike was - and remains - the best bike for the whole ride, providing the optimum compromise of speed and comfort.


Have to disagree. My Surly Long Haul Trucker is the bike that gathers dust in my shed. Great for loaded touring, total overkill the rest of the time. A light tourer/ Audax maybe. I much prefer a machine that's more nimble than something that's designed for camping trip loads.

The Long Haul Trucker is NOT a traditional touring bike. It is a modern heavy duty touring bike optimised for load lugging. Traditional touring bikes are/were not designed to be at their best when carrying heavy loads: such use was generally limited and for the most part they were/are used lightly loaded, e.g. with a saddlebag for day rides. In other words, the sort of bikes in many of the RSF images, e.g. old model Dawes Galaxy, Claud Butlers, Jack Taylors etc. You might call that a light tourer, but they were and are simply traditional touring bikes.

Interesting. Certainly the LHT is heavy...
Mike_Ayling
Posts: 385
Joined: 25 Sep 2017, 3:02am
Location: Melbourne Australia

Re: Off road history.

Post by Mike_Ayling »

Gattonero wrote:
Mike_Ayling wrote:
Gattonero wrote:
True, but speeds were much, much slower in that day.


I suspect that today's faster speeds are due to the new technology, wimpy fat tyres and suspension stuff plus better brakes rather than the cyclists abilities!


Mike


Big difference betwen "suspect" and "having seen/having ridden" :wink:

According to you, anyone riding a tyre over 1.75" is "a wimp"? Millions of them out in the woods :lol:

By the way, not only looking at the racing tracks but the dedicated trails in today's day are far, far more demanding than any trail that was ridden in the early '90s. And are ridden faster.

Truth is: cyclists have honed their skills, Is called "evolution" :wink:


OK, fat tyres are not necessarily wimpy.
However the fact that today's trails are far more demanding than those of 30 years ago is because the new technology has enabled them to be so, brakes alone permit much faster speeds.
Yes the new technology does require different skills for today's riders to "hone" while having to replace their bikes and components at very short intervals.

Mike
Post Reply