Cycling UK Forum

The thread about tub's got me all nostalgic and I'm only 41.

How about bonk bags, bunches of bananas and spare tubs tied up under the saddle? Any more for any more?

What about those little odometer things we used to fix on the front axle nut, it had a pin fastened to a spoke and every time it came round the pin wound turn a star shaped wheel and clock your mileage up . Or if you was posh you had a smiths speedo that was gear driven via a bowden cable to the handlebars. Oooooooo

Malc

Or a clothes peg and a cigarette packet (empty), carefully arranged so that the cigarette packet hits the spokes and makes a noise supposedly like a motorbike, well for a minute or two anyway.

Back to eltonioni and the tubs, around here at least, everybody but me seemed to have their tubs wrapped in a pvc Wall's Ice cream pennant liberated from outside a café or similar. I say everybody except me because I was under a severe threat from my dear old dad not to bring one home. I used to have a rather natty Dulux paint ad (also made from pvc) around mine because my mother was manageress of a paint and wallpaper shop, so I could have one that was kosher. Quite distinctive, but it never made the comic.

Panniers with flimsy metal clips at the top and a rubber band at the bottom. Ride over a pothole and the rubber band breaks, the pannier leaps into the air and scatters contents over the road.

Metal lights held by a flattish spring on a purpose-made bracket. The spring soon becomes rusty so the light leaps off and the glass (real glass!) smashes. But the light continues to work, for a while.

snibgo wrote:But the light continues to work, for a while.

So you can find the light of course - good feature that

Bicycle clips and turn-ups.

ferrit worrier wrote:What about those little odometer things we used to fix on the front axle nut, it had a pin fastened to a spoke and every time it came round the pin wound turn a star shaped wheel and clock your mileage up .
Malc

I had one of them.
And a sturmy archer 3 speed hub and eventually a hub dynamo. (My mate was a wimp he had a four speed hub). We used to manage 100 miles in a day round the hills and mountains in Wales without any problems, made us tough in those far off days.

Panniers with flimsy metal clips at the top and a rubber band at the bottom. Ride over a pothole and the rubber band breaks, the pannier leaps into the air and scatters contents over the road.

Metal lights held by a flattish spring on a purpose-made bracket. The spring soon becomes rusty so the light leaps off and the glass (real glass!) smashes. But the light continues to work, for a while.

Nostalgia? What do you mean? We still have all of those (the front lamp is much better than those modern LED ones - Thanks Graham) The wife still uses bike clips - and toe clips. We've never had a problem with our Karrimor panniers in 30 years and even if we did they are guaranteed for life

And before you start reminiscing about cotter pins and 27" wheel - I've got those too:

Huge chromed Pifco lights with a big chromed "eyebrow" that were turned on my screwing down a knob on the top

"Honk honk" curly bulb horns

Cotter pins I yate cotter pins

Kick-stands - god how I miss good quality kick stands

Mattress saddles stuffed with horse hair (or sommat that looked a bit like it!)

Michelin Roadster tyres

Woods valves

Enclosed chains

...oh, 'ang on, I'm describing all the bikes I have in the garage

thirdcrank wrote:Back to eltonioni and the tubs, around here at least, everybody but me seemed to have their tubs wrapped in a pvc Wall's Ice cream pennant liberated from outside a café or similar.

Mine was a "liberated" Neilson's Ice cream pennant. We made our own entertaiment in those days
My parents never commented on it-they probably thought it came from a bike shop.
I also had a mileage counter it failed during a bitter winter - probably clogged with ice.

Those flat stamped sheet metal multi spanners that came with Raleigh's were the humble forerunner of the Crank Brothers 19.

eltonioni wrote:... the humble forerunner ....

We were way ahead of our time. You mention bonk bags. I have a real one - picked up at the roadside after a feeding station in France. Sauvage Lejeune - Alan Ramsbottom's team.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Ramsbottom

Anyway, over here they developed as the way of carrying stuff for trendsetters who didn't want to use a saddlebag. Waist straps were added to stop them sliding about, they got bigger and some bike shops even had their adverts on. Nowadays they are called courier bags, and if you are daft enough you can spend an arm and a leg buying one.

thirdcrank wrote:trendsetters who didn't want to use a saddlebag.

i've actually seen bikes without saddlebags , but it's not right is it?

Those awful EverReady lights with the big round lenses that used to jump out of their brackets at the slightest provocation and scatter their component parts over a wide area.

Wonder Lights (Great)

Avocet Computers

Spokey-Dokeys

Raleigh Chipper (my first bike)

Woods valves (I'm only aware of these as sometimes old chaps would come into the shop asking for spares lol.

Raleigh Raincheck brake pads (SCREAAAAAAMMMMM !!!!!)