my good friends angela and david gave me a book called
cyclepedia - a tour of iconic bicycle designs as a birthday gift recently. having had the opportunity to look through it i felt compelled to take a few photos of some of the bicycles that feature in this excellent book and post them here along with the original text that accompanies the images.
this really is a great book, in fact i would go as far as saying it could be the ultimate coffee table book for the bicycle design aficionado. the man responsible for putting it together is an austrian architect by the name of michael embacher who's collection of nearly 200 bicycles
i mentioned previously back in 2009.
i believe the majority, if not all of the bicycles featured, belong to embacher's collection and it is a quirky collection at that, or rather, it represents innovative designs from across a wide age and category spectrum. categories include
mountain, racing, singlespeed, kids, tandems, urban, touring, folding, cargo and most intriguingly
curiosities.
below are just a few of my favourites and as i mentioned earlier under each image is the text taken from the book. oh yes and the foreword is written by my old boss, fashion designer, paul smith, now their is a man who knows a thing or two about design.
in the early 1950s there were no smooth asphalt surfaces and few fine gravel cycle paths. the preoccupation, therefore, was how to create a comfortable ride, with suspension the key.
the french company afa tested springs made from fibreglass rings supported by a stem with integrated suspension. as the saddle had no helpful springs and the downward tilting handlebars were rather crude, the most obvious shock absorber that this bicycle had was the rider.
it is the clarity of the general design, however, that is most noteworthy. neat pyl brakes push the brake arm against the rim, and the sleek pedals have no axles.
the featherweight pélissier featured here (number 32793) was a leader in lightning the load, with the only component heavier than necessary being the lights. the pélissier belonged to the mecadural series of aluminium bicycles, produced by mercier after world war II.
in the thrifty years after the war, when steel use was being reserved for more essential products, aluminium became the lightweight, affordable and tough material of choice for bicycle frames, especially in france.
the mechanics of the pélissier, however, may have compromised its integrity. with tubes anchored in the lugs through small expander components, this bicycle did not have the strength to last forever.
other components survived better, such as the aluminium mudguards (with their unique wave design), the pyl brakes with the eccentric expansion cylinder spreading mechanism and the bell that was moved by the front tyre (like a dynamo).
francis pélissier was the middle one of the three brothers, all extremely successful in the cycling world. after a successful period as a professional cyclist he managed the la perle team, whose rider, hugo koblet, won the tour de france in 1951.
rené herse ran a speciality bicycle shop in the parisian suburb of levallois. it was not far from alex singer, the famous artisan bicycle manufacturer and adopted patron saint of french frame makers.
every original herse frame was an artwork with practically each component a braze-on (soldered). the quality of parts and skilled labour used to build a herse bicycle were the best possible, reflected in the astronomical retail price (about three-four months' average wages). for herse lovers, however, no price was too high.
the name of the rené herse diagonale suggested the bicycle's real purpose - as the perfect touring vehicle for 'les diagonales'. a popular activity for many decades of cyclists, racing between the six cities on the rough diagonals of france was a long-distance challenge.
the rené herse frame shown here is number 6955.
by the mid-1950s, 41 german national championship titles had already been won on rabeneick bikes. this was not surprising given that rabeneick aslo kept a professional racing team and the indoor cycling sports - named saalsport in german - were a side project, albiet a primarily aesthetic one. manoeuvrability counted in saalsport and the gear ration of these bikes is 1:1 (which meant riding quickly on them was impossible). because of the fixed wheel, however, it was possible to ride backwards, and the position of the handlebars and seat really helped when doing wheelies.
rabeneick was founded by august rabeneick in 1930 in brackwede near bielefeld, germany. the company was responsible for producing the most popular bicycles for indoor cycling sports, particularly in the immediate period post-world war II.
saalsport had become established in the late 19th century, at a time when cycling clubs were still incredibly elitist. the pursuit was aimed less at sporting success and more at enjoying spending time with peers in a club atmosphere. as bicycles became cheaper at the beginning of the 20th century, the general public could afford to buy one. sporting competitions thus opened up, becoming entertainment for the masses.
cycling competitions were held in the halls of guest houses and inns, particularly in winter. they included races with bicycles on rollers (using a contraption with three rollers to cycle on the spot), circus-like performances, creative cycling and round-dance cycling. it was even possible to play at pivoting on the extensions of the hub axle nuts while the bike rode on. this playful use of the bicycle was reflected in the design, with tyres made a light brown so that no skid marks could be left on the hall floor.
the bicycle featured here is number 171680.
many masi frames carried a different name, with the designer faliero masi (a racing cyclist in younger years) producing the frames for other professionals to be painted in the colours of their team's sponsor. this wavering allegiance was a credit to masi's frames, which were excellent to ride and particularly light. eddy merckx began his career riding a masi whose paintwork disguised it as a peugeot, and his teammate tom simpson made the same choice. rik van looy's masi was painted as a superia, and fausto coppi, jaques anquetil and vittorio adorni also rode masis.
faliero masi known as the tailor and in 1984 an american cycling magazine labelled him the enzo ferrari of frame building.
the workshop where masi produced the frames was small, and he used to close the shutters for some privacy. the one person always granted access was his son alberto, the brains behind the many little refinements that even today are what make a masi great.
alberto masi has seen the business through to its successful present. today the masi gran criterium bicycle is one of the most sought-after collectors' items. the 1978 model featured here was one of the last ever produced and is number hat58486m.
the matt black engine bonnet of the opel manta made this shade and finish synonymous with all things sporty, and gold has always been considered a symbol of luxury. so it is natural that a luxury colnago bicycle would be painted in this prestigious livery.
the model featured was sold by bicycle dealers from frankfurt am main called manfred and rolf brügelmann, who featured the bicycles under their own name.
they opened a shop in 1932 and published an annual mail order catalogue-surpassed in size only by city phone directories. their biggest successes came in the 1970s and lasted into the 1990s, and the company forged many strong relationships with well-known bicycle manufacturers. ernesto colnago liked to supply brügelmann, as did cino cinelli, and customers could even fit their own bicycles at brügelmann with particularly high-end parts.
around 1980 brügelmann specialities were presented in the catalogue - highly refined punched, pantographed, anodized and even gold-plated parts. psychological tuning for bicycles, so to speak.
for further information about this publication click
here.
