Bicycle Books
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| The Dancing Chain | Frank J. Berto |
| The Space Frame Moultons | Tony Hadland |
| The Sturmey Archer Story | Tony Hadland |
| Cyclecraft | John Franklin |
| The Classic Moulton | Paul Grogan |
| The Moulton Bicycle | Tony Hadland |
| It's in the Bag! | Tony Hadland and John Pinkerton |
The Dancing Chain
Of the various books I've read over the years on bicycles this is my favourite. The full title adds the line "History and Development of the Derailleur Bicycle". There is a huge amount of information about derailleurs here, and a great deal more as well.
The story is told chronologically, each chapter covering about ten to forty years. The last two chapters break from this telling us how derailleurs work and reviewing the various alternatives available.
I think that if you like to study mechanisms and seeing how they have developed over the years then this is the book for you. It is beautifully illustrated including a large number of detailed drawings by Daniel Rebour and many historic photographs.
Living, as I do, in the UK I was entertained by the debate described in the book over the respective advantages of epicyclical hub gears and derailleurs. This began in 1914 approximately and is described in Chapter 5. The hub gears being preferred by the British and the derailleurs advocated by the French. The French win on efficiency in the end. I've always really liked hub gears because they are so neat and clever whereas the derailleurs have seemed like a very crude idea to me. This is exactly how the British tended to see things in the early days of the derailleur. This book describes how the derailleur goes from being initially a rather crude device to the extremely refined mechanism it is today.
Included in the penultimate chapter of the book are some very interesting tests of efficiency of derailleurs and hub gears in various different states. Some old myths are exposed, such as the over-emphasis on the effect of the chain-line. The derailleur/hub gear tests do show that in general derailleurs are more efficient than hub gears but it is not a wide margin. The best hub gears have fewer gears, so the humble Sturmey Archer three speed "beats" the Rohloff fourteen speed hub.
Cyclists are very given to getting over obsessed with some aspect or other of bicycle design which may or may not affect efficiency. In the development of the derailleur bicycle designers felt that the pulleys would cause resistance, so a great many single pulley derailleurs were created. Campagnolo created a derailleur mechanism that used no pulleys at all. The chain slackened or tightened to allow it to go around different sized sprockets by loosening the rear axle and sliding it back and forth in the drop-outs. This was done using levers whilst riding the bike! Today of course we don't think the pulleys have any significant influence on efficiency but I do think that similar obsessions exist today that over emphasise some aspect of bicycle design.
For me then, definitely highly recommended!
The Space Frame Moultons
This book covers the period of the development of the space frame Moulton, its launch in 1983 and continuing development up to 1994.
Being a great fan of the Moulton Bicycle for me this had been a great read. Tony Hadland describes the development of the unique space-frame very well. He covers all the variations in the design. I find the reactions to this radical design after its launch to be very interesting. As well as focussing on the design there are excellent human stories as well such as Jim Glover breaking the world un-paced cycling record on a Moulton in 1986.
For an owner of a space frame Moulton built in the period covered by the book there is very likely to be a lot of information specific to that particular bicycle. I found it to be full of detail about my 1985 AM7.
Technical hints and tips such as "curing shimmy" are included in the useful appendices.
Towards the end of the book is a lovely chapter on touring. This is a series of short pieces about individuals who have gone on notable expeditions on their AMs. I found this to be quite inspirational.
The Sturmey Archer Story
Of all the mechanisms developed for the bicycle the epicyclic hub gears are for me the most interesting. The "wheels within wheels" are just so ingenious.
In The Sturmey Archer Story the development of the Sturmey Archer hubs is described in great detail with many excellent historic drawings of cutaways and sections. There's a rubik's cube like joy in working them out.
The human story behind these hub gears is fascinating. The innovative three speed for which Sturmey Archer is best known was not designed by James Archer or Henry Sturmey. The individual behind it has been totally eclipsed by these men, but The Sturmey Archer Story reveals his identity and tells us why he's been so forgotten.
Cyclecraft
I've included this book because it is so beneficial for UK cyclists. The confidence that comes from having a plan for dealing with traffic is great and while I believe the book will help you to become a much safer rider, it will also make riding the bicycle much more enjoyable. Certainly that has been my experience.
The Classic Moulton
Although all three of my Moultons are space framed bicycles I do have a great liking for the earlier "F-framed" design it is so simple and elegant. This classic design achieved an iconic status which has not been matched by the space framed bicycles.
The Classic Moulton is a compendium of all the F-frame Moultons. For each model there is a graphic illustration by Nigel Sadler accompanied by a full and detailed specification. At the back is an exploded diagram of an F-frame Moulton and a separate diagram with cutaways showing the internal functioning of the front suspension.
I find it to be a great book for dipping into. I think that anyone that it would be essential reading for anyone that wanted to buy a classic Moulton.
It's attractive which I feel makes the detailed information accessible.
The Moulton Bicycle
This one predates The Space Frame Moultons and is about the F-frame (classic) Moulton. It covers the period 1957 to 1981, that is, the conception, pregnancy and birth of the classic Moulton bicycle and its continued production and development up to its demise in 1974.
Like The Space Frame Moultons and The Sturmey Archer Story this book combines design and technical developments with human stories making the book a very enjoyable read.
Whereas the space frame Moultons were initially manufactured only on a small scale, the classic Moulton was created for mass production and The Moulton Bicycle has the successes and failures brought by mass production interwoven with the human and technical stories.
Obviously it is primarily of interest to those that like Moultons, but it also might appeal to a wider audience featuring, as it does, technical exploration, human endeavour and experiences with UK mass production in the 60's and early 70's.
It's in the Bag!
I don't have any interest in folding bicycles. I bought this because I've liked Tony Hadland's books so much. I'm glad I did buy it as I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It's amazing how old the folding bicycle is. We associate them with small wheels but the first was an "Ordinary" (known to some as a "Penny Farthing"). The large wheel separated into quadrants and the whole thing went into a quadrant shaped bag - actually rather neat.
The one I liked the best is Le Petit-Bi. This 1937 bicycle looks amazingly current with small wheels and a very compact design. The front wheel is turned backwards, then the handlebars fold down and the saddle comes down to reduce overall size, however the frame doesn't fold. In one picture there is a rack on the rear so it can be stood on its end and put against a wall thus taking up very little floor space. I think if this bicycle were produced today there would be a market for it.
Innovation and ingenuity are the primary elements of this book. It works through many folding bikes some well known, such as the Bickerton and the Brompton, others less well known like, er, The Bootie.
All in all, a fun read.