Accessories for Classic European City Bikes (like the Swedish Army

I am itching to get a classic European city bike like the old-fashioned plain one-speeds I
remember from my time spent as a kid visiting a lot of relatives in Copenhagen and Amsterdam. The
bike will come -- eventually. But for now, I'm in the market for accessories for a vintage city
bike like this.

Specifically somewhere on the net (or in Copenhagen) where I can get the lovely old front and back
bike lights that run from tire generators and a back bike rack that has a kind of fan-like mesh (?)
that either expands to allow you to shove things like a grocery bag or a couple of books into it's
side bags or allows you adding mesh-like side bags (that look like the net shopping bags your
European aunts used).

I already have the front pannier -- and the classic bell.

Any body know what the heck I'm talking about and knows where I can get these things <vbg>?

Thanks for any help and advice!

C.

 

I grew to love these bikes, too, while studying in Amsterdam. Last fall I bought a Kronan (swedish
army bike) and I love it. However, once you get to the point of purchasing, I'm afraid I cannot
recommend their American distributor-- I experienced frustratingly innatentive customer service with
them. However, it sounds like you will be in a position to get one in europe-- how fortunate!
Anyway, back on topic:

Curious <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> Specifically somewhere on the net (or in Copenhagen) where I can get the lovely old front and back
> bike lights that run from tire generators...

http://www.mikebentley.com/bike/headlights.htm

If you scroll down on this page to a heading that reads Dynamo Generator Lights, you will find a lot
of options-- not all of them classic, but hopefully some will be of interest.

Best,

Kristin

 

On Mon, 26 May 2003 04:52:19 GMT, Curious <[email protected]> wrote:

>Any body know what the heck I'm talking about and knows where I can get these things <vbg>?

A cheap lighting set (dynamo, front & rear lights, and single pole cable -- you need a conducting
frame for them to work as is) probably still sells for under $10 new here in the Netherlands. Dunno
whether you'd call it classic though -- it's pretty much been the same design for the last 3 or 4
decades, so it might.

Note that these generally do not include mount points. You will be expected to have a braze-on for
the generator, usually on the front wheel, a rear fender to fit the rear light to, and usually a
mounting thingy that goes in the top of the headset to mount the front one from. If you've got a
front pannier, you'll need to mount it elsewhere -- the pannier thing should have a braze-on for
the purpose.

Jasper

 

In article <[email protected]>,
Jasper Janssen <[email protected]> writes:
> On Mon, 26 May 2003 04:52:19 GMT, Curious <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Any body know what the heck I'm talking about and knows where I can get these things <vbg>?
>
> A cheap lighting set (dynamo, front & rear lights, and single pole cable -- you need a conducting
> frame for them to work as is) probably still sells for under $10 new here in the Netherlands.
> Dunno whether you'd call it classic though -- it's pretty much been the same design for the last 3
> or 4 decades, so it might.

Thankfully, one doesn't have to use the 1-conductor configuration -- a bit of 2-conductor lamp cord
can be used; one lead connecting the generator and lamp terminals, the other lead connected to the
generator and headlight support hardware. In fact I've got some colour-coded hook-up wire to do a
prettier job of it, one of these days. I don't really like the destructive aspect of the
1-conductor thing, with pointy screws digging into paint & metal. Also, 2-conductor is more
reliable in wet weather.

> Note that these generally do not include mount points. You will be expected to have a braze-on for
> the generator, usually on the front wheel, a rear fender to fit the rear light to, and usually a
> mounting thingy that goes in the top of the headset to mount the front one from. If you've got a
> front pannier, you'll need to mount it elsewhere -- the pannier thing should have a braze-on for
> the purpose.

My old Union generator/light hardware is all clamp-on stuff. If I ever get rear panniers, I can move
the rear wheel generator to the right chainstay and mount it "backwards". The taillight is clamped
onto the left seatstay, but it would be a more-or-less trivial operation to mount it to the rear
fender. All my Union headlights have hockey stick-shaped brackets emanating from them, with a slot
to fit around the front brake bolt. But I've mounted the headlight that I'm actually using, to the
left front fork blade. After some rummaging in a used parts bin, I found a cheap front wheel
generator; I used its clamp-on bracket for awhile, as something onto which to mount the headlight.
After further rummaging later on, I found a "real" bracket, designed for that purpose.

Generator/headlight stuff is so wonderfully full of mounting options.

All my (used) generator/headlight stuff was obtained very inexpensively from a local
community-oriented bike shop.

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca

 

Mon, 26 May 2003 04:52:19 GMT, <[email protected]>, Curious <[email protected]> wrote:

>I already have the front pannier -- and the classic bell.
>
>Any body know what the heck I'm talking about and knows where I can get these things <vbg>?
>
>Thanks for any help and advice!
>
>C.

This Swiss place has a catalogue and online shop full of all that stuff and more.

http://www.vitelli.ch/
--
zk

 

I'm reviving this thread to ask for help on a related issue-- does anyone know of a source for 28 x
1 1/2 inch tubes? They are what fit my Kronan (I have the step-through) and I would like to get a
few back-ups. When I first purchased my Kronan they offered tubes for sale on their website, but
apparently no longer.

I have found one source that may work out, but I'm wondering if anyone knows of any-- I'd like to
compare my options if possible.

Thanks in advance,

Kristin