Block chain, roller chain, shaft-drive, wood-rim, and world's weirdest chain

[[email protected]]

A current thread leads to some marvelous pictures of old bikes:

http://www.tuttocampybici.com/index.php

For the old bikes, choose gallery and click on prewar.

You end up here:

http://www.tuttocampybici.com/browse_photos.php?tag=prewar

To save time, I link directly to large images, but you really should
start at the home page and browse wildly.

Here's some long-pitch block chain:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452139683&size=o

On the bottom run of chain, you can see the short, solid block that
connects the long-plate links. (A variant called double-roller chain
replaced the solid block with a pair of short links, but you can see
that the blocks here are solid.)

Note the tiny in-tension chain "stays" and in-tension down "tube"
common in antique frame designs.

Here's some ordinary long-pitch roller chain on what looks like a 18
front-tooth x 9 rear-tooth setup:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=354095548&size=o

It's just modern chain with links twice as long.

Note the complicated levers along the down-tube that operate the rear
spoon brake, and the absence of a seat-post.

Pictures of 3 different shaft drive bikes:

First bike, front enclosed, rear rack and pinion exposed (maybe a rear
case removed?):

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452140051&size=o

Same bike, exposed rear teeth appear to be in good shape:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452125206&size=o

Second shaft-drive bike, front and rear exposed, rear engages forward
of axle:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452139973&size=o

Third shaft-drive bike, heavy frame bracing at rear gear, spider-web
shock-mount for rear fender, wooden rim:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452125314&size=o

Speaking of wood . . .

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452140385&size=o

Timber!

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452124606&size=o

The weirdest chain ever seen:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=354095459&size=o

How do you measure chain wear on that thing? Note the Schrader or
Woods valve and the spider-web shock-mount for the fender.

Hope everyone else has as much fun browsing as I did--it's a wonderful
site to find on a snowy spring day:

http://www.tuttocampybici.com/index.php

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[Tim McNamara]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:

> The weirdest chain ever seen:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=354095459&size=o
>
> How do you measure chain wear on that thing? Note the Schrader or
> Woods valve and the spider-web shock-mount for the fender.

La Chaine Simpson or "The Simpson Chain" which was through to confer
some kind of advantage or another. There's a famous poster by
Toulouse-Lautrec that features that chain:

http://www.yaneff.com/html/plates/pl238.html

 

[Gary Young]

On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 15:30:32 -0500, Tim McNamara wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>> The weirdest chain ever seen:
>>
>> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=354095459&size=o
>>
>> How do you measure chain wear on that thing? Note the Schrader or
>> Woods valve and the spider-web shock-mount for the fender.
>
> La Chaine Simpson or "The Simpson Chain" which was through to confer
> some kind of advantage or another. There's a famous poster by
> Toulouse-Lautrec that features that chain:
>
> http://www.yaneff.com/html/plates/pl238.html

The Wikipedia entry has a description:

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

It sounds like the long upright links were supposed to leverage and
multiply the cyclist's effort.

 

[James Thomson]

<[email protected]> a écrit:

> The weirdest chain ever seen:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=354095459&size=o

That's a Simpson lever chain. You can see a small framed copy of the famous
Toulouse-Lautrec poster on the wall behind the bike.

http://cycling.ahands.org/simpson.html

> How do you measure chain wear on that thing? Note the Schrader or
> Woods valve and the spider-web shock-mount for the fender.

That's a skirt guard.

James Thomson

 

[[email protected]]

On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 15:30:32 -0500, Tim McNamara
<[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>> The weirdest chain ever seen:
>>
>> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=354095459&size=o
>>
>> How do you measure chain wear on that thing? Note the Schrader or
>> Woods valve and the spider-web shock-mount for the fender.
>
>La Chaine Simpson or "The Simpson Chain" which was through to confer
>some kind of advantage or another. There's a famous poster by
>Toulouse-Lautrec that features that chain:
>
>http://www.yaneff.com/html/plates/pl238.html

Dear Tim,

Amazingly, the inventor William Spears Simpson, does not appear in the
Simpson family tree, part of which may be viewed here:

http://i19.tinypic.com/2nvw3kg.jpg

It does look like something that Homer would design.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[[email protected]]

On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 22:47:05 +0200, "James Thomson"
<[email protected]> wrote:

><[email protected]> a écrit:
>
>> The weirdest chain ever seen:
>>
>> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=354095459&size=o
>
>That's a Simpson lever chain. You can see a small framed copy of the famous
>Toulouse-Lautrec poster on the wall behind the bike.
>
>http://cycling.ahands.org/simpson.html
>
>> How do you measure chain wear on that thing? Note the Schrader or
>> Woods valve and the spider-web shock-mount for the fender.
>
>That's a skirt guard.
>
>James Thomson

Dear James,

Aaargh! You're right! Even worse, now that you remind me, I realize
that I knew that and had just forgotten it.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[john]

On Apr 13, 1:00 pm, [email protected] wrote:
> A current thread leads to some marvelous pictures of old bikes:
>
> http://www.tuttocampybici.com/index.php
>
> For the old bikes, choose gallery and click on prewar.
>
> You end up here:
>
> http://www.tuttocampybici.com/browse_photos.php?tag=prewar
>
> To save time, I link directly to large images, but you really should
> start at the home page and browse wildly.
>
> Here's some long-pitch block chain:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452139683&size=o
>
> On the bottom run of chain, you can see the short, solid block that
> connects the long-plate links. (A variant called double-roller chain
> replaced the solid block with a pair of short links, but you can see
> that the blocks here are solid.)
>
> Note the tiny in-tension chain "stays" and in-tension down "tube"
> common in antique frame designs.
>
> Here's some ordinary long-pitch roller chain on what looks like a 18
> front-tooth x 9 rear-tooth setup:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=354095548&size=o
>
> It's just modern chain with links twice as long.
>
> Note the complicated levers along the down-tube that operate the rear
> spoon brake, and the absence of a seat-post.
>
> Pictures of 3 different shaft drive bikes:
>
> First bike, front enclosed, rear rack and pinion exposed (maybe a rear
> case removed?):
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452140051&size=o
>
> Same bike, exposed rear teeth appear to be in good shape:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452125206&size=o
>
> Second shaft-drive bike, front and rear exposed, rear engages forward
> of axle:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452139973&size=o
>
> Third shaft-drive bike, heavy frame bracing at rear gear, spider-web
> shock-mount for rear fender, wooden rim:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452125314&size=o
>
> Speaking of wood . . .
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452140385&size=o
>
> Timber!
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452124606&size=o
>
> The weirdest chain ever seen:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=354095459&size=o
>
> How do you measure chain wear on that thing? Note the Schrader or
> Woods valve and the spider-web shock-mount for the fender.
>
> Hope everyone else has as much fun browsing as I did--it's a wonderful
> site to find on a snowy spring day:
>
> http://www.tuttocampybici.com/index.php
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel

>Note the tiny in-tension chain "stays" and in-tension down "tube"
>common in antique frame designs.


No, no, Carl! They are, not in tension! They stand in compression!
Now repeat after me, three times...

 

[[email protected]]

On 13 Apr 2007 19:56:50 -0700, "john" <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Apr 13, 1:00 pm, [email protected] wrote:

[snip]

>> Here's some long-pitch block chain:
>>
>> http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452139683&size=o
>>
>> On the bottom run of chain, you can see the short, solid block that
>> connects the long-plate links. (A variant called double-roller chain
>> replaced the solid block with a pair of short links, but you can see
>> that the blocks here are solid.)
>>
>> Note the tiny in-tension chain "stays" and in-tension down "tube"
>> common in antique frame designs.

[snip]

>No, no, Carl! They are, not in tension! They stand in compression!
>Now repeat after me, three times...

Dear John,

Lest the innocent be misled, here are some drawings from Sharp that
show some of the curious in-tension frames that were common before the
triumph of the modern double-diamond frame:

http://i11.tinypic.com/35mgrif.jpg

Click on the lower right for full-size in Explorer.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[john]

On Apr 14, 12:16 pm, [email protected] wrote:
> On 13 Apr 2007 19:56:50 -0700, "john" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >On Apr 13, 1:00 pm, [email protected] wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> >> Here's some long-pitch block chain:
>
> >>http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=452139683&size=o
>
> >> On the bottom run of chain, you can see the short, solid block that
> >> connects the long-plate links. (A variant called double-roller chain
> >> replaced the solid block with a pair of short links, but you can see
> >> that the blocks here are solid.)
>
> >> Note the tiny in-tension chain "stays" and in-tension down "tube"
> >> common in antique frame designs.
>
> [snip]
>
> >No, no, Carl! They are, not in tension! They stand in compression!
> >Now repeat after me, three times...
>
> Dear John,
>
> Lest the innocent be misled, here are some drawings from Sharp that
> show some of the curious in-tension frames that were common before the
> triumph of the modern double-diamond frame:
>
> http://i11.tinypic.com/35mgrif.jpg
>
> Click on the lower right for full-size in Explorer.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel

Of course, Carl
I actually agree that the down spokes do stand in compression.
You're probably aware of the "Sling Shot" bicycle that's made today
using a tension down tube.
www.slingshotbikes.com

Regards, John