Where does the term "HP" come from?

[suzyj]

Hi guys,

This talk of Dunlop valves got me to thinking of cycling terminology that's dying out. When I was young, you either rode "HP"s, or "singles". Now with the Internet corrupting our language, people call HPs "clinchers" and singles "tubulars".

While I can understand the term "singles", I'm having a little difficulty working out where "HP" comes from... I mean, there were no "LP"s (except what ya put on a record player). I know HP stands for "High Pressure", but wonder as to the origins of the term, and why it was so widely used in Oz until recently...

Cheers,

Suzy

 

[TimC]

On 2006-07-02, suzyj (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> Hi guys,
>
> This talk of Dunlop valves got me to thinking of cycling terminology
> that's dying out. When I was young, you either rode "HP"s, or
> "singles". Now with the Internet corrupting our language, people call
> HPs "clinchers" and singles "tubulars".
>
> While I can understand the term "singles", I'm having a little
> difficulty working out where "HP" comes from...

It's the sauce you put on the clincher tubes when you need to patch
them and run out of volcanic glue.


HTH, HAND.

--
TimC
> It was... weird. Death was smaller than I imagined
I have nothing to say, I just can't resist quoting this out of context.
-- Steve VanDevenver replying to Satya on ASR

 

[zog]

suzyj wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> This talk of Dunlop valves got me to thinking of cycling terminology
> that's dying out. When I was young, you either rode "HP"s, or
> "singles". Now with the Internet corrupting our language, people call
> HPs "clinchers" and singles "tubulars".

they make printers don't they?

 

[Karen Gallagher]

suzyj wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> This talk of Dunlop valves got me to thinking of cycling terminology
> that's dying out. When I was young, you either rode "HP"s, or
> "singles". Now with the Internet corrupting our language, people call
> HPs "clinchers" and singles "tubulars".
>
> While I can understand the term "singles", I'm having a little
> difficulty working out where "HP" comes from... I mean, there were no
> "LP"s (except what ya put on a record player). I know HP stands for
> "High Pressure", but wonder as to the origins of the term, and why it
> was so widely used in Oz until recently...
>
> Cheers,
>
> Suzy
>
>
We used to call them 'tubs' or tubulars in the UK when I first started
riding a road and track bike in the 60's, when I came over here & bought
a bike I was firmly told here they are 'singles'. Used to take me ages
to fix the punctures in them, I remember!

Glad they are going full circle to what I first knew them as. Now I just
use HP tires as I'm no longer racing ..

Karen

--
"I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
- Slartibartfast

 

[Peter Signorini]

"suzyj" wrote:
>
> Hi guys,
>
> This talk of Dunlop valves got me to thinking of cycling terminology
> that's dying out. When I was young, you either rode "HP"s, or
> "singles". Now with the Internet corrupting our language, people call
> HPs "clinchers" and singles "tubulars".
>
> While I can understand the term "singles", I'm having a little
> difficulty working out where "HP" comes from... I mean, there were no
> "LP"s (except what ya put on a record player). I know HP stands for
> "High Pressure", but wonder as to the origins of the term, and why it
> was so widely used in Oz until recently...

Recently? What you know as HPs I've always known as clinchers or wire-ons
since the mid-70s. Maybe it's a NSW/Vic thing. I think HP became de rigeur
in the early 80s to different the skinny high pressure clinchers from the
new MTB clinchers that were only rated to 40psi.

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

 

[PiledHigher]

suzyj wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> This talk of Dunlop valves got me to thinking of cycling terminology
> that's dying out. When I was young, you either rode "HP"s, or
> "singles". Now with the Internet corrupting our language, people call
> HPs "clinchers" and singles "tubulars".
>
> While I can understand the term "singles", I'm having a little
> difficulty working out where "HP" comes from... I mean, there were no
> "LP"s (except what ya put on a record player). I know HP stands for
> "High Pressure", but wonder as to the origins of the term, and why it
> was so widely used in Oz until recently...
>
> Cheers,
>
> Suzy

My understanding is that high pressure was a tem used when we got the
lipped clincher rims that we currently have. There was an older style
with no lip and no hook on the tyre bead, these had lower inflation
pressures, when the hooked rim/tyre combo came into being, these new
tyres had the remonstrations only to use on hooked rims.