Author Topic: Long bike  (Read 1797 times)

Tim Hall

  • Victoria is my queen
Long bike
« on: 29 April, 2020, 09:56:58 am »
As part of The Great Photo Project, I unearthed this pic of a twenty one seat bike outside my childhood home.  Taken in 1973, I know at least two of the riders. A bit of webbery suggests it was made by a man in Littlehampton and belonged to Littlehampton Rotary Club as a fund raising gadget.  I can't see what the turning circle was like though.


There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can
"overhaul" it, or you can ride it.  (Jerome K Jerome)

bhoot

  • MemSec (ex-Mrs RRtY)
Re: Long bike
« Reply #1 on: 29 April, 2020, 10:01:08 am »
I think I remember seeing that in the flesh. My grandparents lived in Rustington, next to Littlehampton and I spent a lot of time down there. I will ask my father about this as he may remember more than me.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Long bike
« Reply #2 on: 29 April, 2020, 11:49:39 am »
Impressively bonkers! It looks as if the front half dozen riders are in fact passengers, with no pedals. Presumably the "side car" at the back is because getting 21 people to balance on two wheels would require a bit too much coordination?
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Long bike
« Reply #3 on: 29 April, 2020, 11:57:51 am »
Some cracking hairstyles there. :thumbsup:

Re: Long bike
« Reply #4 on: 29 April, 2020, 12:32:20 pm »
Hopefully this links works. This is part of a record breaking bike. This bit was the road going section but for the actual record on an air field it has a massive trailer which the rest of the riders pedalled on. Was pretty hairy down hill as weighed lots more tonnes then the old land rover it had been built on so had to have the engine running for servos and still struggled to slow it down. Annoyingly i can't find a picture of the complete vehicle and yes I did ride it but not on the record day but on the road day.

https://youtu.be/pSKvK5ipb2c


Tim Hall

  • Victoria is my queen
Re: Long bike
« Reply #5 on: 29 April, 2020, 02:36:06 pm »
Hopefully this links works. This is part of a record breaking bike. This bit was the road going section but for the actual record on an air field it has a massive trailer which the rest of the riders pedalled on. Was pretty hairy down hill as weighed lots more tonnes then the old land rover it had been built on so had to have the engine running for servos and still struggled to slow it down. Annoyingly i can't find a picture of the complete vehicle and yes I did ride it but not on the record day but on the road day.

https://youtu.be/pSKvK5ipb2c
Loving the wearing of hi viz in that clip.
There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can
"overhaul" it, or you can ride it.  (Jerome K Jerome)

Re: Long bike
« Reply #6 on: 29 April, 2020, 02:58:20 pm »
Hopefully this links works. This is part of a record breaking bike. This bit was the road going section but for the actual record on an air field it has a massive trailer which the rest of the riders pedalled on. Was pretty hairy down hill as weighed lots more tonnes then the old land rover it had been built on so had to have the engine running for servos and still struggled to slow it down. Annoyingly i can't find a picture of the complete vehicle and yes I did ride it but not on the record day but on the road day.

https://youtu.be/pSKvK5ipb2c
Loving the wearing of hi viz in that clip.
That was my first thought.
Rust never sleeps

Re: Long bike
« Reply #7 on: 29 April, 2020, 03:18:20 pm »
Well you can't be too safe. I don't recall if I hsd to wear hi viz. Was a good while ago and the video is the end of the journey. We were one of the first. Weren't meant to be but they got let down at the last minute so had to tow it to us and give us a hand up hills

Tim Hall

  • Victoria is my queen
Re: Long bike
« Reply #8 on: 29 April, 2020, 03:58:26 pm »
Is it only Round Table/Rotary that build and ride these things?  The people in my photo are Horley Round Table (plus hangers on) on their way to Horley Carnival. They had discs on their arms spelling out some phrase or other. This went a bit awry when they swapped seats.  I see yours, Johnny, are also Tablers.

By huge coincidence one of my friends phoned last night for a chat, about an hour before I scanned that photo.  Peeering at it closely I can see he's on the bike, sporting a dodgy headband. His brother, who was in RT at the time, is also in it.  It was his funeral last week.
There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can
"overhaul" it, or you can ride it.  (Jerome K Jerome)

Re: Long bike
« Reply #9 on: 29 April, 2020, 04:05:22 pm »
Ah I wasn't RT I worked next door to the place they built it so that's how we got roped in