Encycleopedia No1 by Encycleopedia

N 4 I

ENCYCLE OPEDIA

thealternative b uYers guide to quality Cycling around the world

bi-tri bicycle (Ger. Fahrrad, Dii. flets, Fr. vélo). Two-wheeled, pedaldriven vehicle. The most widely used form of transport on earth. Thought to cause addiction, even delirium, amongst regular riders. Its near perfect traditional design now being challenged by a fascinating variety of mutant machines, but with a strong possibility of peaceful coexistence.

bike shop

(Ger. Fahrradladen, I)u. Fictswinkel, Fr. magazin de vélo). Centres of culture on the high street. An essential part of the cycling ii>iftl.

Mike. Controversial English cyclist, engineer and Inventor of the innovator. wonderhike' ridden by Chris the Olympic Boardman a), nsultant gold medo to Encycic Burrows

cyclist lietser, H; of lif but

IlI

.s, .bat the istics western ence include avai1 A fast and high ethical Va .. moving and superbly efficient and combination of body machine renowned for low (colotncal impact.

heaven

(Get 1-Jim mel, DLL hernel, Fr. paradis). State of sublime happiness formerly considered to he a long way off, hut now a possible destination fr certain optimists on bicycles.

Richard

- Ballantine. Genial American cycling guru whose books have inspired millions to take up cycling. Consijt to Encycleopedia.

suspension

McGurn

- Jim. Cycling author and activist. Founder and Editor in Chief of New Cyclist magazin Editor of Eile \

(Ger. Fed veririg, Fr. suspensior by which hits of th' ' made to bounce up . opposed to bits of the rider.

mountain Bike, Du. i. tout-terrain bicycle inter as being mountains. popular cu practical tool life. Currently at racti ng much interest from sociologists and from liberation technologists equipped with bolt croppers.

recumbent

(Ger. 1ie(g(Iad Du lagefiets, Fr. vélo-cotichant). A frame of mind. Controversial design of cycle, thought by many to have the sole purpose of annoying more traditional cyclists. Banned for the last sixty years from international cycle sport, due to excessive speed.

tandem

(Gee Tandem, Du. dem, Fe tandem). From Latin dein: at length. Elongated ice for doubling the fun of ling. Especially suited to loving ouples and parents with dependent children. Not recommended where existing relationship may be unstable.

tricycle (Ger. Dreirad, Du. driewieler, Fr tricycle). Multipurpose three-wheeled cycle often favoured by the disabled, by stubborn free-thinkers, or by anyone wishing to transport children and heavy loads.

price

(Ger. Preis, Du. preis, Fr. prix). UK: £5.95, Germany DM 14. France 50 fi; Netherlands f17, USA 59, Canada S12, Denmark Kr 57 A small sum fbr the purchase of a hook which could ehamre your life.

ÂŠ 1993 Open Road Ltd, ÂŠDavid Eccles, all linocuts First published in Great Britain, 1993 by Open Road Ltd, 4 New Street, York, YO 2RA. Tel 0904 654654 Fax 0904 671707 All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Copyright owners. Open Road Ltd has made every effort to ensure that all products featured in Encycleopedia are of high quality, from respectable sources, and are accurately described. However; we cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of actions based on the advice herein. Nor is Open Road Ltd responsible for the consequences of transactions between readers and producers and/or distributors of the products described in Encycleopedia. Open Road Ltd has made every effort to ensure that the shops listed in Encycleopedia are reputable, efficient and sympathetic to the aims of Encycleopedia. However, we cannot bear responsibility for the actions of shops, nor for the consequences of transactions between readers and shops. Conceived, compiled and produced by Alan Davidson and Jim McGurn Written by Jim McGurn Commercial Direction: Alan Davidson Production Control: Amy Davidson Editorial Consultant Richard Ballantine Technical Contributor: Mike Burrows Research and Editorial Support: Dan Joyce Administration: Louise Smith and Brian Holt Representative in Germany: Katie Kalkhoff Designed by John Barrass and Kevin Foley of Norville Graphics, II a, Kyme Street, York, YOI IHG Product care and assembly: York Cycleworks, 14-16 Lawrence Street, York, YO I 3 B Studio photography by Chris Mason, the Old School, Cherry Tree Lane, Newton on Ouse, York, Y06 2BN Typesetting by R. C. Bailey & Sons, York Film production by Repro Graphic Ltd., Leeds

ISBN 1898457 00 X Encycleopedia: the alternative buyers' guide to quality cycling around the world

ENCYCLEOPEDIA Alan Davidson Jim McGurn

OPENROAD cz,NG RtSOURCE

MEL

L Pedal-power is a priceless asset to our fragile planet, and across the world there is a new imaginativeness amongst many makers of cycles and accessories, going far beyond what is available in the average bike shop. Pedal-Power ist eine kostbare Zugabe für unseren zerbrechlichen Planeten, und Uber der ganzen Welt gibt es eine neue Vorstellungskraft unter vielen Herstellern von Fahrrädern und Zubehör, die viel mehr bietet, als das was im durchschnittlichen Fahrradgeschaft zu finden ist. Most of these manufacturers are small businesses who find it difficult to market their specialised products effectively. Many fail to make it into the high street bike shop. Sometimes a wonderful product may be common in one country, but totally unknown in another. Die Mehrzahl von diesen Herstellern sind kleinere Geschafte, die Schwierigkeiten erieben einen Markt zu finden für ihre Spezialprodukte. Manche dieser Produkte finden keinen Weg ins Fahrradgeschaft urn die Ecke. Manchmai ist ein wunderschOnes Fahrrad in einem Land leicht zu bekommen, und in einem Nachbarland total unbekannt. We felt that these products should all be brought together in one internationally available publication. Hence this Encycleopedia. We aim to entertain, but we also hope that you will find in these pages inspiring ideas and products which may even change your life. Wir sind uberzeugt, daJ3 these Produkte zusammen in ein einziges Buch gehoren, das in mehreren Ländern erhältlich ware, und das war die Herkunft von Encycleopedia. Es soil unterhaltend sein, aber wir hoffen auch, daB Sie unter diesen Seiten lebenswichtige Ideen und Produkte entdecken. This is not a buyer's guide, nor is it a catalogue. The publishers do not hold stock. We have teamed up with a number of imaginative cycle shops across Europe, who are sympathetic to the aims of this book, and are willing to try to supply many of the products you find on these pages. Sourcing these products is often not easy. Only some of them may be in stock in any one bike shop. Encycleopedia will be an annual publication, and we expect that with each passing year the participating bike shops will hold in stock more and more of the items you find in this book. Your local bike shop is critically important. Ordering through a bike shop saves you complications and brings you expertise and after-sales service. Dies ist kein Kaufführer, und kein Katalog. Die Verleger sind keine Grosshändler. Wir arbeiten zusammen mit gewissen weitsichtigen Fahrradgeschaften in Europa, die die Ziele von diesem Buch unterstützen, und die bereit sind zu versuchen, die Produkte zu liefern, die sich aufdiesen Seiten befinden. Fur em Farradhändler ist die Bestellung von diesen Produkten öfters nicht leicht. Nur einige, oder vielleicht keine, Produkte werden in einem bestimmten Fahrradladen -4

T U N G zu linden sein. Encycleopedia wird j채hrlich erscheinen, und wir erwarten, daB im Laufe der Jahre die teilnehmenden Fahrradgeschafte den Mut haben werden, immer mehr von den Sachen im Laden zu haltei, die Sie in diesem Buch finden. Das Fahrradgeschaft ist hochst wichtig. Die Bestellung von einem Fahrrad durch einen Fachh채ndler ist einfacher und bringt den Vorteil von guten Fachkentnissen und Kundendienst.

M4 IT ei JJILLJ 4.t:;' /

You will find details of the participating bike shops at the back of this book. If you are seriously interested in purchasing any of the products then contact the shop nearest to you. If you're too far from a bike shop, or the bike shop can't help, send us the tear-out response card and we'll quickly pass your enquiry to the relevant distributor or manufacturer, and at the same time we'll write to you with details of that manufacturer. On the other hand, if you don't think you're a buyer, but simply want more information, then it would be better for you, and for the bike shop, if you were to contact us directly in the first instance. Die Einzelheiten von alien teiinehmenden Fahrradiaden linden Sie auf den letzten Seiten von diesem Buch. Wenn Sie ernsthaft daran interessiert sind, etwas zu kaufen, setzen Sie sich in direkter Verbindung mit dem Laden. Wenn Sie zu weit von einem teilnehmenden Laden wohnen, oder wenn der Laden nicht helfen kann, reissen Sie bitte die Antwortkarte aus und schicken Sie sie uns. Wir leiten die Karte an den zustandigen Hersteller schnell weiter. Gieichzeitig schicken wir Ihnen die F.inzelheiten vom Hersteller. Aber wenn Sie nur an Informationen interessiert sind, ware es besser in erster Linie sich direkt an uns zu wenden.

c Y c, Uj.

/ '

CONTENTS Page Bikes Across the World by Richard Bat lantine

6/7

My Other Bike's a Recumbent by Mike Burrows

8/9

Choice At Last by Jim McGurn

10/11

Products (listed, alphabetically, by name of manufacturer)

12/71

David Eccles Limited Edition Prints

72/73

'Bicycle' Video by York Films

How to Order

VSF - Introduction to shops

76/77

Affiliated Shops

78/88

Recumbents 16V (Radius) Aeroproject (Hang) Das Duo (Dynrad) Peer Gynt (Radius) Sports Tourer (Greenspeed) ST2 (Flux) Windcheetah (Burrows Engineering)

!)•"

Bags - see Panniers Ch ainrings

Folding Bikes - see Portable Bikes

Eggrings (Highpath)

Lights

Child Carrying

Eternity (Phoebus)

Buggy (Vitelli) Filibus (Kemper) Trailerbike (Islabikes)

Panniers

City Bikes

Cool Team (Muhlberger) Limpet & Commuter (Freedom Bikepacking)

T5 (Brompton) Cityblitz (Diamant) Faltrad (Bernds) Kranich (Utopia) Radical (Gerritsen & Meijers)

Svenborg Pedersen (Svenborg Cykelfabrik)

Disabled Cycling Das Duo (Dynrad) Roll Fiets (Fiets) Victorian (PJ Taylor)

Electrically Assisted

Pedersen

Portable Bikes T5 (Brompton) Faltrad (Bernds) Funfiets (Thys) Galaxe (Snitkjoer's Ingeniørhus) Worksong (Worksong Cycles)

Cityblitz (Diamant) Velocity (Velocity)

Fairings Thriller (Zzip Designs)

Racks Assel (Rasko) Thbus (Tubus)

Small Frames Custom-built Audax (Roberts)

Tandems Custom-built Tandem Trike (Longstafl) Das Duo (Dynrad) Trailerbike (Islabikes) Victorian (PJ Taylor)

Inhalt Trailers Buggy & Camping Trailer (Vitelli) Flizza & Max (Rãderwerk)

Transporter Cycles Filibus (Kemper) HTL Trike (Cykel Fabriken) Long John (SCO)

Tricycles Custom-built Tandem Trike (Longstafl) Sports Tourer (Greenspeed) Victorian (PJ Taylor) Windcheetah (Burrows Engineering) HTL Trike (Cykel Fabriken)

English - German dictionary of Cycling Terms Verzeichnis von englisch - deutschen Fahrradausdrücken

Accessories Zubehor Allen Key InbuBschraube Braze löten Braze-ons Anlotteile Carrying Capacity Tragfahigkeit Components Bestandteile Continuous Variable Transmission Stufènlos schaltendes Getriebe Double-butted Doppel Dick-End Equalised gleichgesetzte Fairing Verkleidung Folding Bike Faltrad Frame size Rahmengrolle Freewheel Freilauf Headset Steuersatz Lug Muffe Lugless muffenlos Manoeuvrability Wendigkeit Plastic Kunststoff Quick-release Schnellspanner Recumbent Liegerad Reinforced verstärkt Rigidity Steifigkeit Single-butted Einfach Dick-End Stainless Steel Rostfreies Stahl Suspension Federung Tension Spannung Thread Gewinde Trailer Anhanger Weld schweissen Width Breite

Cycle Parts Fahrradteile Axle Achse Back-pedal brake Rucktrittbremse Ball bearing Kugellager Bars Lenker Bolt Boizen Bottom bracket Tretlager Brake Bremse Carrier Gepacktrager Chain Kette Chainset Kurbelgarnitur Crank Kurbel Crankset Kurbelgarnitur Cone Konus Drop-outs Ausfallende Drum Brake Nabenbremse Forks Gabel Frame Rahmen Groupset Gruppe Gears Gange Handlebar Lenker Headset Steuersatz Hub Nabe Mudguards Schutzbleche Nut Mutter Pannier Tasche Rack Gepacktrager Rim Felge Saddle Sattel Seat tube Sattelrohr Spoke Speiche Stays Streben Stem Vorbau Teeth Zähne Top Tube Oberrohr Tyre Reifen Wheel Laufrad

Richard Ballantine is the author of several classic cycling books. His Richard's Bicycle Book was critically important to the emerging radical bicycle culture of the 1970s, and his recent Ultimate Bicycle Book is a bestseller in many languages. Richard is American, and lives in London.

he First edition of Encycleopedia marks, I hope, the start of a truly international cycling publication. Some of you may find this idea surprising. After all, bikes are used everywhere in the world, and the bikes we ride come from many different nations. So isn't cycling already very international in nature? Yes and no. Spin back the clock three decades to the 1960s: cycle sport and lightweight bikes were a European affair. Americans rode heavy, single-speed "paperboy" bikes, though a lucky few possessed "English racer" roadsters with three-speed hub gears. In Asia and Africa, the bikes were starkly utilitarian heavy-duty roadsters with rod brakes. Cycle manufacturing was of two distinct types: machine mass production, and hand-built. Most major industrialised countries had one, perhaps two or three, large firms known as primary manufacturers, that churned out garden-variety bikes for domestic and export markets. Lightweight sport bikes were the provenance of individual builders and small specialist firms. The seeds of change were sown by cycle sport. A renaissance of interest in lightweight performance bikes swept through America and Europe in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Industrialists in the Far East saw the expanding market for lightweight bikes, and virtually overnight their firms grew to global dominance in cycle manufacturing. First came the components. Those of us who fancied hand-built racing and touring frames continued to fondle gleaming bits from Campagnolo and Simplex, but the main market and big money was in OEM Original Equipment for Manufacturers. The Far-Eastern firms had lower costs, greater efficiency, and improved materials technology, all of which gave their components an unbeatable price advantage. Next came frames. Again, FarEastern firms could supply lightweight frames at unbeatable prices. One by one, primary manufacturers in Europe and America turned to Far-Eastern suppliers for frames and stopped making their own. In the last decade, in various boardroom

iese erste Ausgabe von Encycleopedia setzt einen Start zu einer internationalen Veroffentlichung für Radfahrer. Einige von Euch finden these Idee vielleicht etwas überraschend - Fahrrader werden in alien Ländern benutzt, und die Rãder mit dem wir fahren kommen auch aus vielen verschiedenen Ländern. So, liegt das Radfahren nicht schon international in unserer Natur? Ja und nein. Dreh die Uhr 30 Jahre zuruck in die Sechziger: Fahrradsport und leichtgewichtige Räder waren die europaischen Spezialitäten. Amerikaner fuhren einzelgangige 'Paper Boy' Räder, und nur einige GlUckliche besai3en 'English Racers' mit Drei-Gang-Schaltung. Fahrrader in Asien und Afrika waren schwere Packesel und hatten Stangenbremsen. Es gab zwei verschiedene Herstellungsarten: Rollbandproduktion und Handarbeit. Die meisten grossen industrialisierten Lander hatten eine, manchmal auch zwei oder drei, gro8e Firmen, die bekannt waren für die Herstellung von billigen Alltagsfahrradern. Leichte Sportrader wurden nur von kleineren spezialisierten Betrieben und Einzelherstellern gebaut. Die Samen der Veränderung wurden durch den Radsport gesat. In den späten 60igern und frühen Siebziger fegte durch Europa und Amerika eine Renaissance von Interesse an schnelle, leichtgewichtige Fahrräder. Hersteller aus dem Fernen Osten sahen, daB der Markt für leichtgewichtigen Fahrräder sich schnell ausbreiten wurde, und über Nacht entwickelten sich ihre Firmen so, daB sie den Weltmarkt für Fahrrader dominierten. Zuerst kamen die Bestandteile. Einige von uns, die für handgearbeitete Renn- und Tourenräder schwärmten, schmückten weiterhin unsere Rahmen mit Campagnolo und Simplex-Teile iiebvoll aus, aber der Hauptmarkt und das grosse Geld lagen in OEM (Original Equipment for Manufacturers - Urausstattung für Hersteller). Die fernostlichen Firmen hatten billigere Arbeitskräfte, groBere Auflagen und bessere technische Materialien, was ihren Bestandteilen einen unschlagbaren Preisvorteil gaben. Ms nächstes kamen die Rahmen. Wieder konnten die fernöstlichen

Bicycles for the mosses: low WDour efficienCy, but choice is limited

cu'.

BIKES ACROSS THE WORLD urn die Welt F Specialisation and craftsmanship bring high-value cvclec mass producjon COflnc,t

battles and bankruptcy proceedings, ownership or control of many established western primary cycle firms has passed to members of the Far-Eastern hegemony. Some high-tech manufacturin as developed by American firms such as Trek and Cannondale, has proved effective competition for the Far-East's low labour costs and high production efficiency. Another harbinger of change is the Mike Burrows! LotusSport bike, a design breakthrough in the use of composites that will transform the design and construction of all high-performance bikes. More to the point, the switch to high-technology composite construction will give western firms a chance to enter the bicycle market on even terms. So yes, bicycles are now a thoroughly international business, run chiefly by accountants and marketing people. And the size and sophistication of design and manufacturing techniques means that, as consumers, we are presented with dazzling bikes in the shops. Fine and dandy, but there is more. A bike, after all, is a highly individual affair, an extension of the body, and of the personality. So while it is super to be able to hand over mere money and ride out of a shop on a fine machine, many of us would like to have something different. This is where Encycleopedia comes in. All over the world there are individuals and tiny firms producing unusual and different pedal-powered machines. Their economic scale is way short of the big-business, marketing, and advertising that supports mainstream cycling publications and high-turnover bike shops. The kind of products which appear in Encycleopedia have been created, I've usually found, out of deep personal involvement and interest. They've got a unique vitality. If you like, a spirit and a sense of fun and function that, to me, is an important international link in cycling. Let this edition of Encycleopedia be the first of many!

Firmen leichtgewichtige Rahmen unter europaischen und amerikanischen Marktpreis liefem. Einer nach dem Anderen drehten sich europaische uxìd amerikanisehe Firmen dem fernostlichen Markt fir die Herstellung von Rahrnen zu, und hörten auf, ibre eigenen herzustellen. In den letzen zehn Jahren wurden bei vielen Firmenklungeln und Bankruptien die Hauptbesitzanteile 'on vielen westlichen Firmen in die Iände von fernöstlichen Firmen .bergeben. Hohe technische Qualitat der erstellung, durch die ritwicklungsfahigkeiten unerikanischer Firmen wie Trek und Cannondale haben bewiesen, daJ3 sie gegen die billigen Arbeitskrafte und der hohen Herstellungsanzahl fernostlicher Firmen mithalten können. Ein anderer Vorbote von Anderung ist das Mike Burrows Lotus-Sport-Bad, weiches ein Durchbruch in Design und Gebrauch von Kompositen darstellt. Mehr zu dem Punkt, die Umschaltung zu hochtechnischen Kompositen-Konstuktionen wird den westlichen Firmen die gleiche Chance geben sich aufdem interriationalen Fahrradmarkt zu behaupten. Ohja, Fahrräder geharen nun zu den internationalen Geschaften, betrieben von Buchhaltern und Marketing-Leuten. Das bedeutet, durch die Menge und Arten der Modelle und Herstellungstechniken, daB der Verbraucher ein atemberaubendes Fahrradangebot in den Geschäften erhält. Schon und gut, aber da ist noch mehr. Ein Fahrrad ist mehr als ein Gebrauchsgegenstand. Es ist eine personliche Sache, eine Verlangerung des Korpers. Mar, es ist toll, in ein Geschäft zu gehen, sich em Qualitatsrad auszusuchen, es zu bezahlen, und gleich mit nach Hause zu nehmen, Andererseits mächten einige etwas Auilergewohnliches an ihrem Fahrrad, und hier kommt die Encycleopedia zur Sprache. Die Art von Produkten die in Encycleopedia erscheinen sind mit grossem personlichem Einsatz und Interesse erfunden und hergestellt worden. Man findet eine einzigartige Vitalitat. Sie zeigen eine Vorstellungskraft und einen Sinn für SpaI3 und Funktion, der eine wichtige Voraussetzung für eine vielfaltige internationale Fahrradkultur ist. LaB these Ausgabe von Encycleopedia die Erste von vielen sein.

Mike Burrows is a controversial English cycle engineer and innovator Previously well-known in the Human-Powered Vehicles world for his Speedy recumbent, he hit international 'stardom' by his invention of the carbon fibre monocoque 'wonderbike' which was ridden by Chris Boardman to win a gold in the Barcelona Olympics.

ention the initials HPV to the average person and you usually get a blank look. Mention them to a cyclist and you will If either get a beaming smile and be told they are the greatest, or a growl and some mutterings about going under lorries. The truth is found, as always, somewhere between the two. This was made very clear to me on a recent visit to the Netherlands. I had ridden my recumbent Speedy there to take part in an HPV design competition. I was interviewed by a Dutch cycle journalist who was very surprised when I told her that there was nothing wrong with the traditional Dutch roadster if all you needed to do was ride three or four miles to work and back. She had expected me, not unreasonably I suppose, to be in the "HPVs are the greatest thing ever" camp. Enthusiastic I obviously am, but I am also a realist. I have been using HPVs for over ten years and know all about their bad as well as their good points - and the trip to Eindhoven made them all too clear. Generally it was, at 90 miles, an ideal trip for a recumbent of any type and in our faired machines we could even ignore the odd shower, or continuous rain. We only occasionally came across the more traditional cobbles. and these showed up one of the shortcomings of small wheels and the inability of the HPVer to make things more comfortable by riding "out of the saddle". Our Eindhoven hotel was about three miles from the competition venue, giving us a busy rush hour ride around part of the main ring road. It did not take long to realise that the Dutch roadster, with its 28" wheels and large tyres, was far better adapted to cobbles and general surface damage. Its high eyeline allows its rider to assess the traffic situation and perhaps even take the occasional "chance". So should I have entered a Dutch roadster in the competition? No, I don't think so, because it would not have been much good for the long and fast journey back to my hom town of Norwich. The point is that there is no "best bike", and this is something that the design competition singularly failed to recognise. There are, as always in life, horses for courses, and this is, of course one of the joys of cycling. I had told the lady journalist that I owned 15 so cycles, and that 20 would probably be an ideal number for everybody to own. Now that may be a little excessive, but it is quite practical for most people to own a fair selection of cycles. And if you can pluck up the courage to get rid of the tin coffin you may find yourself with

em Laien sagt die Abkurzung HPV uberhaupt nichts. Ein Radfahrer wird bei dem Wort HPV anfangen, übers ganze Gesicht zu strahien, und sagen, sie sind das Gröllte, oder aber er wird knurren und irgendwas sagen wie: man endet damit noch unterm Lastwagen. Die Wahrheit liegt wie immer irgendwo in der Mitte. Das wurde mir neulich sehr kiar aufeinem Besuch in Holland. Ich hatte dort mit meinem vollberkleideten Speedy-Liegerad an einem HPV-Design-Wettbewerb teilgenommen. Eine holländische Fahrradjournalistin, der ich em Interview gab, war sehr uberrascht, als ich ihr sagte, dalI das traditionelle holländische Fahrrad vollig zureichend sei, wenn man damit nur fünf, sechs Kilometer zur Arbeit fährt und zurUck. Sie hatte wohi zu Recht geglaubt, dalI ich zum Lager derer gehorte, die sagen, daB HPVs das Gr011te seien. Ich bin zwar begeistert, aber auch realistisch. Ich benutze HPVs seit mehr als zehn Jahren und weill Uber ihre guten wie schlechten Seiten Bescheid - der Besuch in Eindhoven hat sie mir sehr bewuilt gemacht. Tm grollen und ganzen war es bei einer Distanz über 150 Kilometer eine ideale Strecke für Liegerader jeglichen Typs, und in unseren verkleideten Maschinen waren wir vor Regenschauern und selbst vor Landregen sicher. Manchmal fuhren wir auch uber altmodisches Kopfsteinpflaster. Dieses machte den Nachteil kleiner Räder spürbar und zeigte auch, daB der HPV-Fahrer es sich nicht bequemer machen kann, da er beim Radein nicht aus dem Sattel steigen kann. Unser Hotel in Eindhoven war rund funf Kilometer vom Austragungsort des Wettbewerbs entfernt. Wir muilten deshaib in der Spitzenzeit des Verkehrs auf einem Teil der UmgehungsstraBe radein. Wir merkten also bald, dalI das traditionelle holländische Fahrrad mit semen 28-Zoll-Rädern und breiten Reifen viel besser an das Kopfsteinpflaster und 'ie Strallenschäden angepal3t war. eine gute Augenhohe erlaubt dem rahrer, die Verkehrssituation inzuschatzen und manchmal em isiko einzugehen. Hatte ich also mit inem Holländerfahrrad am Alettbewerb teilnehmen sollen? Nein, las glaube ich nicht, denn es ware nicht geeignet gewesen für die lange iind schnelle Ruckreise in meine Heimatstadt Norwich. Die Sache ist die, daB es kein ideales Fahrrad gibt, und das hat der Design-Wettbewerb schlicht nichterkannt. Nichtjedes Pferd ist für alle Rennen geeignet, und darin liegt natUrlich einer der Reize des Radfahrens.

king °T The Dutch roadster - undeniably

MY OTHER BIKE IS A RECUMBENT Mein Zwei-trad ist ein Liegerad A recumbent tandem. Perhaps not the a reminder that one of the i' ' - - ' most proalcaf of VOhiclpc

an uncluttered garage to stor€ them in - always much more convenient than the bedroom. Generally it is not the money or the space that is lacking, but the mental attitude. It's important be be open minded enough to realis that no type of bike is best, that racing bike compliments mountain bike and that track bike and HPV are equally exciting. A sensible touring bike is a practical 'any job' allrounder. More exciting is to buy an old hack for your regular commuting. An old ro brake "black" thing (hills pern,- ----Then spend most of your cash on a real racer. The lightest and best you can afford. Your pleasure will be doubled, for not only will you appreciate the racer more after the weight of the clunker, but you will even appreciate the care-free attitude you can take on the clunker when you no longer have the clip-in pedals, light rims etc of your racing machine to worry about. After that you could add a mountain bike for playing in the woods, or a touring bike which, after all, is very good for touring. Equally this is where you might consider a recumbent of some sort, as most are extremely comfortable over long distances, and, despite what you may have heard, are safe in traffic and will climb hills. Whether you add fairings will again depend on your situation. They will add weight, although overall performance will invariably be improved. More significantly, I think they will make your machine less of a cycle and more of a vehicle. This could be a disadvantage if you have only the one, but combined with several other cycles the contrast can add to your variety of ride. So, all you bikies out there determined to create our green new world, don't go off with bunkered vision. A bicycle is good. But lots of bikes is very good.

h,t

Ich hatte der Journalistin erzählt, daB mir soungefahr 15 Fahrrader gehoren, und daB 20 wahrscheinlich die ideale Zahi für einen Radfahrer wären. Das ist vielleicht etwas Ubertrieben, aber es ware für die meisten Leute ganz praktisch, eine guteAuswahl von Rädern zu haben. Und wenn man all semen Mut zusammennimmt md seine Blechkiste los wird, hat nan eine geräumige Garage für alle ahrräder,jedenfalls sind sie dort esser aufgehoben als im Haus. Irn ailgemeinen fehlt es nicht am old oder am Platz, sondern an der ?istigen Einstellung. Man mul3 ifgeschlossen genug scm, urn nzusehen, daB es kein ideales Fahrrad gibt, sondern daB sich Stral3enrennrader und Mountain-bikes ergänzen, und daB Pistenrennräder und HPVs gleichermal3en reizvoll sind. Ein vernunftiges Tourenfahrrad ist em praktisches Mehrzweckrad für alle Gelegenheiten. Aufregender ist es schon, einen alten Drahtesel furs tagliche Pendein zu kaufen. Eine alte schwarze Mühle mit Stangenbremse reicht vollig, vorausgesetzt. die Steigung erlaubt es. Dann können Sic Ihr meistes Geld für einen richtigen Renner ausgeben. Den leichtesten und besten, den Sie sich leisten können. Das wird Ihr Vergnugen verdoppein, denn Sic werden am Rennrad gr6l3ere Freude haben nach dem Gewicht des Stahirosses, und Sie werden mehr SpaB haben an der Lassigkeit, mit der Sic mit Threm Stahiross umgehen können, wenn Sic nicht mehr aufdas Pedalsystem und die Leichtfelgen Ihrer Rennmaschine achtgeben rnüssen. Danach konnten Sie ein Mountain-bike zum Spielen in den Wäldern hinzukaufen, oder em Tourenfahrrad, das sich letztlich am besten für Touren eignet. Oder viefleicht würden Sie hier schon irgendein Liegerad in Erwägung ziehen, denn die meisten sind aufweiten Entfernungen sehr bequem, und trotz aflem, was man so hört, sind sie verkehrssicher und schaffen Steigungen. Ob Sie Verkleidungen anbringen, hangt von Ihrer Situation ab. Sic bringen zusatzliches Gewicht, aber der Fahrkomfort wird sicherlich erhöht. Was noch wichtiger ist, die Verkleidung rnacht aus Threm Fahrrad ein Fahrzeug. Das ware ein Nachteil, wenn Sic nur ein Rad haben, aber in Kombination mit anderen Fahrrädern, kann dieser Kontrast den Abwechslungsreichtum nur steigern. Nun gut, all Ihr Radfahrer da draul3en, die Ihr entschlossen seid, cine schöne ncuc grune Welt zu schaffen, fahrt bitte nicht mit Scheuklappen durch die Gegend. Ein Fahrrad ist gut. Viele Fahrrader sind besser.

The products which you find in the following pages are our choice of some of the truly interesting and significant products in the cycling world today. I have written each entry from a personal point of view. Die Produkte, die Sie auf den nächsten Seiten finden werden, sind eine Auswahl der interessantesten und bedeutsamsten Produkte der heutigen Fahrrad-Szene, geschrieben aus einer sehr persOnlichen Sicht. I must also point out here that this book is self-published. The only way we could afford to work on it for a whole year, was to ask individual manufacturers for a contribution towards the cost of the photography and design for their product entry. Otherwise this book could not have been risked and published. An dieser Stelle sei auch gesagt, daB theses Buch von uns selbst publiziert wurde. Die einzige Moglichkeit ein ganzes Jahr in dieses Projekt zu stecken war, die Hersteller urn eine Kostenbeteilung für Fotos und Design ibrer Produkte zu bitten. Nur so konnten wir riskieren, dieses Buch auf die Beme zu steilen. We are already working on next year's Encycleopedia which will be a lot bigger, and we're giving ourselves more time. If you come across products which you think should be included, let us know. We have other exciting plans, which we tell you about on page 75. Wir arbeiten schon jetzt an der nächsten Encycleopedia, die urn einiges umfangreicher werden wird, und wir nehmen uns noch rnehr Zeit dafUr. Falls Sie aufein Produkt sthBen sollen, daB Ihrer Meinung nach in der 1994-95 Ausgabe erscheinen soilte, lassen Sie es uns bitte wissen. Wir haben interessante Plane für die Zukunft, mehr daruber aufSeite 75. So explosive has been the diversification in cycle design, that the rationale behind many of the products in this book is not immediately obvious. To avoid repetition within the product entries I shall try to explain here the more general pros and cons of some of the main areas covered. Es gibt so viele verschiedene Fahrrad-Arten, daB es oft schwer ist, die Vorteile einer bestirnmten Fahrrad-Art zu erkennen. Damit ich mich nichtjedes Mal wiederholen muB, werde ich die Vor- und Nachteile der verschiedenen Arten an dieser Stelle erklaren. Da wir Encycleopedia nur als eine internationale Herausgebung auf die Beine stellen konnten, haben wir die Produkt-Seiten nur aufEnglisch geschrieben, aber hofFentlich so, daB der deutsche Leser sie mit VergnUgen verstehen kann. Happy Cycling!

Recumbent Revival Die Wiederauferstehung des Lie gerads Recumbents withered in the wilderness after being banished from cycle sport in the 1930s - when they kept outperforming conventional bikes. Now they are racing in their own events, under the more liberal rules of various Human-Powered Vehicle Associations. These are enjoyable, often intimate events, where the spirit of the frontier prevails. Recumbents will become very important, but are unlikely to replace the conventional bicycle. Of course, they bring a whole range of new performance characteristics. They are comfortable to sit on. Your diaphragm is allowed to expand, thus improving your breathing. Weight is taken off your wrists, your neck is relaxed, and you have better all-round vision. Recumbents benefit riders with back or knee problems. Liegerader sind bequem. In Dänemark heissen sie Sofacykel! Es gibt praktisch keine Sattelprobleme: Handgelenke und der Nackenbereich kUrmen sich entspannen, der Blickwinkel vergrossert sich; ausserdem veringern sich Knie- und Ruckenprobleme. Recumbents are often fast machines, mainly due to their aerodynamic superiority. For racing or fast touring a 'windscreen' fairing is added, or a full, all-enclosing fairing for serious track competition. Bei Radrennen, und bei hohen Geschwindigkeiten, haben Liegerader eine bessere Aerodynamik als ihre konventionelle 'Koflegen'. In den meisten Fallen sind Liegerader schneller als konventionelle Fahrräder, besonders im Flachiand und in leicht hugeligen Ebenen. Sie sind allerdings nicht für die Bergfahrt einer Tour de France geeignet. In traffic recumbents may be less visible to other road users. Some two-wheeled versions can be short on manoeuvrability at low speeds. And recumbents are not usually intended for serious hill climbing. At first recumbents can make your legs ache, since they call on muscles which are less used in conventional riding. But as soon as your body has adjusted, you will enjoy a cycling sensation you never thought possible.

CHOICES AT LAST Endlich eine Wahl Die meisten Liegeradanflinger klagen in den ersten Tagen über Schmerzen in den Beinen. Diese entstehen dadurch, daB beim Liegeradfahren andere Muskelpartien beansprucht werden, as beim normalen Radfahren. Aber sobald sich der Korper daran gewohnt hat, kann man ohne Beschwerden em vollig und wunderschOnes Fahrerlebnis geniessen.

Transporter Bikes take the load Transporträderhaben's in sich! The western world has no idea of the true cost to the community and to the environment of moving goods around. Yet there are useful pedal-powered alternatives for perhaps 75% ofjourneys in which load-carrying is involved. In Encycleopedia we feature several such cycles and trailers which can help us become more independent of motor power, plus some high quality racks which make load-carrying easier on standard bicycles Es gibt nutzliche Pedal-angetriebene Alternativen für Ca. 75 der Fahrten, in denen Lasten bewegt werden. In der Encycleopedia stellen wir einige Fahrräder und Anhanger vor, die uns helfen kOnnen, unabhangiger von der Motorisierung zu werden, und wir zeigen Ihnen einige Gepacktrager, die den Transport von Lasten auch mit normalen Fahrradern erleichtert.

Cycling on stream Radfahren aus der Steckdose Nothing is cut and dry in the field of transport. Most of you reading this book will have no need of electric motor assistance, but you will perhaps have friends, colleagues and family members for whom a little electric assistance could make abig

Pure pedal-power is not the only solution to the transport mess we are in: there needs to be a continuum of responses. For these reasons we include two new electric-assisted cycles. Die meisten Leser brauchen keine elektrische Unterstutzung am Fahrrad, aber vielleic haben Sie Freunde, Kollegen oder Familienmitglieder, fur die einbii3chen elektrische Hilfe den groi3en Unterschiec bedeuten wurde. Pure Pedal-Kraft ist nicht die einzige Losung des VerkehrsChaos, in dem wir uns befinden. Deshaib haben wir zwei elektrisch angetriebene Fahrräder aufgenommen. We have also included a new solarpowered light in Encycleopedia. Although the Eternity is mass-produced, and therefore does not fit into our usual criteria, we thought that its advantages were too significant for us not to tell you about it. Wir haben auch eine neue Solar-getriebene Fahrradbeleuchtung in die Encycleopedia aufgenommen. Obwohl die Eternity-Beleuchtung am Flie8band produzert wird, und deshaib nicht in unsere Aufnahme-kritieren passt, dachten wir, daB die Vorteile doch so bedeutend sind, daB wir sie Ihnen vorenthalten wollen.

Bicycle Art Fahrrad-Kunst Especially for this first issue of Encycleopedia we have commissioned a limited run of 75 sets of four lino-cuts from the well-known cycle-artist, David Eccles. We're delighted with them, and have a set on our office wall. If you want a set of your own, you will find details on page 72. Speziell für these erst Ausgabe von Encycleopedia haben wir den bekannten Fahrrad-Kunstler David Eccles engagiert, eine limitierte Auflage von 75 vierteiligen Linol-Druck Sets zu entwerfen. Wir finden sie wundersehOn, und haben schon unsere Bürowand damit geschmuckt. Wenn Sie auch einen Satz haben mOchten, finden Sie weitere Details aufSeite 72.

folding bike gives you independence and lets you travel how you choose. But in the past, many models have been awkward to carry and even worse to ride. The priority for Bernds was to develop a bicycle which would both fold and ride well. The Bernds uses a stiff cruciform frame with rear suspension. Only the rear triangle is hinged. To fold the bike you slide the seat post into the frame, tuck the rear triangle under the main tube and fold the pedals. Then you take the stem out, and push it through the spokes of both wheels and into a fastening device on the rear forks, thus keeping the bike

folded. The resulting package is the size of a large suitcase and will easily fit in a car boot or slip onto a train. It's not the smallest folder but at around 10 kilos (without the rear rack) it's the lightest I've ever come across. The Bernds is designed to be simple, clean and effective. A belt drive prevents oily trousers. Duomatic two-speed gearing allows gear-changing and braking without the use of levers or cables (although a Shifriano seven-speed system is optional). To change gear you back-pedal slightly; to brake you back-pedal harder. The elegant and eye-catching stem and handlebars

are one piece, and zinc coating in the forks and head tube prevents rusting when the stem is removed. To mount the.Bernds I found that I needed to push off on the pedals and rise up and back onto the seat. The bottom bracket is unusually high so the seat is that much further from the ground. I like the high-and -mighty riding position which helps me see and be seen. I found that it gave a very pleasant ride, probably because higher bikes are easier to balance than lower bikes, such as recumbents.

The Bernds employs only one cable The optional rear rack is fixed with a quick release mechanism and swings round above the main tube during folding

Unusually high bottom bracket

'U Duomatic two-speed is cable- free

The disadvantage of the high bottom bracket is that you can't put your foot down and stay in the saddle. 'Tb dismount you need either to tilt the bike till your foot touches the ground, or put on the front brake and use the stalled pedal as a step-down. I found that this soon became second nature. I enjoyed riding the Bernds in traffic. Its short wheelbase, smallish wheels and narrow tyres make it a lively ride. The small wheels demand suspension and this comes from an elastomer suspension unit fitted at the folding point. You lose a small amount of energy to the suspension system, depending on your pedalling style. The belt drive is oil-free, but not as efficient as a chain. Belt drives are designed for very fast-running machinery, and can occasionally jump teeth on bikes, especially after some The Bernds is easily stowed on a train, protected by a purpose-made bag

wear. A little pressure-roller near the Bernds rear sprocket prevents this but needs to be positioned carefully beneath the drop-out to be effective. The Bernds' gearing is just right for a city bike: 33% difference gives an ordinary riding gear and a useful climbing or starting gear - perfect for me in a fiat city like York.

AFRO CORY

Two folding pedals can be supplied as options

Bed Iig as sure tyres

Designing a folding bike can be seen as a straightforward compromise or as an exciting opportunity for ingenuity Andrew Ritchie took the tougher option, although he often lost sight of the excitement in that sea of troubles known as product development Andrew began working on the Brompzon in /975. A few friends had faith in his abilities as a design engineer and found the money to help with a prototype, but big business showed no interest.

here's something grating about converting in about twenty seconds a small tangle of metal into a ready-for-the road bicycle. It's equally gratifying to reverse the procedure before the sceptical eyes of a railway guard before hopping onto a train. Another great pleasure is the ability to take a folded Brompton with you into restaurants and other public places, and for this reason it's often not necessary to carry a lock. When I'm out and about on a Brompton I make sure it goes where I go, and in the evenings it comes indoors.

Cable runs are protected within the fold

Suitcase-style casters allow the folded bike to be rolled along

The market was unproven, and tooling-up costs were high. By then Andrew had invested so much of himself in the product that he knew he had to go on with it. There followed a period of very small scale production, with virtually no tooling. Every bit of plastic used had to be hacked from solid. They sold everything they made. No marketing. No advertising. There followed a period of fresh investment but a further boom in sales has meant that Brompton are barely keeping up with demand.

The small wheels give a low centre of gravity and therefore stability. The front bag takes a heavy briefcase or a laptop computer with virtually no affect on handling, since the bag is attached to the frame, not the steering assembly. The Brompton gives a reassuring ride and it's easy to forget you're on a folder. However, only low pressure tyres are available to the manufacturers for 16 wheels - not a problem if they are pumped up regularly. Most small wheeled bikes give a jarring ride, but the Brompton is saved by a rubber suspension unit just behind the seatpost.

BICYCLE The Brompton T5

Optional fold-up pedal with sealed bearing makes the folded Brompton even more compact

The seatpin can be lowered through the frame, making it possible for children and very small adults to ride the Brompton. Also, extralong seat pins (30mm and 60mm longer than the standard pin) are available

Rubber suspension just behind the seatpost reduces road shock

The Brompton comes either as a basic bicycle, or fully equipped. My own preference is for the full works: dynamo lighting system, rack and five-speed gearing. None of these affect foldability, but the complete set of accessories adds 10% to the weight, bringing it to 28.4 lb (11.5kg). This is about the weight of a moderately good touring bike. However, the Brompton is not designed primarily as a touring machine. Most riders feel that around 15 kilometres of sustained

riding is a natural comfort limit. I myself feel that performance is improved by swivelling the saddle adaptor pin so that the saddle sticks out rearwards, and by fitting a quick-release lever to allow fast changes of handlebar angle - but both alterations transgress the terms of the manufacturers' guarantee. Andrew Ritchie still works on improving the Brompton, even though it has long since been established as a design classic.

t .

The purpose-made front pannier fits solidly onto a mounting with a special sprung clip. It can only be released by pressing on a little lever underneath. This feature also acts as an anti-theft device

The Brompton pannier has two external pockets and an intemaf documents pocket

Forged steel hinges give a solid ride ".....

Mini-pump, well hidden from light fingers -..

r:i.

/ Three- or fee-speed internal hub gears. Lower than standard gearing involving a smaller chainring is available by special order

Lightweight alloy chainset

A tensioning arm keeps the chain tight when folded

Mike Burrows won international fame as the designer of the carbon fibre monocoque bicycle on which Chris Boardman won Olympic gold in Barcelona. Yet he has long been an inspiring and respected originator in the equally important world of Human Powered Vehicles. His Windcheetah (familiarly known as the Speedy) has been a design classic for many years. During this time, Mike has made his living as a designer and

manufacturer of intricate packaging machinery, always regarding his cycling activities as too much fun for him to want to make a living out of them. However, he has now put the marketing and selling of the Windcheetah into the hands of Neat work, based in Coldstream, in the Scottish Borders. Demand has increased, with the result that Mike's factory is now graced with a production line of Windcheetahs; with the packaging machinery as second fiddle.

'ye never flown an aeroplane, but I have ridden the Windcheetah. I imagine they have much in common - except that you've got problems if your Windcheetah ever leaves the ground. In fact, the Windcheetah is delightfully stable, even when you throw it into tight, fast turns. The phrase 'flying by the seat of your pants' comes to mind, since the low riding position gives the thrilling impression of added speed, as the road ahead rushes up to meet you.

Control column incorporates steering gears and braking

/ /

The stub axle allows a simple, strong frame structure and ovoids the need for wheel removal A parking brake avoids the chance of a nun-away tncyc/e The seat position is adjustable along the frame, and frames con be ordered to length

Ccoandcheetah

Puncture repair becomes easy, since you can remove the inner tube entirely without taking the wheel off the bike

Frame members are glued into aluminium castings

CSS BURROWS ENGINEERINC The Windcheetah

As with early aircraft you have a control column, with all the principal controls on it: steering, gears, brakes. Apart from that, all you need do is supply the thrust, shift your body weight occasionally, and smile. Fast and sharp cornering is made possibly by the Windcheetah's inherent stability, and also by the natural rigidity of the small wheels, which stand up to enormous sideways forces. Or you can go as slow as you like without worrying about balance since the Windcheetah is, after all, a tricycle. One simple pleasure is to do a three-point turn: reversing is

The rider has a full view 么fwh,it th fmnt

possible if you're on a hill, or you can spin both front wheels backwards with your hands. The Windcheetah originated as a racing machine, hence its low profile, and minimal luggage-carrying capacity. It is still widely popular in the HPV racing world, and competes either as it is or with a full fairing. Even without a full fairing, the aerodynamic advantages of the Windcheetah are significant, given the kinds of speed achieved. Racing on a Windcheetah may well be a transcendental experience, but I enjoy just messing about on one. It's simply superb fun. The Windcheetah is not the ideal vehicle for busy city roads, biij it's great for morning 'spins', after-work de-stressing, or fast day rides. And when you get to where you want to be, the Windcheetah gives you to recline on while you vildlife, eat your picnic, nap.

Top photo: A Windcheetah with full body shell racing on track Body shells can only be fitted at the factory and must then be token away by the customer Bottom photo: An elegant arm holds the derailleur in position

In 1972 Lars Engstrom and Jesper Soiling started up Christiania Smedie, a workshop in the car-free suburb of Christiania, Copenhagen, which was virtually a Free State of free thinkers. They made woodburning stoves and cycle trailers. Jes per started on his own, making Pedersens. In 1984 Lars Engstrom had the idea of developing a transporter tricycle. He was joined by Annie Lerche, Cornelia Tromm and Peter Plett, and, in 1990, they all moved to

nce upon a time it was common to see delivery boys, postmen and food vendors riding carrier tricycles through many European cities. To see such a sight today you would need to visit Denmark, where new technology has been brought to bear on an excellent old idea. Cykelfabriken are at the forefront of this fresh thinking. The transporter trike design has evolved over the years, and their newest model, the HTL, is a superb combination of tradition and appropriate new technology. To start with, the HTL is lighter and easier to ride than traditional delivery trikes (or their replicas). Like the Roll Fiets wheelchair tandem, its rear half is cleverly made to tilt when cornering, counteracting the tendency of any trike to lift an inside wheel. The tilting feels strange at first, but improves balance and riding pleasure immeasurably. Handling is improved further by a hydraulic steering-damper underneath the carrier.

A highty refined steering damper gives a safer, surer ride

Whereas the standard Cykelfabriken transporter trike uses hub gears (Sachs three, five or seven-speed), the HTL version uses a wide ratio triple-chainwheel derailleur system. Other changes are visible in the HTL's brakes department. The HTL has hydraulic

the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, to concentrate on trailer and tricycle production. The business is called Cykelfabriken, although their workshop is still called Christiania Smedie. Despite the move to Bornholm the communal spirit remains, with many visitors dropping by to lend a hand and learn some skills. Their trikes and trailers are still used intensively in Christiania, but are now also sold throughout the world.

Magura brakes fitted to every wheel, and there is a parking brake. Cykelfabriken transporter trikes will carry practically anything. Those in Copenhagen are everyday transportation for children, dogs, building materials, gas-bottles, firewood, ice-cream and amber-sellers. The Royal Danish Post Office uses the trikes to replace vans for parcel deliveries in pedestrian zones. If none of Cykelfabriken's designs are quite suitable for your needs, special orders can be carried out. The possibilities are vast.

Twin levers operate a 2 /-speed derailleur system

\ TheYKELFABRIKEN HTL Transporter Trike A transporter trike is cheaper, cleaner, longer-lasting and easier for an owner to personally understand and repair. It might not attract all car drivers, but will certainly demand their attention and, given its hard edges, their courtesy.

Bell has a delightful two-tone chime, and is made to last

Each front wheel is supported either side of the axle

It was 1895, the year of the great cycling craze across Europe, when Diamant first began making bicycles. That was in Chemnitz, renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt and now Chemnitz again. During the Communist era high state investment went into Diomant racing cycles for prestige international competition. Otherwise the factory produced cheap, low quality bikes in large numbers. Diamant has now been invigorated by investment from the West, with Villiger of Switzerland as the largest shareholder

One of their main projects is the Cityblitz electric bike, which has given the workforce a strong sense of confidence and is helping to give back to Diomont its pre-war reputation for quality. The Cit yblitz was designed in Chemnitz by Professor Clauss Dietel, and the man with overall responsibility is Doktor-lngeneur Hartwig Muller, who has had the challenge of developing a manufacturing project from scratch, amidst great political and social transformation.

he problems facing the environment demand a variety of transport alternatives, a continuum of solutions. Electric bikes such as the Cityblitz will be welcomed by existing cyclists who need to extend their range, and will help millions who are unable (or unwilling!) to rely totally on pedal power. Riding the Cityblitz does not stop anyone being a cyclist - the electric motor is there to complement your pedalling power. The Cityblitz has been designed from scratch. It is essentially a sturdy and attractive bicycle with a power-pack sensibly sited within the frame, giving a low centre of gravity. The 5.3 kg nickel-cadmium battery comes with integral charger, electronic controls and a dial giving charge status. It feeds a small, virtually noiseless motor above the front wheel, which can be activated at any time, whether you are pedalling or not, by means of a smoothly operating twist-grip, giving continuous acceleration. Recharging takes four hours, and is usually needed after 15 to 30 kilometres - depending on how hilly or windy your ride was, and how much your legs contributed. It is quite conceivable that a reasonably fit cyclist might clock up 100 kilometres before needing to recharge overnight. Commuters may decide to buy an extra power pack, so that there's always one on charge. A recharge consumes 0.35 kwh, costing around DM 0.07, or three English pence in total. The battery can be recharged around 1000 times, and in most countries there is a disposal service through the manufacturers, Varta.

DIflflflT

Comfortable sprung saddle

Toolkit

and recharging

DIAMANT The Cityb1itz Electric Bike

for recharging

i seconds ors for Ut iy normal unit and highly yclists, Le motor to ress using and1ebar act erage g system ris i-power you stop. cg (59.41b) power topping. ia1ity but 11, and the fairly the ideal wer nough t.

Andreas Fortmeier has been inspired by recumbent cycles ever since he was 'laid low' by them some ten years ago. As a partner in Radius he has worked on the development of touring and racing recumbents (see the Encycleopedia entries for the Peer Gynt and the V6). However Andreas runs a company of his own: Dyn rod, whose sole product is the Duo tandem, a part conventional and

The upright riding position demands a good, leather sprung saddle, or a gel-filled saddle. Both options are offered

\,,,

part recumbent machine which catches even more attention and admiration than solo recumbent.s. The Duo is a prime example of labour intensive, high-value craftsmanship. The production run being small scale, and the demand being specialised, Duos will always be a rare and welcome sight on the roads.

The webbed seat gives good support and ventilation. It can move back or forwards along the frame, and tilted for the optimum riding position. It has a suspension unit underneath. As an option there is a seat made of formed plastic

The frame comes in a standard size, but special orders can be met

,VIP

Halogen front lamp

The front rider can have an additional hydraulic brake if required

Magura Hydraulic brakes can be squeezed confidently - as with all tandems and all recumbents there's no fear of being pitched over the top by over-zealous braking

/ ,M

Shimano Deore XT equipment with Hyperglide

DYNRAD The Duot he Duo is a development which goes bravely beyond the limits of the conventional tandem. The rear rider steers, thanks to a rod connected to the front forks, and the recumbent (or, to be more exact, semi-recumbent) front rider holds a static handlebar. Both riders get an excellent view of their surroundings and the road ahead, and their heads are close enough together to avoid the shouting match which can sometimes be typical of conventional tandeming, especially in noisy traffic. Experiences are easily shared, and the riding style is relaxed. I have ridden many times on the front and back of a Duo, and always found it easy. Placing the small front wheel beneath the front seat shortens the wheelbase, giving good manoeuvrability although a slight quirk is the way the front rider seem to move slightly sideways for a split second when the front wheel below takes a new direction of travel. The front seat itself has suspension, necessitated by its position directly over the small and therefore rigid front wheel. 8

The seat has suspension beneath it for optimum comfort

_<_1-1 lz l v~~

High quality gears give a good range

Riding in duo has taken many styles over the ages

The high specification of every part of the Duo makes it an excellent if unorthodox long distance touring machine, with remarkably low gearing for hill country. Luggage is carried on the rear rack, and an optional additional carrier can be fitted in the space between the two riders. On long tours the riders can ring the changes by swopping seats, although adjusting the distance between the front seat and the pedals can take five to ten minutes. The Duo is an exciting bike for open-minded cyclists, but is also an excellent machine for front-seated disabled riders. A version with footrests replacing the pedalling facility is available, along with a security belt system. This is not a mass production machine, and there is a degree of flexibility as to specification. There is a racing version available, with Campagnolo or Edco componentry. The typical speed-oriented Duo would be fitted with the front fairing which is available from the makers. A race between Duo tandems is a sight I have yet to savour.

Peter Messerschmidt hit upon the idea of the Roll Fiets as he sat by a worm oven chatting to a friend from Berlin's Spastiker-Zentrum. Several bottles of eco-wine later they had sketched out a pedal-powered vehicle which would immeasurabl' improve the mobility of disabled people. It took three years to develop the concept and find a manufacturer A Stuttgart manufacturer took up the challenge of producing the

he Roll Fiets lets a disabled - person and a friend experience together the =1L pleasure and 'convenience of cycling. The front seat is a specially designed wheelchair - usable on its own - which attaches to half bicycle, forming a tricycle. The Roll Fiets is designed to be sporty in appearance as well as in performance. It's colourful and attracts attention. Thanks to the use of alloy tubing for the wheelchair, the Roll Fiets is no slouch. It can be ridden wherever a conventional tricycle can go. There is no getting away from the fact that one rear rider needs to pedal for two, but three or five speed hub gearing should cope with most hills. Trips to the shops, cinema or cafe become a pleasant experience since the wheelchair simply comes off the bike and can be taken directly into the building. The Roll Fiets is designed to be safe and stable under a full load and, after a little practice, steers easily and surely. Without the passenger it is less stable, so care needs to be taken with cambers. The Roll Fiets comes equipped with twin drum brakes on the chair's wheels, operated by a brake lever on the pushing/steering bar. This allows braking in tricycle mode or in

Roll Fiets (known in Britain as the Duet), with its 1500 separate parts. Mass production began in 1986 with /00 units, with 500-600 coming off the production line in 1993. Delighted with the success of his design, Peter Messerschmidt is now planning to set up a cycle shop and workshop in Lubeck specialising in pedal-powered vehicles for disabled people.

wheelchair-only mode. There is also a back-pedal coaster brake on the cycle wheel. Like the drum brakes, this is enclosed and works well in the wet. Comfort is crucial for the passenger. The chair of the Roll Fiets is orthopaedically shaped from glassflbre-reinforced plastic, and comes with padding and adjustable foot and head rests. When fixed to the

cycle the chair tilts back, lifting the small front guide wheels off the floor. This gives a relaxed sitting position and makes conversation easy. It also prevents the passenger sliding forward, although a seatbelt is fitted.

The brake bar runs the width of the steering handle, meaning that you can brake wherever your hands happen to be

Hub brakes work effectively in all weathers. These brakes are specially made by the manufacturer

The Pentosport rear hub includes aback-pedal brake

MTB wheels give a sure ride over surfaces which many standard wheelchairs cannot cope with

F-IETS The Roll Fiets, or Duet KN

Sharing the pleasures

of movement, mobility and fresh air The two units engage and disengage in seconds

--1

Nhen the Ro/l Fiets is on the road the front wheels ore clear of the ground

The chair is separated from the cycle with a quick-release mechanism. The Roll Fiets brings freedom in many senses of the word. Riders are free from dependence on public transport or lifts from other people. You don't have to hunt for a parking space, as you would with a car, and gone are those struggles to move a disabled companion from the car to a chair (and back). The separated wheelchair compares well with standard wheelchairs. It has suspension and light handling. Its off-road tyres are excellent on gravel tracks, especially when the chair is being pushed by hand. Covered alloy push-rims are available, and a parking brake is fitted. The seat should suit 90% of users, but the wheelchair can be ordered chassis-only. The Roll Fiets is a great mobility aid to wheelchair users and their companions, well suited for group or individual ownership. You might even be able to claim for it against health insurance as a rehabilitation accessory.

The attraction was instant when Christian Uwe-Mischner first sat on a recumbent in 1982. Cum, as he is familiarly known, began riding various touring recumbents, but found none of them quite sporty enough for him. Short wheel-base recumbent.s could, he felt, be the answer However,those he saw at the time weren't fully mature in their design, with twitchy handling and seats which were

not as ergonomic as they should be. So, to get the fast, controllable ride that he required Cum designed his own bike. Production of the Flux began in 1991, with 20 produced in that first year This has increased steadily to 150 per year Cum not only designs and makes recumbents, he also races them, and has won a succession of European championships over recent years.

IXok .

) esigners of short wheelbase recumbents have never had it easy. The savings in over-all weight, combined with direct steering and a 'tucked in' front wheel, generally give a fast performance bike which requires sensitive control. This is why short wheelbase machines make superb track racing machines, where delicate steering is not high on the agenda.

Adjusting the length by moving the seat keeps the distance between cronkset and front wheel unaltered The even distribution of weight which ensures safe cornering and braking is therefore unaltered

â&#x20AC;˘__.

H" /

,..

IJL

The Sticho suspension systern gives improved comfort and road hoiding

The UXT=2 consisting of a thin aluminium tube, rubberised on the inside, which carries the chain along the frame, direct to the rear chainset. Recumbent seats are conventionally made of fabric stretched across a tubular frame. The Flux seat is made of contoured beechwood, specially treated to be water resistant. The wide surface area of the seat gives comfort and wide support, but retains stiffness as you press against it while pedalling. The seat has a series of holes running its full length, and the cushion is a porous fibre, keeping the sweaty back syndrome to a minimum. Cum believes that recumbent innovation will come through sport. To encourage this he has plans for an annual race: The Flux Cup, for ambitious racing cyclists looking for new horizons.

The ingenious chainguard consists of an alloy tube rubberised on the inside

race-track to road, from speed attempts to leisure touring. After years of riding and development the Flux ST2 has become an object lesson in clever compromise. At heart it is a speed machine, graceful on any race track. But it can also be equipped and used as a fast tourer or long-distance commuter. In fact, there is a 'touring pack' of components provided for this very purpose. Weight is distributed evenly throughout the bike, to give a stable ride, and the optional suspensibn forks give added comfort and road-holding. Handlebars are positioned to give the rider easy access to the controls, while keeping the arms, shoulders and neck in a relaxed position.

As with most short wheel-base recumbents, the single-tube frame acts as the backbone to which almost everything is attached. The frame tubing, made exclusively for Flux, was chosen for its rigidity after many trials with other materials. Stiffness is critical, since the full power of the cyclist is applied to one unsupported point at the front extremity of a single tube. Cum has avoided a long, flapping chain by adopting a secondary chainset, linking two separate chains, and allowing a wide range of gear ratios. A further solution to the flapping chain problem is a neat little chainguard

When they first met Marinus Meijers and Marten Gerritsen were both qualified engineers with a passion for HPVs. Together they set up a business specialising in the design of products and of small production machinery One day they were awarded a contract close to their hearts: to design a prototype suspension bike for town use. Sadly the project collapsed. However, the designers' enthusiasm was anything but suspended, and they accepted all rights to their

one are the days when a city bike had to be a dreary dreadnought. City, riding can be serious fun, especially if the bike is right. Enter the Radical, designed for high performance commuting and light touring, combining 20" wheels with front and back suspension units. Why frame suspension? Bikes are steered, braked and proplled by forces acting through the point where each tyre makes contact with the road. The main suspension system on a standard bike consists of the air in the tyres. This is usually not enough to prevent the above three forces from being momentarily Nm

The Radical's suspension smooths the way

!radical

design in lieu of payment. For some time they tried to attract interest and support from the cycle industry, but found an industry unable to appreciate new engineering outlooks and techniques. The only way ahead was to go it alone. to production After seven years of development the Radical went in in 1992, with 30 bikes made. It has been warmly received, and the production run for 1993 is 200.

unloaded when the wheel passes over a bump: grip is reduced and handling suffers. Substantial tyres on 27hh/28tt wheels certainly help, but the alternative for increased performance is frame suspension, which can bring large enough improvements to allow a reduction in wheel size. Smaller wheels are stronger, lighter, and give less wind resistance, although with a slightly lower top gear. Along with improved road-holding come comfort benefits beyond those of a standard roadster. You can cruise over b'umps, and power round corners with the confidence that a sudden bump is far less likely to take the wheel from under you. I have ridden the Radical fast over the lumpy black stuff: the suspension worked beautifully, and I kept my bottom firmly on the saddle. The suspension units consist of a double action hydraulic shock-absorber with a polyurethane spring fitted over the piston rod. They're designed to automotive reliability standards, and are easily replaced if they fail. For the heavier rider or those carrying larger loads a differently specified rear spring is available. The hand-made, lugless chrome-molybdenum frame is silver-brazed, and given two epoxy-polyester powder coatings. All frame parts are coated on the inside and sealed - an expensive process which protects from unseen corrosion. The strong and unusually wide rear carrier makes the Radical ideal for commuting and transporting goods. The Radical comes as a framekit (including frame, seatpin, rims, spokes and tyres), or as a complete unit, fully equipped with Shimano DX, mudguards, halogen lights, carrier and stand: all high quality stuff.

Anti-dive' geometry reduces front end dip when braking

Mike Burrows adds: This is one of those bikes Ijust fell in love with as soon as I rode it. I cannot explain it logically. The suspension does entail extra weight and cost, and there are many mass-produced mountain bikes which would be 'better value for money'. Perhaps the Radical appeals to me because it has character something that is sadly lacking in most of today's Far Eastern clones. It's something which is difficult to put a price on, but if you like bikes this is the perfect townie.

GERRITSEN & MEIJERS Radical MariflhlS Meijers

As a small boy Ian Sims enjoyed designing and making his awn vehicles. He began with 'billycarts' and even fitted one with a souped up lawnmower engine. In later years he became a technician for an Australian chemical company, but as a hobby he built sports cars and motorbike sidecars for racing. Then redundancy and a growing ecological awareness transformed his life. He looked to pedal power, and began researching and experimenting in fast three wheeled recumbent.s, using his

GREENSPEED Recumbent Bikes, Trikes and HPV 'S

The rear wheel is oflet to avoid the need for dishing

knowledge of lightweight custom vehicle building. Today he is selfemployed as a manufacturer of racing and touring recumbents, and loving every moment of it Together with his son, Paul, Ian makes around 30 Greens peeds a year He has a personal commitment to sustainable transport; and writes regularly for Australia's Soft Technology magazine. He has got rid of his ca which is no light matter in that vast country

ruciform recumbent trikes, fast and thrilling to ride, were pioneered in the 1970s by English cycle designer Mike Burrows, maker of the r Windcheetah. The Greenspeed is a welcome new arrival in this dynamic area of cycling, being an advanced and sophisticated machine with its own design rationale. At slow speed it is laid back in all senses: you can rest, cruise, and negotiate obstacles with pin-point steering. But put power into your legs and you rocket along. The sudden acceleration, light and positive steering, fast cornering and powerful braking are an experience not to be missed. The Greenspeed is an electrif'ing ride, making my sluggish body feel like a powerful engine.

I The hammock-type seat is laced with elastic cord to insulate from road shock and its open weave allows perspiration to escape. The seat supports all your upper body weight and avoids saddle pain, It's also great for resting eating or shoozing in, wherever you ore

Tab for computer and headlight

Controls are by your side: there is no weight on your arms or wrists

The seat is lower than the pedals, decreasing frontal area and thus increasing aerodynamic

This competition Greenspeed has close gearing The relatively large chainririgs ore necessitated by the 20" rear wheel

SPDs keep feet firmly on the pedals over bumps and allow a useful pull and push action for fast acceleration

' \

efficiency Independent braking / utilises the full power of both hands. The centre point steering avoids problems from uneven braking

Sachs ATB drum brakes work well in the rain, do not damage alloy rims and need little maintenance

Main tube of 0 Tt Cross tube of Reynolds gradechrome mJl 4130 531

The distance between front wheels is 31" a compromise between stability and being able to get through width restnctors on bike paths etc

Eggring chainset Recumbent trikes can use a wider range of gears than ordinary bikes. Puncture repair is easy - no need to take either front wheel off the trike

The 'bottom bracket' can be moved up and down the main tube for leg length adjustment The sleeve is secured by Allen bolts

•_ 4

• Sports Tourer

It takes six or so weeks of regular riding for leg muscles to adapt to recumbent riding. Ian feels that a reasonably fit recumbent rider can achieve 40kph over a distance, but that many can reach GOkph with a three-quarters fairing fitted. Production fairings are in development. The beginner would do well to find an empty car park, to discover the Greenspeed's performance characteristics by taking it to extremes. If you put on full lock and pedal ever faster the inner wheel will lift at about 20kph skilled riders can do figures of eight on two wheels. You can practise leaning to keep all wheels on the ground, or lifting a wheel over an obstacle in the road. You also need to avoid debris on the road which might hit the under-seat handlebar. You can also learn to slide or spin safely in the wet or on gravel.

'III Li

Steering cross-over gives a tight turning circle

Mobility for a disabled rider on the Greens peed sports hand trike

The care paid to the steering geometry is a legacy of Ian's design work on 150mph racing side-cars. The unique type of kingpin allows 'zero-scrub radius' steering (sometimes called centre point steering). This means that a line drawn through the kingpin in front view will intersect the centre of the contact patch of the tyre as it passes through the ground plane. Thus, should a front wheel hit a bump there is no reaction through the steering. The steering rods • cross, which allows a good turning circle and full Ackermann geometry, preventing scrub (or wheelslip) on tight turns and generally minimising tyre wear. There are several variants of Greenspeed: the GRT Touring version, which is best for regular riding in traffic, has a 26" rear wheel and a 45 degree seat inclination; and the Sports Touring version (featured in our main picture) with 20" wheels all round and a low 30 degree seat inclination. Although the Sports version is ideal for club level competition, it can easily take rack, mudguard, panniers and lights. A safety flag is supplied as standard. There is also a full blooded racing Greenspeed with a dramatic 20 degree seat inclination. This model is a regular winner in road and track races. There is a simplified, smaller version of the Greenspeed for children or for adults significantly below average height.AIso available is a hand cranked model for the disabled. The Sims are now experimenting with tiny auxiliary electric motors and 20 cc four stroke engines. They believe that a motor assistance option can help many people break their addiction to the car.

All controls are mounted on the bars, which can be tilted to suit the rider

The 20" rear wheel decreases weight and allows the rear frame to be made lighter, as there are lower twisting forces fed into the wheel while cornering

This product may not necessarily be available from all the cycle shops listed at the back of this

Diese Produkse sind nicht alle durdi die teilnehmenden Fahrradhdndler zu bekommen • die sich am

book (see pages 2 and 3).

Ende von diesem Buck finden (es wick stark empfoh!en. doss Sic Seiten 2 und 3 iesen).

The idea behind the Aeroproject took life when engineer Manfred Hang made his first contact with Human-Powered Vehicles in 1989, at the European Championships in M端nstet He found that many participants were looking for a recumbent suitable for the highest level of competition. The development of such a machine quickly became a family affair, involving Man fred's sons Guido and

Christoph. Also closely involved was Gunnar Fehlau, an HPV enthusiast and racer Long days and nights were spent calculating debating designing - then testing and redesigning Manfred Hang was delighted to be using his long experience as a master-engineer on such an exciting and pioneering project.

The Aeropmject touring version has alighting system, mudguards, and a stand. It also has a pannier system which attaches to a low point behind the seat very close to the centre of gravity

Huge forces are applied by the racing cyclist, especially in sprints. To cope with this, computer-designed inner re-in forcement allows light tubing to be used in configurations which would otherwise be impossible

Guido and Manfred Hang

HARIG AeroProject

0 The position of the bottom' bracket can be adjusted according to leg length

hort wheel-base recumbents are among the fastest human-powered vehicles on earth. They tend to be lighter than their long wheelbased brethren, but need more skilful control at low speeds. For a racing bike the Aeroproject has a good-natured geometry, which widens its range of usefulness. Fast touring away from hills becomes an option and, with this in mind, there are braze-ons for a lighting system, stand and luggage rack if required. The Aeroproject will never be a mass-production bike. Owners join a fairly exclusive club: only around sixty of them were made last year, going up to 100 this year. The pleasures of recumbent riding do come with practice. Manfred advises novices not to pull on the handlebars, since this uses up precious energy, and makes it more difficult to breath deeply. For real keenies the Aeroproject can be fitted with a fairing. Of the fairings made by other firms, some fit the standard model (Li), otherwise

The rider's heels are clear of the front wheel when turning

The well-known chrome-plated Aeroproject, veteran of many national HPV competitions. Alongside its achievements as a speed machine, it took second place in the manoeuvrability contest at the 1992 European HPV Championships in Munich

All high-stressed joints are lugged using silver solder

an appropriate version of the Aeroproject needs to be ordered. However, a recent development is a specially developed fairing for the Aeroproject's entry into faired-class racing, and this model of fairing is available to customers. The Aeroproject prototype was first let loose in a real racing situation at the 1990 German Championships. Ridden by Gunnar Fehlau, it took first place in the sprint with a speed (unfaired) of 65.5kph. The Aeroproject continues to take the headlines. Recently a German cycling magazine decided to find out what was so special about recumbents. Their idea was to pitch a professional on a conventional racing bike against a recumbent rider. Gunnar Fehlau's brother, Axel, volunteered. Riding an off-the-peg Aeroproject he won the 20km race a full 500 metres ahead of his rival. With typical modesty Manfred Hang points out that other recumbents could have beaten the professional the Aeroproject happened to be the one available on the day. A family enterprise shows the orthodox cycling world just what can be done.

Isla Rowntree is the first to admit that trailer-cycles for children are not new, but until recently they have been custom-built, relatively expensive and hard to find. Is/a's partner, frame-maker Andy Thompson, used to make traditional large-wheeled versions, but abandoned the design in the search for an alternative that would allow a larger range of child sizes. He built one for his own children, but it was so admired by cycling friends with families that

believe I have personal experience of every type of child-carrying device known to humankind, from childseats to low-backed tandems. I have found that even the youngest children can enjoy cycling, thanks to childseats and child-carrying trailers. However, a big problem arises when he or she outgrows the childseat at the age of about four, and yet is too young to ride solo. The answer is a child-carrying trailer, which bridged the gap, allowing families to keep on the road until their young ones have the strength and road sense to go solo. Our second son went straight from childseat to Trailerbike. Essentially it's half a bicycle which bolts onto a purpose-made rack fitted to a conventional bike. It creates an articulated tandem, on which you are the pilot and your child is the stoker. There are many benefits from this arrangement. Your child is actively involved in cycling, but stays under your control. On a cold day the exercise keeps the young rider warm. Childseat occupants, by contrast, can easily become bored and cold. Your son and daughter can watch what you do and develop traffic sense, safely and painlessly. If she tires she can freewheel and be towed along. If she has energy to spare, she can contribute a surprising amount of power. Steering and braking are under your sole control, but on the three-speed Trailerbike the child has an independent three-speed hub gear. The Trailerbike has an advantage over a standard tandem in that it can be detached. This allows you use of your bike as a solo whenever you need. Also, the Trailerbike can be attached to different bikes (assuming you have ordered extra towing racks). Almost any large-wheeled bike can tow a Trailerbike.

he and his partner Isla decided to enter production, calling it the Trailerbike. Isla Rowntree is responsible for the marketing and sales of the Trailerbike and, having an engineering background, is also involved with the manufacturing process. In 1989, ten Trailerbikes came out of their workshop. Now, after much development work and years of financial sacrifice, Islabikes have turned a somewhat elite product into a utilitarian one, available to anybody.

The vertical pivot is a conventional headset; the horizontal pivot uses replaceable precision journal bearings

Handling is good; a bike plus Trailerbike can easily U-turn in the width of a country road.The heavier the front rider in relation to the rear rider, the better the handling. The upper weight limit for the child rider is about 40kg. The lower limit is set by the leg length and confidence of the child. Trailerbikes are supremely versatile. Parents can use them for dropping children off at school, for off-road rides, or even extended tours. One of Isla's thank-you letters came from a customer with two five year olds who had used two Trailerbikes for a 1000 mile camping tour through Spain and France! Many cycling families come to regard a Trailerbike as something to be used for five or six years, and then passed on. They usually end up in the hands of family friends or contacts whose own children are coming up to the right age - and the second hand value is relatively high. The Trailerbike keeps you fit, keeps you mobile, and, in many senses of the word, it keeps you together.

1q ,-- L A" R- I K The Trailerbike Ponniers can be fitted ti the towing bike with a special rack adopter but they should not be fitted to the Troilerbike itself AMV

traderbikes..

Seat and handlebars can be raised as your child grows

The frame is finished in scratch resistant white powder-coat

The Trailerbike is also available without a mudguard

Off-road debris is unlikely to catch between the rear wheel and the non-contoured frame

Child-sized cranks and pedals, with toe straps to prevent legs flailing over bumps

The towing rack attaches to mudguard eyes and to the seat stays via brazed on pannier basses or clips provided

Six years ago Mike Kemper quit a safe job engineering the latest turbine aircraft engines and set up a small business designing and making practical but unorthodox bicycles. A move from just about the most energy intensive means of transport to the most energy efficient, reflecting Mike's awareness of the gulf between his previous work and the real needs of the planet. Another important reason for the change was the arrival of Mike's daughter, Miriam. He resented the inflexibility of his work at the turbine factory,

arrying luggage or children has traditionally been a matter of equipping a standard bicycle with add-ons. Michael Kemper has taken a more fundamental route: he has designed a bicycle around the carrying tasks. The long wheelbase of the Filibus allows for an ample luggage platform, and the low centre of gravity gives stability and good riding characteristics even when loaded up. Another departure from tradition is the use on a transporter bike of lightweight tubing and alloy parts. This means that the Filibus remains a perfectly useful, if unusual, bike for the solo rider when goods and children don't need to be carried around. A thief-proof aluminium container box can be supplied, which makes the Filibus a strong possibility

which stopped him from sharing childcare responsibilities. Only by being his own boss could he take more control of his life. Kemper Fohrradtechnik (Bicycle Technology) is well known for its fine Pedersen bicycles, and these remain popular However, Mike has now committed himself to applying new thinking and advanced technology to the development of practical transporter bikes.

The low step-over frame allows easy mounting when the bike is loaded up front or back, and the indirect steering keeps goods or childseat from fouling the turning circle of the handlebars. It is for carrying children that the Filibus really makes its mark. No longer need your little one sit behind you, out of sight and with only your back to contemplate. The Filibus puts the child first: either facing you, for good eye contact, or facing forward to see what's happening in the big

A carrying handle near the bike's centre of gravity helps you lift the Filibus, loaded or unloaded, when you need to

for courier companies, fast food delivery services, or anyone wanting to bring home some hefty shopping.

The seat can be token

off in seconds, by means of two simple levers, leaving the whole rack area available for the carrying of goods

1 swlt7r

The Kettler childseat Facing forward, the child has an excellent view of what is going on. A specially designed windscreen of flexible, shatter-proof polycarbonate is available to protect the child from the wind, and improve aerodynamics. Purpose-made fittings are supplied for the seat An adapter is available for fitting the seat facing the adult, if eye contact is important

KEMPER FAHRRADTECHNIK TheFifib u s

wide world. Communication between parent and child is easy, since you are only a foot or so apart. You can share your pleasure in what you discover en route. Every family should have one.

empen

Rear rack gives additional carrying capacity You can put a childseat on the rear as well as on the front or your luggage on the rear with a childseat on the

Back-pedal brakes, common in Northern Europe, work equally well in all weathers, and beat cable brakes for reliability They a//ow the full power of your /egs, rather than your fingers, to apply the braking force. The only drawback comes when you need emergency braking but find your pedals are at 6 o'clock'. For optimum downwards pressure its better to wait a split second till you're closer to 3 o'clock Yet their advantages are massive, and the Magura brakes on the front wheel are extremely effective

The two legged stand gives safe parking stability even with a full load on board. By swivelling the bike on one of the legs it can be turned full circle on the spot

George Longstaff works within the long and very British tradition of tricycle manufacture, which stems from Britain's near-monopoly of tricycle making and racing in the 1880s and 1890s. The Tricycle Association is an important element within British cycle sport, and tricycle touring is making a strong come-back. The modern British

tricycle is a more refined animal than its predecessors, and the tandem tricycle is a specialism which probably belongs to George Longstaff alone. As for as we know he is the world's only producer of the traditional tandem tricycle. He is a much respected cycle engineer and has been making tricycles for thirty years.

The stoker operates the twin rear hub brakes; the pilot operates the front brakes

Double-marathon frame for heavier riders. Lighter riders usually order a single-marathon frame

11k4

Customers can specify a slightly wider axle, to allow twin childseats to be fitted between the rear wheels, with wheelguards for safety

Bash-plates keep a falling chain off the paintwor* \

53! tubing is usually used, but Columbus is also offered

4/ 1

Two-wheel drive allows each wheel to tum in a natural air, and decreases tyre wear Differential drive is also available, as is rightwheel-only and leftwheel-only drive. The latter two options depend on which side of the road you ride on in your country, since the direction of the road camber needs to be taken into account

Rear mudguards can be fitted, although this is no easy matter on a tricycle

Maya tandem hub brakes, with the cooling fins machined off to save weight The fins are not necessary since on a tandem tnke the brakes are exposed to the air flow

Strong wheels are needed to cope with sideways forces when cornering

ULmUflU&i T fl%U!III L' "UjMUU ÂŁD%g 1

GEORGE LONGSTRAFF Tandem Tricycle

â&#x20AC;˘ e once owned two tandem tricycles in our -. family. We used them mainly for transporting children round town, and for occasional touring en famille. Tandem trikes just stand there while you load up children and luggage, and you manoeuvre them with confidence, with no wobble at slow speeds. They come close to replicating the functions and convenience of the family motor car and, of course, beat the car in many positive ways. Ours had originally been ordinary two-wheeled tandems, converted late in their lives to tricycles. They were safe, graceful and imposing on the road. But they were heavy, and had little faults and foibles which we could never put right. Our ideal was a tandem trike made by George Longstaff the acknowledged master in the genre. All tricycles require a little practice at first, till the brain realises that it is not simply dealing with a bicycle which happens to have two wheels at the back. A different set of responses needs to be learned, but once you've got them you keep them for life. Tandem triking can be as easy or as demanding as you like. Some couples choose them to avoid low-speed balance problems on two-wheeled tandems. Others enjoy the thrill of hitting fast speeds, leaning into corners to counter centrifugal forces. Longstaff tandem trikes are also raced, and the two-in-line riding position gives good aerodynamics. At slower speeds you point the front wheel where you want to go, and perhaps occasionally make slight and almost instinctive adjustments to your body position if you sense a severe camber in the road, or if you need to swerve to

miss a pothole. Everyone should try tricycling at least once in their lifetime. It's a broadening experience. But try out a tandem tricycle and your experience will be not only broadened, but also extended - literally so.

A Longstaff tandem trike is not normally sold through cycle shops, since it is built in direct consultation with the customer. The size of the product makes export difficult, and often expensive. George therefore prefers customers from abroad to collect personally. This gives maker and buyer a chance to meet one another, and for final adjustments to be made on the spot. George also makes bicycles, solo tricycles, adaptions for the disabled and tricycle conversion axles. By the way, our evaluation machine is the one you see here photographed. We were astonished to learn that it is two years old and has been ridden every weekend.

Tandem cross-over drive

Twin Mogura brakes are fitted to this model for evaluation purposes. George Langstaff tests all new components over a period of time before recommending their use on his tandem trikes

The marketing, servicing, hiring out and development of environment-friendly forms of transport These are the aims of the German company, Rdderwerk, makers of the Max and Flizza trailers. The partners, Thomas Krog, Bernd Rodem端!ler and Helge Herrmann, saw how even committed cyclists. would revert to their cars to carry heavy shopping or transport bulky household items short distances. They decided to develop high quality cycle trailers

arrying bulky items across town on a bicycle trailer is practical and healthy commonsense. But it is, at the same time, a significant and very visual victory for cycling. It shows that the power in a single person's legs can often match the carrying capacity of a ton of motorised metal. I first used a bike and trailer to shop at our local supermarket, parking in the adjacent multi-storey car park. I came away with the trailer piled high with as much as would fit into the average car boot. Smug's the word. The two-wheeled Max is designed for such heavy loads. The designers take a 'system' approach. The package includes two

to extend the limited carrying capacity of the bicycle. Business is expanding rapidly with sales in many countries. One customer living in rural Iceland uses his Max to cycle his kayak to the water, and to collect driftwood. The Rdderwerk partners sense strongly that the use of cycle trailers is being seen as not just eco-friendly but also (and perhaps therefore) a fashionable thing to do.

different size stacking containers. There is also a extension facility on the main shaft, so that long objects can be carried, a handle for conversion to a handcart, a bike stand, an adapter kit for hub braked bikes, a security strap, a battery rear light and even two hooks for hanging the trailer on a wall. The two sizes of box mean that the smaller one fits inside the bigger for storage, or, for extra carrying capacity, sits on top of the other. In this position both can be cable-locked to the frame. For storage the Max comes apart in about five minutes. The single wheeled Flizza performs very differently from the Max, since it leans into curves with the bike. It comes with only one box, its carrying capacity is lower, and it weighs less. With the Z-version of

. . ...

The coupling is designed to allow the fixing of an Esge or Hebie rear wheel stand. If the bike does fall over the trailer stays where it is. An adapter is supplied which allows the trailer to be combined with a bike stand on a hub-geared or back-pedal brake bicycle

Quick-release wheels

give fast disassembly for storage

RADERWERK'S Max & Flizza trailers

Couplings are designed to be safe and easy to use, allowing you to have use of a unencumbered bike in seconds. For an extra charge a high grade, milled Flizza coupling is supplied for MTBs or bikes with long seat pins

Full box(es) can be very simply lifted Out of the frame, avoiding the need to unpack the goods to get them off the trailer

the Flizza the box can be removed, allowing the whole trailer to be stored flush with a wall (remember there are no pedals sticking out). It is longer than the Max, and not as stable when the bike is parked. Trailer-cycling needs just a little practice, and thoughtful riding. The maximum weight of the load should depend not just on what the trailer will take, but rather on your bike's braking power. Trailers are particularly useful behind tandems, since the pulling power is doubled, and luggage carrying on the tandem itself is limited. RĂ¤derwerk stress that their trailers are great for leisure rides. You can pack a picnic in them, plus a

The Z-version of the Flizza has a removable box. The F-version has its box screwed down to the frame

few children's toys, and when you've unpacked the edibles you can turn the boxes upside down for instant tables and chairs. The couplings are made of cast aluminium - an expensive but weight-saving measure. They have â&#x20AC;˘ been designed to be free of rattle and play.

The eye in the main tube allows a cable lock to secure bike and trailer together

N A low-slung weight gives a much lower centre of gravity than is found when goods are carried on a rack above a bicycles rear wheel

RADER"ERK!

ri Radius made their reputation with the Peer Gynt touring recumbent. Three years ago partners Andreas Fortmeier and Peter Range began the development of short-wheelbase racing recumbents. They now have two racing models, the 16V and the 24V,both names parodying the current vogue amongst car

here is a new breed of cyclist about - willing to spend good money on a machine which is exceptional, and which will bring fun, fitness and the heady, innocent excitement of high speeds achieved by the human body alone. This kind of cyclist can be something of a rebel, preferring to keep out of the often exclusive culture of conventional cycle racing. He or she will enjoy the challenge of speed either in solo runs, or with a few fit friends, and will perhaps join a national HPV club, racing occasionally in friendly but keen competition with like-minded people. Such a cyclist will have the satisfaction of riding the kind of bike which, since 1932, has been banned from conventional cycle racing because it is so much faster than the standard diamond frame racing bike. This is the kind of cyclist who will buy the 16V. An elegant, short wheelbase machine, the 16V represents new sets of attitudes and can entice the ordinary ride-to-work cyclist to taste the thrills of fast acceleration and speed, and the paradox of energetic relaxation. The 16V maximises the power of the human leg and minimises resistance to the wind, thanks to its low aerodynamic profile. It is simple in form: a strong oversize single tube to which all the necessities are attached. The front wheel is relatively small, to tuck under the spine. This gives a short wheelbase, making the 16V lighter than, for example, Radius's long wheelbase racing recumbent, the 24V, which gives an easier but slightly less exciting ride. At 50kph (30mph) a cyclist can use up to 85% of available energy battling against wind resistance. At a more likely speed of 40kph (25mph) around 2.5kph (1.5mph) can be gained by riding a recumbent such as

manufacturers to promote the new generation of multi-valve engines. Radius racing recumbents are a regular sight at all major HPV championships, and appeal to club cyclists looking for performance which goes beyond the normal ; or to individuals who like to let rip on their training runs.

The cc light a

Eyes for a rear rack

Large, 28" whe good rolling resi

the 16V rather tha bike. By fitting thâ&#x201A;Ź fairing you can gai amount of advanta5 a5aw, aw.L JJJ also fitting a tail cone you will get a further advantage of roughly the same degree. Radius can supply off-the-shelf front and rear fairings specially designed for the 16V. Short-wheelbase recumbents are like certain seabirds: ungainly at take-off but graceful in flight. Radius have ten years of expertise in the subtle art of steering geometry, and

have designed the 16V to be an intelligent compromise between low speed manoeuvrability and high speed excellence. Only experienced riders can avoid wobble at very low speeds. Like most things in life, the trick is to have the confidence to push off hard to get going.

Toe clips or SPD pedals are highly recommended by the makers. If your foot slips when you are exerting pressure it can immediately de-stablize the bike and bring you down \

Bar end levers give easy control of gears N.

The frame comes in four sizes and can in any case be adjusted to Suit the leg length of the

The handlebar is designed and made by Radius

Still in their early twenties, two German students took part in a Festival of Human Power near London. Andreas Fortmeier. (shown left) and Peter Range came away fired with a conviction that the time for recumbent cycling had come. With a prototype already on the road, they

launched into commercial production of a touring recumbent, the Peer Gynt Ten years later Andreas and Peter employ eleven people. Their business, Radius, makes around 800 recumbents a year; mostly for the German, Austrian and Swiss market It has not been easy. Management and production skills were learnt on the job. In the face of tradition and prejudice they had to create a new market for recumbents before their enterprise could thrive.

he Peer Gynt is the classic European touring recumbent, and is well established at the top end of the market. Its strengths lie in the areas of road touring and longer distance commuting. Its long wheelbase and frame suspension give a relaxed ride, with good stability on the open road. As with most bicycles built in Germany, the Peer Gynt comes equipped off with everything you need: dynamo lighting system, mudguards, rack, and prop stand. The frame is high quality chrome moly, hand brazed, and this standard is matched by the choice of components. The Magura Hydrostop brakes involve virtually friction-free oil filled tubes in place of cables. They are particularly appropriate to the Peer Gynt. Whereas their stopping power needs to be carefully applied on a conventional bike, the low centre of gravity on the Peer Gynt allows you to squeeze the front Hydrostop as hard as you like with no fear of launching yourself into orbit. This is a huge safety advantage. The Peer Gynt's performance is excellent in open road situations. You can cruise along in absolute comfort, and you should notice a big increase in your Magura Hydraulic brakes longer distance performance. There is little to beat the sensation of powering con be squeezed round a series of bends while you lie back and enjoy the changing view. One of confidently -/e no my peculiar pleasures in life is to drape one arm nonchalantly over the back of fearafa nose-dive over the seat, and listening to pedestrians asking each other how I manage to steer the bike (the underseat steering is usually invisible to the casual onlooker). The Peer Gynt is not particularly lightweight, at 19kg. This is an inevitable consequence of the long-wheelbase design, which brings massive performance advantages elsewhere, and of the amount of accessories on board. You can buy the Peer Gynt in kit form, or with machine-specific parts only. Also available from Radius is the Dino, which gives you all the advantages of the Peer Gynt, but to a lesser degree, and for a more modest outlay. There is also a tricycle version, the Trio, which adds, almost literally, another dimension to the Peer Gynt design. A front fairing is available in kit form for all variants. Radius are now launching a range of racing recumbents, and hope to develop a practical, fully faired, electro-assisted recumbent for the everyday round-town user.

Distance no object! A touring Radius recumbent loaded up and ready to go

RADIUS Peer Gynt

Webbed seat gives good support and ventilation. It can be moved bock or forwards along the frame, and tilted for the optimum riding position

Bar end levers give easy

control of gears and brakes

Frame suspension detail

At the age of eleven, when other small boys were doing their paper rounds, Chas Roberts was brazing up cycle racks in the cellar of the family house. Cycle-making was the family business: Chas's father was the works manager for Holdsworth and Cloud Butler; but had begun on his own in the early 60's. After 28 years of cycle

making he has achieved world recognition as a master framemaker Although he makes some off-the-peg bikes, Chas is essentially a custom-builder He is not a great lover of suspension systems, preferring the clean lines of the classic English racer or tourer.

Bars need to be narrower than usual for smaller riders

ost bikes are made for Mr Average, which means that anyone short, female (or both) has few choices. A 19" frame is about the smallest that will accept standard, 700c wheels. If you are one of the large minority who need a smaller frame you may have had to settle for a

Brake levers need to be suited to smaller hands

Small bikes need small cranks

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ROBERTS CYCLES Small Frames

badly-fitting bike, a mountain bike, or a child's cheap copy. The end result can be permanent back damage, due to strain to the lower vertebrae. Chas Roberts offers you a real road bicycle. In making a smaller bike it is not enough simply to scale down the frame dimensions. This is especially true when building bikes for women, who have shorter arms and body, and longer legs than a man of the same height. Shorter cyclists do need a lower standover height, but also a relatively shorter top tube and shorter cranks. A shorter head tube, however, reduces frame rigidity and steering predictability. Chas uses a 26" front wheel to overcome this, allowing a more standard sized head tube to be used. It also gives a shorter wheelbase, for sharper handling and acceleration, and a lower standover height. Unlike some American framebuilders, Chas uses a 26" wheel at the back too. This looks right aesthetically, and means you don't have to carry two spare tubes. Thanks to the popularity of mountain The brake cable runs beneath the top tube leaving a 'clean' top tube

bikes, 26" tyres and tubes are readily available. Gearing is reduced, but this is easily corrected with slightly larger chainrings or smaller sprockets. Smaller bikes demand greater attention to other details. Frame angles change with smaller bikes: the All lugs are silver-soldered

head tube angle, trail and fork rake must be carefully balanced to give the right steering characteristics. Even the routing of cables is important. A cable on the top tube can add a significant 6mm (1/4") to standover height. Bars need to be narrower, and have shallower drops for smaller shoulders, arms and hands. There are intrinsic advantages to a small, custom-made bike. A shorter frame gives a smaller diamond, which is stronger, allowing use of lighter materials. Braze-ons and colour schemes can be specified by the customer. Although a Roberts bike may initially be more expensive, it is likely to keep a good price on the secondhand market should you ever decide to sell it. Chas has made frames as small as 15 1/2 " . The bike which he has built for our photograph is an 18" 'Audax' frame for light touring and fast commuting. It was designed for a man, and therefore has a longer top tube than might be given to a woman's frame. Chas also makes pure racing bikes, heavier-duty tourers, tandems and ATBs.

A Roberts' Small Frame alongside a bike which Roberts made for Britain's tallest man

Verner Aadal has one the most satisfying jobs in cycling. He runs a factory which produces bicycles for a country in which the bicycle is much loved and well used. SCO are the principal Danish cycle manufacturers, making good, sensible bikes for a country where cycling is an everyday, all-weather activity. SCO (better known as Danish cycling for a Smith and Co. in Germany) have been part hundred years - they were founded in 1894, just before a great

n amongst the grinding stop-start traffic of London you can often catch a glimpse of a red and black Long John gracefully cutting through the chaos. The rider is my friend Patrick Field, a cycle journalist. He fondly calls his bicycle Dennis, after Dennis the Menace, a British comic-strip character whom others push around at their peril. Patrick Field's Dennis is a formidable presence. It demands

boom in cycling swept Europe. Not only do SCO keep much the Danish public on bikes, they also help the country's small businesspeople avoid unnecessary expense and pollution, by providing them with a range of versatile and distinctive transporter bikes, including the Littlejohn and the Long John.

road space, and can give as good as it gets if motorists misjudge. SCO developed the Long John for commercial use on the cycle paths and in the calmer traffic of Denmark. They are a natural part of the Danish street scene, and are increasingly common in Germany and Holland. More recently the Long John has been discovered by the public at large, looking for a simple, flexible, unpolluting, low-cost alternative to

motor transport. Patrick Field, for example, has a fast road bike for getting himself around town, but wheels out Dennis for shifting the

Ii 1_

Rear rack gives even more carrying capacity You can tell the world exactly who the bike belongs to

TEEi Hub brakes and gears keep both functions weather-proof

Single choinwheel is easily and cheaply replaced if you need to bring all the gearing lower or higher

SCO The Longiohn heavy stuffâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; making an ideal combination of bicycles for anyone wanting to get rid of their car. Being designed for the flat land of Denmark, the Long John is no fairy when it comes to hills. It is fitted with a three speed Torpedo hub gear, incorporating a back pedal brake. If your local topography is challenging, you can consider changing the gearing arrangement - perhaps moving up to a Fichtel and Sachs five-speed Pentasport. Fitted to the front wheel is an all-weather Fichtel and Sachs hub brake. A frequent sight in Denmark is a Long John fitted with a childseat usually a recycled car safety seat. Once the young passenger has been

dropped off at nursery, the childseat is taken off, leaving the platform free for bringing home the shopping or taking that old fridge to the local CFC recycling plant. In terms of design, the Long John takes load carrying just about as far as it can go withiii the limits of a bicycle. Load carrying tricycles have a different set of advantages, but require a new set of riding skills (tricycling is an acquired art). Also, tricycles do not allow the rider to slip up the side of static traffic, or pass through narrow gaps; and the Long John takes up less floor space than a comparable trike, which is an important factor for many households.

There is little to compare with the ease and elegance of guiding a heavy load across town using the power of your muscles. It means one less car journey, and shows the world just what the options really are. Long Johns are increasingly available for hire through far-sighted bike shops, especially in Germany, and I know of at least one Long John which is jointly owned by a number of households, each making use of it as the need arises. There is still a huge scope for Long Johns in the commercial sector. When it comes to delivering goods many shopkeepers and small buisĂąess people have simply lost the habit of thinking bike. One day, perhaps, fleets of delivery bikes will have a safe and pollution-free monopoly of goods-carrying in our city centres

Finn Wodschow cannot look at a neglected but interesting old bike without suddenly deciding to spend months restoring it. Thus it was when he came across a battered World War Two paratroopers' BSA folding bike, retrieved from a Dutch barn. He restored it and rode it round the suburbs of his native Copenhagen. Finn took to parking his Morris Traveller at the edge of town, unfolding his treasured bike, and cycling in. Friends implored him to make replicas for them. Finn did more than that He designed an

ABritish bike found in a Dutch barn is revitalised by - Danes and becomes popular with German enthusiasts. Out of the havoc of a European war comes the harmony of a European bicycle. The Galaxe is not a replica. The forks and elliptical (regular oval) frame have been redesigned for strength. The folding technique remains the same: twin levers on the frame allow a single frame fold, and a quick release lever on the stem brings the handlebar parallel. The fold takes about ten seconds. The Galaxe was never meant to be the world's most compact folder but

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elegant stronger, lighter version, which he named the Ga/axe (say Galaxy). Production began in 1986, when Finn and his enthusiastic collaborator, Steen Erik Snitkjcer made twelve frames. Then a workshop was set up - Snitkjcer's lngeniĂ¸rhus. By 1992 they were making 52 frames a year, and expect to make 250 in 1993, having brought in a professional framebuilder to meet demand.

The folding facility does not affect performance. The frame will stay put even if you forget to tighten both frame clamp levers. A recent study at the University of Odense showed that there is no difference in rigidity between the Galaxe frame and that of a good quality diamond frame. Most Galaxes are sold frame-only, with or without the folding facility, but we show here components which might typically be chosen by a connoisseur of cycling elegance - cork grips, Woodguards, and a quality Brooks saddle.

SNITKJ WS INGENIORHUS -n The Galaxe

Above: Finn

Wodschow Right: Steen Erik Snitkjoer

Braze-ons for cantilevers are an option, although the Sachs Pentasport shown comes close to the ideal. This is a five-speed no-neutral hub gear with back-pedal brake. It has the weather-resistance and easy adjustment which is important to this North European tradition of upright-posture bicycles. I enjoy riding the Galaxe. It brings a touch of much needed style into my life, and the simplicity of the Pentasport reminds me of happy days in Germany.

AWL 31

BITOF HISTORY

The five-speed Sachs Pentasport with back-pedal brake is well suited as an all-weather gear and brake unit for a bicycle of this style

A folded Galaxe stands alone, and allows a D lock to easily encompass both of the wheels as well as the frame

The Paratrooper's Bicycle was originally developed by BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) for use in the Boer War During the Second World War it was either carried in gliders, dropped in bundles, or came down strapped to the paratrooper's back. The BSA was a heavy, thick-tubed job, designed as a throw-away item. Its sole function was to speed solders away from the vulnerability of the drop zone to the bridgehead they needed to form. Once there, the bike was discarded. The most famous use of Paratrooper's Bikes was at Arnhem, where they took British soldiers too for too quickly for their own good.

3ft&*tkjcer'6

tcntĂ¸rIt&4o

It was in the '70s that an alternative community of over 1000 people moved into an old army barracks in Christiania, part of Copenhagen. Jesper Selling was given the job of setting up the community's metalwork shop. His first project was cycle trailers, some of which were sold to the Copenhagen Post Office. In 1978 Jes per came across pictures of the Dursley Pedersen, invented before the turn of the century by a Dane named Pedersen living in Dursley, England. Jesper sent off for plans and set about

Adjustab saddle cc

Woodguards. Honeycoloured or natural beechwood

making a modern version. Over the years he has refined design and production, making the Pedersen of Denmark world famous as a distinctive alternative to the standard bicycle. Jesper and his three co-workers make around 700 Pedersens a year, most of which are sold in Germany. Many Pedersen customers are students of architecture or structural engineering who appreciate the design principles.

SVENBORG CYKELFABRIK Pedersen of Denmark

Pedersen himself on a military version, which he failed to sell to the army

here has to be a reason for building a bike which looks like the Forth Railway - Bridge. Why go to the trouble of using 14 separate narrow diameter thin-wall tubes, connecting in 57 places to make 21 triangles? The reason is that a 'space frame' combines lightness and strength. It's similar in this respect to the new generation of Moulton bikes.

I used to own a very early Copenhagen built Pedersen, and enjoyed riding it to work. Now, after ten years of further development, the Pedersen of Denmark has achieved well-deserved cult status throughout Northern Europe. Its high frontage gives it great presence, but also gives many people the mistaken impression that you need to be tall to ride one. In fact, Pedersen frames come in four sizes, to fit almost any adult. The hammock saddle and the rear cable stays are essential to the Pedersen design, since the rider's weight keeps the whole frame in balanced tension. The hammock saddle supports an upright riding position, cushioning road shocks which might otherwise be transmitted up a seatpost. It's an incredibly comfortable bicycle. At the same time, the Pedersen saddle has a minor drawback. When power is applied to the pedals some of it is soaked up by a slight sideways swing in the saddle position. It's virtually impossible to measure this, and difficult to notice. In any case, Jesper SĂ¸lling has not designed his Pedersen as a speed machine, although some Pedersens used to be ridden successfully in professional races at the turn of the century. Pedersen got these track machines down to an amazing 121b in weight.

The modern Pedersen has to be ridden to be appreciated. It has the smooth, stately feel of a long-wheelbase roadster, without losing lightness and performance. The Pedersen of Denmark can be supplied fully equipped, but 50% of buyers opt for the frame only (which accommodates conventional components). A personal measurement chart helps your Encycleopedia shop identify the correct size frame for you. For lovers of the truly exotic a second run of 10 Pedersen tandems is about to be produced. Tandem frames are always sold as frame-only. Twice the fun, but three times the price. A typical component choice is Mavic, with Magura Hydrostop brakes. And what happened to Mr Pedersen? He made about 8000 bikes and developed his own hub gear. His commercial skills let him down. His bicycle was always costly, partly due to the amount of brazing involved, and the enterprise failed to survive the upheavals of the First World War. However, a good idea never dies...

Mikael Pedersen made tandem versions, well portrayed in this recent linocut by English artist. David Eccles. Jesper Sailing's modern Pedersen tandem was voted the Most Elegant Bicycle at last year's Cologne Cycle Show

Peter Taylor began his working life with BSA, where he became a metallurgist working on Bantam and Sunbeam motorbikes, and jet engine blades. Twenty years later he had become superintendent of an engineering works. Then, out of the blue, he found himself redundant. He was determined not to let his skills go to waste. His thoughts turned to an unusual tandem tricycle he had built as a hobby some twenty years before - it had been based on a

n the 1880s bicycling was largely the preserve of the few who could ride the very high - wheel, but tricycling developed as a safe and respectable alternative. Soon all manner of tricycle designs appeared, and the English tendency to tricycle had become fashionable wherever in the world tricycles could be afforded. The stability given by three wheels made tandem tricycling popular, and one of the most practical and successful designs was the Humber tandem tricycle. Its popularity lay in its safe riding characteristics, its short wheel-base, its favourable person-to-metal ratio and its obvious sociability. These advantages are timeless, and can be enjoyed on the modern Victorian, which is no replica, but rather a marriage between modern technology and a good idea from the past.

A racing tricycle of the 1880's, with the timekeeper posing for the camera

popular design from the 1880s. Peter and his wife, Jean, decided to refine the design, and put their restricted resources into making a limited number The Victorian, as they call it has only just entered production, It is an undertaking which encompasses history and innovation, and is a perfect example of what a dedicated craftsman can achieve.

Not a speed machine, but sociable fun for two

The Victorian has the basic advantages of the conventional tandem, but with added stability, even at very low speeds. Also, the two riders are close together, making conversation easier. I found that the two front wheels, with their Ackermann steering geometry, give easier handling than a conventional tandem tricycle with a single wheel

at the front. As you turn a corner the Ackermann steering enables the inner wheel to take a smaller diameter circle than the outer one. The performance of the Victorian is sedate - it's not designed for speed records, but can still hit a good touring speed with two strong riders. Braking is by cantilever, operating on each front wheel, and their operation is cleverly synchronised to avoid one grabbing the wheel before the other. There is an additional brake on the rear wheel. Up to now the Victorian has only been sold in small numbers directly to the public and individually finished to each customer's specifications regarding choice of components. Since even a stripped down Victorian is still a sizeable item, non-UK readers should expect to pay a relatively high shipping price in addition to the price guide indicated below, or alternatively be Steering is by rod, to the front wheels. The two front wheel brakes are equalised, to avoid one grabbing the wheel before the other

j..

RCY LES The Victorian

The Victorian is ideal for handicapped or disabled people, and purpose-made back supports, straps and foot-rests can be supplied

prepared to collect the machine from Peter in person. It's great fun, and will be immensely popular with cycling families, and with hire bike companies. The Victorian is an unusual and thoughtfully designed product made with great attention to detail.

The two front brakes are equalised' so that one does not grab the wheel before the other

A rear rack can be fitted if required

Steel rims are standard, but alloy is an option

Inge Wiebe was already qualified and experienced in business management when she met cycle designer and bike shop owner Ralph Kiagges. In 1983 they set up Utopia, and moved together to the Saarland in 1986. Their aim is to produce distinctive, up-market bicycles combining the best of tradition with the best of today's technology. Now Inge Wiebe-Klagges manages an energetic

' T'tola have a strong sense of purpose. Through their words and their products they argue that mainstream sports-image cycle fashion has given the world bicycles which are inappropriate to most people's real needs. Too many 'town bikes' are, they say, simply 'tamed racing bikes', with twitchy fork angles, a forward sitting position and a short wheelbase; and the geometry of the mountain bike is often very similar to that of a sports road bike. In their hundred-page RadRatgeber (Guide to Cycling) Utopia point out that many cyclists might actually prefer a long wheelbase, relaxed fork angles and a comfortable, upright seating position. Comfort and easy control are especially needed when carrying a child or heavy goods over bumpy city roads or rocky off-road paths.

cycle business making around 2000 bicycles each year, in a range often different models (including tandems), each with a set of component options. This gives Utopia bicycles real quality and character, appealing to connoisseurs who appreciate a durable all-round bicycle with style.

Utopia bikes are not cheap. You pay for hand-made frames, for environmentally benign manufacturing processes, for a

degree of personal component choice, and for a manufacturing quality way above your average non-sports bicycle. Frames are hand-made, commissioned from a family business in the Netherlands who have four generations of expertise behind them. No harmful solvents are used, and the frames are powder-coated. Around 80% of components are of European origin. Customers who

The London: a distinctive frame design fashionable in the early part

of the century. With its five-triangle construction and four tubes supporting the bottom bracket this design allows the building of uncompromised frames for tall people. The record so for is an 88cm (34 112") frame for a customer measuring 223cm (7'4"). The London can also be supplied in sizes to suit average-height riders. Smaller frame sizes have four rather than five triangles

Hub brakes and gears are unaffected by weather conditions. The options are a ('we-speed Pentasport with backpedal brake or a SuperSeven with back-pedal broke. Also possible are the 14-speed Orbit with drum broke, and the 2/-speed Torpedo 3x7 with Magura Hydrostop J;,.

Utopia's Schwan (Swan) is a practical bicycle with an extremely low step-through and yet with plenty of triangulation. At 45cm (/7 1 12 ") it has probably the smallest frame possible for a 28" wheel bicycle. The rack is designed so that heels do not clip panniers. With smaller frame sizes, where heel clearance is an important factor, an extended rack is fitted

Nirosta steel screws mean easy maintenance after years of all-weather riding

28" wheels are the classic size for traditional North European roadsters

TAYLOR CYCLES The Victorian

Almost all the components are standard bicycle ports, which means that upgrades and repairs ore easily handled by your local bike shop Arkminrin cipprino

The Victorian is ideal for handicapped or disabled people, and purpose-made back supports, straps and foot-rests can be supplied

The two front brakes are 'equalised' so that one does not grab the wheel before the other

A rear rack can be fitted if required

give ci wicie gear ratio

Rod steering has a positive feel

Steel rims are standard, but alloy is an option

Inge Wiebe was already qualified and experienced in business management when she met cycle designer and bike shop owner Ralph Klagges. In 1983 they set up Utopia, and moved together to the Saarland in 1986. Their aim is to produce distinctive, up-market bicycles combining the best of tradition with the best of today's technology. Now Inge Wiebe-Klagges manages an energetic

`topia have a strong sense of purpose. Through their words and their products they argue that mainstream sports-image cycle fashion has given the world bicycles which are inappropriate to most people's real needs. Too many 'town bikes' are, they say, simply 'tamed racing bikes', with twitchy fork angles, a forward sitting position and a short wheelbase; and the geometry of the mountain bike is often very similar to that of a sports road bike. In their hundred-page RadRatgeber (Guide to Cycling) Utopia point out that many cyclists might actually prefer a long wheelbase, relaxed fork angles and a comfortable, upright seating position. Comfort and easy control are especially needed when carrying a child or heavy goods over bumpy city roads or rocky off-road paths.

Utopia bikes are not cheap. You pay for hand-made frames, for environmentally benign manufacturing processes, for a

The London: a distinctive frame design fashionable in the early part

of the century. With its five-triangle construction and four tubes supporting the bottom bracket this design allows the building of uncom promised frames for tall people. The record so for is an 88cm (34 1 12") frame for a customer measuring 223cm (7'4"). The London can also be supplied in sizes to suit average-height riders. Smaller frame sizes have four rather than five triangles

Utopia's Schwan (Swan) is a practical bicycle with an extremely low step-through and yet with plenty of triangulation. At 45cm (17 1 /2") it has probably the smallest frame possible for a 28" wheel bicycle. The rack is designed so that heels do not clip panniers. With smaller frame sizes, where heel clearance is an important factor, an extended rack is fated

Nirosta steel screws mean easy maintenance after years of all-we other riding

28" wheels are the classic size for traditional North European roadsters

Hub brakes and gears are unaffected by weather conditions. The options are a five-speed Pentasport with backpedal brake or a SuperSeven with back-pedal brake. Also possible are the 14-speed Orbit with drum brake, and the 2 /-speed Torpedo 3x7 with Maguro Hydrostop

APP7

UTO P IA The Kranich 1

\ I.

Ralph and Inge take time off on one of their Utopia tandems do

The Kranich (Crane) is one of Utopia's principal models, combining step-over frame with the lateral stiffness and long wheelbase, which are needed for heavy loads and for children to be put on board and transported easily and safely. It gives an upright or slightly inclined sitting position, with the top of the headset lying higher than the top of the seat tube.

reject aluminium alloy for environmental reasons can opt for coated steel parts. Utopia do use as standard a number of aluminium alloy parts, such as rims; otherwise their bicycles would be uncompetitively heavy. Utopia are happy to break conventions. Why not a five-speed hub gear for touring, or a 24-speed derailleur for hilly commuting? And there is no reason why a 24-speed should not have a chainguard.

The basket is fixed with the ESGE Glide System. The some system can be used to fit a childscar suitable for smaller children, to the rear rack The changeover takes seconds

Steel ports are Nirosta as for as possible, or are plastic-coated

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Dynamo cables run through the frame and mudguards. They enter _- the forks through a hollow screw, which avoids damage to the cable at that point

The FER 2000 dynamo operates against the spokes rather than the tyre. The Busch and Muller lighting system is supplied with charger and cuts in when the bike stops

The Swiss firm Vitelli have long been world famous for their extensive stock of bicycle trailers.Jorg Vitelli imports trailers from various countries. However, selling trailers day-in day-out made him feel that there were still gaps in the range of trailers he could offer his customers. So, being a mechanical engineer by training he began making Vitelli's own brands of trailer

As well as heading his firm, Jorg Vitelli is an active cycle campaigner, and is one of the editors of the Basler Veloblatt, a very successful and influential cycle campaign newsletter He also has the daily pleasure of using a cycle trailer to take the firm's mail order packages to the post office.

t a stroke the capabilities of a bicycle can be transformed by the addition of a cycle trailer. Over the past five years or so there has been an increasing specialisation in cycle trailers. Child-carrying trailers, for example, are a godsend to anyone who has to struggle with a pushchair on a crowded pavement, or stuff a week's shopping and two small children into a claustrophobic car, and then have parking problems on arriving at the shops. With a trailer you can cycle again and enjoy your journeys, while your happy passengers are entertained by the slowly changing scenery. The Vitelli Buggy takes some design cues from the now

The camping trailer folds up neatly, with its bag well protected on the inside

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The secondary safety strap fits over the rack/seat stay coupling

Off the bike, the shaft can be turned vertical to convert the trailer into a practical handcart

VITELLI VFLORVnARF owl

Camping and Buggy Trailers

discontinued Cannondale Bugger. The Buggy seats two children facing rearward, and is made of a moulded plastic shell with a removable nylon rain cover. Each child is safely secured with shoulder straps and a belt. The seats are integral with the shell, meaning that small children are fully supported and won't flop around when they doze off. The rear facing seating position protects young passengers from the wind and from rear-wheel spray, and also makes them visible to overtaking motorists, who therefore take more care. The nylon rain cover works like a small dome tent, fastened with velcro and press-studs. It has a clear plastic window, and two side pockets for

small toys or teddy bears. You can take it off in less than a minute if the weather is good, or leave it half open if it's cool. Close attention has been paid to the safety aspects of the Buggy, which meets German TT.JV and GS standards. If you aren't carrying children or choose to carry them on your bike then the Buggy doubles as an excellent luggage trailer, easily carrying a tent plus all equipment, or a week's shopping. Bike handling is unaffected, with children or luggage, although you need to be careful not to clip kerbs. For comfort and safety it makes sense to ride a bike with low gears and good brakes.

Vitelli also make their own unicycles, developed in consultation with professional unicycle riders.

Vitelli's other own-make is a compact, basket-style Camping Trailer. As the name suggests, it is well suited for campers, especially those with limited pannier space, such as tandem riders or solo riders burdened with childseats. It will carry sixty kilos, but weighs less than eight kilos, and will come apart easily for storage or transportation by train. The luggage stays where it is and a couple of rubber bungles hold everything in place. The trailer shaft attaches to a bracket fixed firmly to the left-hand chain and seat stays. If you want to swap the trailer between bikes, you'll need extra brackets. Vitelli produce a waterproof bag for the Camping Trailer, zipped along the top for easy access. The Buggy rain cover can be taken off or put on in seconds

Mike Strutt designed the Worksong for his own use when he was a journalist in London. He needed a bike which would fold well enough to fit in a car,yet would ride as well as any conventional machine. He produced his final design after two years of research and experiment. The breakthrough came when Mike's project began to intrigue his brother, Roger, a consultant engineer

Roger undertook the product development, and made the tooling and jigs so that bikes could be turned out in batches. In their first year (1986), Worksong Cycles produced a dozen bikes. The output has remained modest so far, as the business has been part-time, but there are now exciting plans for expansion.

CW7k.rong Oversize Reynolds or Columbus tubing gives lightness, strength and good torsional resistance

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The Woi*song fits into a nylon bag with a shoulder strap. There is a separate pouch for pedals and tools

WORKSONG CYCLES The Worksong he great advantage of a folding bike is that you can take it anywhere without fuss. The disadvantage is that if you want to cycle any distance, you may be stuck with a laborious ride. I first rode a Worksong about five years ago, and was impressed. Here was a folder that did not compromise on performance. It is basically a full-sized bicycle, with 24' wheels and standard components. The patented frame is triangulated to

on a crowded commuter train every day. However, with a weight of only 12.5kg (27 1121b), the Worksong is certainly portable and can be taken on most trains as well as on aeroplanes or in the back of a car. Once the frame is unfolded and the hinge bolts are tightened, the Worksong behaves like a conventional bike. I would readily take it on an extended tour. The sloping top tube makes the bike suitable for shorter riders, and the

650mm (26") wheels. Worksong Cycles also produce a high-specification tourer to order: the Worksong Alpha. The Worksong epitomises the freedoms and limitations of cycling today. Many customers buy Worksongs specifically to make air or rail travel easier. At the other extreme, a Worksong Pathseeker has won a mountain-bike race in Holland against conventional ATBs - that's versatility for you.

retain rigidity, but the apex of the main triangle is part way along the top tube. At this point, the frame is hinged and bolted. Folding requires a 6mm Allen key and takes about 40 seconds. By folding the frame, removing the left-hand pedal and turning the handlebars, the Worksong folds down into a shape measuring 96cm x 102cm x 54cm (38" x 40" x 21"). This is still a fairly bulky package, so it may not be the ideal bike to carry

smaller wheels give good folded-down dimensions and make the bike more manoeuvrable in traffic. Components are standard, which is very handy for spares or customising. There are three standard models in the Worksong range. The Worksong Sport (featured) is intended for touring and commuting. The Worksong 5 is a city or leisure bike, equipped with five or six speed gearing. The Worksong Pathseeker is an off-road machine, with standard

Above: Not a perfect folder but good enough to fit

into a bike bag and slip onto a train Above left: Hinge bolts cannot loosen when fully

tightened. For safety's sake an Allen bolt fitting is used, rather than quick-release levers

The original ZZip per fairing was the brainchild of aerodynamicist Glen]. Brown, a founder member of the lnternational Human Powered Vehicle Association. Production began in 1976, in a draughty tin shed built with the help of his longstanding friend, physics student, Karl Abbe. Karl joined the company proper in 1979, later becoming production manager He was closely involved

with the prototypes ofZZipper fairings for Moultons and the Easy Racer recumbent In 1986 Karl bought the company from Glen, and has been ZZip ping ever since. ZZip Designs began volume production in 1982 and Karl expects to produce around 750 units this year Nevertheless he prefers to remain a one-man operation and be personally responsible for every fairing.

he faster you cycle, the harder it becomes. Onceyou exceed 16kph (10mph), 50% of your effort goes into pushing air out of the way. When you reach 32kph (20mph), air resistance accounts for 80% of your effort. The bike itself accounts for only a third of the air resistance of bike and rider combined. Clearly the easiest way to go faster is to streamline the rider. This is the philosophy behind ZZipper Road Fairings.

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IP DESIGNS ZZipper Road Fairings The mainstay of ZZip Designs is the ZZ-T, a small fairing in three design variations. Fairings for recumbents and Moulton bicycles are also offered, as are DIY kits. The most recent development is the ZZipper Thriller, a longer fairing which comes with the option of a Lycra body cover. Jim Woodhead used a body cover attached to a ZZ-T in his record-breaking ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 1982. He achieved this despite suffering from crosswinds: a problem now alleviated since the production body cover can be removed with zips. ZZip Designs see it as the way forward for practical The Thriller with body slip

streamlining. All ZZipper fairings are made from Lexan(TM), a clear polycarbonate plastic. This is light but tough. Bullet-proof windows are made of it. The fairings are flexible so that they will absorb road shock, and can be removed and rolled up for carriage - essential if you use a car rack. They attach to the bike by brackets fixed to the brake hoods or handlebars and sometimes to the forks. Rubber washers prevent rattle. The only real disadvantage is that the fairing can be scratched, especially if a bike falls on its side. Crosswinds and overtaking lorries

are a minor problem. The primary advantage of ZZipper fairings is a reduction in aerodynamic drag. At 32kph (20mph), this is about 20%, rising to 40% at higher speeds or in headwinds. In ZZip Designs' own tests, the ZZ-T has given speed increases of 3%-7% and the ZZipper Thriller has given 4%-7%. ZZip Designs offer a money-back 'go faster' guarantee. A secondary benefit is weather protection. The rider is kept warm as the fairing deflects rain and snow; it also protects against wind chill, and keeps road debris, insects and dust out of the rider's face. The fairing even reflects light, making the rider more visible to other traffic at night. ZZipper fairings have been used for a number of speed records, notably those set by Easy Racer's world record - holding recumbent, 'Gold Rush'. Karl Abbe isn't sitting on his laurels, and plans improvements utilising bigger ovens, a smoke tunnel, and 3D computer design.

KarlAbbe's grandfather in his workshop - showing that craftsmanship and a love of bicycles run in the family

FREEDOM RIKEPACKING Commuter and Limpet systems During a sleepless night after a boring cycle show David Blight hit upon the idea of zip-together panniers for commuter cyclist His Commuter Bag entered the market in 1982, to great acclaim - up till then the only panniers available had been standard touring bags. Ten years later David designed and introduced a radical new luggage system, named the Limpet with equal success.

His business, Freedom Bike packing operates from rural Devon, employing two people in the winter and seven in the summer They make around 600 of each system per year Expansion is gentle, in line with David's belief that "the quality of life should not be dominated by the need to create wealth'

ommuter Bags can be for anyone who makes cycling part of daily life. They are particularly popular with doctors and solicitors, and are sometimes sold to whole practices at once. Shaped for A4 documents, they have an internal pocket for precious papers. Bags can be used singly but are intended to be zipped together - using a zip running all the way round the edge. This hides away the hooks and road dirt. There is an optional shoulder strap. On the bike Commuter Bags sit proud of the carrying rack, to give heel clearance, but this can still be a problem where large feet combine with a smaller bike. Both bags have rear zipped pockets, and the right hand one is 'clearview' for showing a Basta, Ultralight, Wonderlight or Nightrider battery light. Export versions have this pocket on the left hand bag. The Limpet system is a new approach to cycle luggage. It consists of a purpose made rack which has the great advantage of being very easy to fit. This is especially useful on mountain bikes without eyelets by the drop-outs. The lower part of the rack is pair of tubes, simply fixed to the outside of the fork blade drop-outs. A black metal hoop fits over the top, secured by friction into the tops of the tubes. Take the hoop out and you can slide each bag onto its tube, using a strong nylon sleeve on the back of the bag. Then a sturdy velcro fastener secures the bag to the forks. The bag cannot jump off since it is secured in tension at the bottom of a triangle. Limpet bags can be taken on and off in a matter of seconds. The rearfitting Limpets have a slightly different design from the low-riders on the front. The system is designed for off-and-on round-town use, rather than for heavy duty touring. Freedom Bikepacking have a full range of other touring luggage, but will meet special requests where possible. They are happy to deal directly with customers, or through bike shops. One memorable order was for replica 1920s climbing equipment and rucksacks for Sean Connery in the film Five Days one Summer. ______

FREEU)OM BIKEPACKIM

Cyclists should not naturally assume that rear panniers should be fitted in preference to front panniers. Front Limpets are fine on their own. In any case, the Limpet system has the advantage that there is no need to buy a rack and bags separately

//F HIGHPATH ENGINEERING

Egg Rings Commuting 35 kilometres a day, Chris Bell wore Out more chainrings than he cares to remember During his long rides he pondered the advantages of oval chainrings could they even out the pedalling 'deads pots? He made himself a triple oval chainset, using equipment at a local technical college. This generated interest amongst friends, and suggested a hole in the market. Disenchanted with his teaching job, Chris decided to give self-employment a go. In 1988 he launched Eggrings, a service offering long-lasting custom-made chainrings. He now makes his Eggrings in a converted old water mill in rural Wales, sharing a workshop with David Wrath-Sharman, maker of the unorthodox Highpath off-road bicycles. -

ou name it, Chris Bell can make it: any size chainwheel for any crank, even obsolete ones. You can have round ones or oval ones, with any degree of ovality and orientation. You can have chainwheels for any width of chain, any number of teeth, in any colour, and with different cut outs. You can use them with derailleurs, hub gears or fixed wheel. And if you don't quite know what you want, Chris listens well and advises. Eggrings are milled (not stamped) from high grade aerospace alloy, then hand-finished. They cost, but hardly more than a whole series of lesser chainrings, none of which are custom-made. Eggrings were used in the development of the Lotus bicycle, and by Ian Cammish in his 100 mile record ride. When Shimano were making oval Biopace chainrings by the million Chris Bell was crafting custom chainrings at about one set a day. According to Chris, the Biopace orientation was wrong. Eggrings survived Biopace, and his message is still clear:

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oval rings give a larger chainwheel effect during the powerful downstroke, and a smaller chainwheel effect at the top and bottom deadspots. Chris stresses that he makes round rings, too. He's often asked to make the 'in-between' sizes which manufacturers leave out, or to adapt existing cranks to fit extra large or extra small rings. There is a detailed order form, : but a dialogue by telephone is often useful. Since the customercraftsman relationship is allimportant, most people tend to contact him directly, rather than through a bike shop. Along with partner David Wrath-Sharman, Chris is planning to make hub brakes, cranks and customised freewheels in the near future,

Chris Bell's CNC milling machine, for which he writes his own software.

MUHLBERGER Cool Team Bags Louis Muhlberger enjoys mountain biking. But he also enjoys good food and drink, served at a refreshing temperature. Hard-shell cool boxes for cyclists have been around for some time, but flexible insulation materials are now available. Louis' company has been

making cool bags for five years now, for all kinds of leisure uses. This year; however; he is launching a range of Cool Team insulated cycle bags which will help all cyclists keep their cool.

fter a long bike ride food and drink can taste 'exceptionally good. Yet all you can reward yourself with is a tepid drink and a warm, sticky snack. Cool Team bags are designed to be the answer, keeping food and drink cool and fresh for up to four hours. In fact, I absent-mindedly left a Cool Team bag unpacked after a full day's riding in sweltering sunshine. Next morning the inside of the bag was still impressively cool. Cool Team luggage is made from Oxford nylon and has tight zip fastenings and flaps to keep the cool air in. The bags are lined with CFC-free insulating foam and a heat-reflecting shield. A synthetic inner bag holds the food, and can be removed for cleaning. To make a bag cool you simply put a fridge-frozen cold pack into it. Popping the cool pack into the fridge freezer at night and then transferring it to the Cool Team bag in the morning is an easy routine if you take your lunch to work.

The bags should be filled as much as possible, so that you're not cooling empty air. You can put clothes in the bags, but not dirty tools and greasy bike bits. Cool Team panniers will fit onto front or rear racks, but both the pannier and bar bag attachment systems are at present fairly basic, and not as secure as they might be. Muhlberger are aware of this and are working on better attachments for 1994. However, if, like us, you would rather have a cooled pannier this summer you can improve matters greatly by simply bending the pannier attachment hook to match the fixing point on your rack. The bar bag comes with a shoulder strap and a map flap. It fits existing attachment systems such as Mick Fix " If you want to adapt your own bag, Muhlberger offer the cooling inner separately.

The Coo! Team handlebar bag pannier and bum bag

The Cool Team pannier

These products may not necessarily be available from all the cycle shops listed at the back of this book (see pages 2 and 3). Diese Pradukte nind nicht cue durch die seilnehmenden Fhrradhdndler zu bekommen, die Sic am Ende yoi' diesem Beth findm. Es wind stork empfbhlen. dog Sic Seize,, 2 und 3 lesen.

PHOEBUS SOLAR Lights SYSTEMS E Hugh Chen has an enviable job in that he specialises in sunshine. His company are experts in the use of solar power for practical purposes. Their new Eternity cycle lights incorporate solar receptors, which makes them very convenient, and avoids the use of stored electricity from polluting power stations.

ED' lights, solar or otherwise, are revolutionising cycle lighting. They are cheap, -A lightweight, safe, reliable and easy to use. Their low power demand gives many more hours of use, compared to the short bulb life of conventional lights. The Eternity comes in two forms: the BR-1134 incorporates a full-size reflector, and mounts on an existing reflector bracket. It has a flash option. The ML-1148 is flash-only and is meant to attach to your body. It is designed as a visibility aid not just for cycling but for any outdoor activity, such as jogging, or mountaineering. The flash mode option increases visibility

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Eternities can charge up as they sit on your bike, or by a window at home. On average you get twenty hours of light from ten hours of recharging in sunshine (sixteen hours of recharging in overcast weather). In practice, the single battery simply remains topped up, and if you leave the Eternity switched on during the day, the power automatically shuts off

In Britain, Germany and some other countries 'LED' lights cannot be legally used as a cyclist's only rear light, but many cyclists seem to ignore the distinction. Although they can be seen from 600 metres Eternities do not have the power output of some other lights and, strictly speaking, flash mode is not legal for British cyclists. German cyclists can use flash only if they also have a legal continuous light. Flashing red lights on bikes are standard practice in America. All-weather cyclists need to note that the Eternity cannot be made fully waterproof due to ventilation holes which improve the efficiency of

Solar receptors on the rear of the flash-onfr version. It is designed as a body light, so the receptors are obscured when it is in use. The light must therefore be recharged at other times, for which a magnetic stand is provided, as shown

the batteries. If water gets in performance may be affected, and the light should simply be shaken out and left to recharge. Eternities are designed to produce light for years with no change of battery, and will bring sunshine to the lives of many cyclists. The bulbous lens gives

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light with additional reflector These products may not necessarily be available from all the cycle shops listed at the back of this book (see pages 2 and 3)

light without reflector flash only

D:ese Produkte sind nicht nIle durch die teilnehmenden Fahrradhondler zu bekomrnen, die sich urn Ende von diesem Such linden (es w:rk stork empfohlen, doss Sie Seiten 2 und 3 lesen).

range of cycle racks in light chrome-molybdenum steel tubing. These racks are now marketed under the brand name Assel by the Association's distribution arm, Rasko.

Wieland Griepentrog and Stefan Lebherz began designing cycle racks when they were still students, some five years ago. In /992 they were commissioned by Germany's Association of Self-Managing Cycle Shops (VSF) to design and make a new

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The Asset It is designed for a racing or light touring bike. It gives an aerodynamic advantage and has only one braze-on. Rear Asset racks attach to the brake pivot hole, but a conversion set can be supplied for fixing to the rear stays.

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j aluminium alloy was better than steel for 7 TF 7 assessories such as cycle racks. But now steel is back thanks to thin-walled chrome-molybdenum tubing. There are three Assel racks, all made of Mannesmann 25CrMo4: the Assel I, a standard rear rack (not illustrated), the Assel II, a narrower 'racing' or fast touring rack, and the Assel Low-rider front rack. They are lighter than most alloy racks, and equally strong or stronger. The makers' tests show the Assel II to be twice as rigid laterally as a standard four-point-fixing alloy rack, and the narrow Assel 1 to be just as rigid. The same tests also show that Assel's neat three-point fixing is only insignificantly less rigid than four-point fixing for the same Assel rack, and makes no essential difference. Furthermore, alloy aluminium racks eventually fatigue and crack, and are impossible to repair effectively. Steel racks will distort under irresistible pressure, and if they do break repair is straightforward. The makers hesitate to give an exact figure as to maximum carrying capacity, but say that their racks will take all loads up to a weight at which cycling itself becomes impossible or unsafe. In their load-bearing tests the wheel of the bicycle disintegrated, with the rack remaining intact.

These products may not necessarily be available from all the cycle shops listed at the back of this book (see pages 2 and 3).

The Asset Low-Rider has its bracing bow behind the wheel. On the inside of the bow is a fixing point for a mudguard. Small bosses prevent panniers from slipping too for forwards.

Diese Produkte sind nicht alle durch die teilnehmenden Fahrrodhandler zu bekommen, die Sic am Ende von diesem Bach finden. Es wird stork empfohlen, daB Sic Seiten 2 und 3 Insets.

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THIJS INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS The Funflets

Derk Thijs doesn't follow fashion. As a world champion windsurfer, he wanted to build a recumbent that would use his strong arm muscles as well as his legs. The result is the radical and successful Roeifiets, which is Dutch for Rowing Bike. When he decided to build a small bike that could fit into trains and car boots he

have to admit I was sceptical when I first saw the Funfiets. And then I rode it. To my surprise it was manoeuvrable and balanced well. Once I got up enough speed (and confidence), I was riding 'hands off'. A fun bike, but also one to take seriously for road use after a period of acclimatisation. The Funflets steers surely thanks to a very rigid, compact frame and a steering damper on the forks. It's also surprisingly fast - I'm sure I could keep up with friends on a 20-30 mile ride, although the three-speed gear is a little restrictive. The idea is that once you can ride hands-off you can use your freed hands to press down on your knees. I'm tickled by the idea of commuting on the Funflets. I'm sure it improves one's sense of balance and would be a good preparation for unicycling. Once oetingthe steering bar becomes optional

abandoned hinges and the "unpractical" conventional handlebar in the pursuit of speed and compactness. That was two years ago, and sales are still modest. Derk senses that potential customers are simply unaware of the bike's performance. He is also working on a two-wheeled skateboard.

The Fun fiets does not fold, but can easifr be made very compact for transportation or storage

The Funfiets compacts down, rather than folds. You simply lower the seat, lower and turn the steering bar and remove the front wheel

The quick reiease steering damper prevents oversteer and facilitates hands-off riding

which can then be firmly attached to a bracket on the downtube by means of its quick release bolt. Conventional bikes have handlebars to help counteract the forward thrust of applying the front brake, but with the Funfiets the front brake lever is located behind and beneath the saddle so that when you need to brake suddenly your hand is ideally placed to help prevent you from pitching forward. It is attached by a bolt which passes straight through the centre of the saddle, but such are the contours of saddles and bodies that none of us who have ridden the Funflets felt the bolt. There is also a back-pedal brake on the rear wheel. To make riding easier, particularly hands-off, the designer advises the use of SPD or Look system pedals. However you ride it, the Funflets turns heads.

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Under-sadd1e front broke Bracket for holding the front wheel when bike is semi-dismantled for stowing away Three-speed hub with coaster broke

The Roeifiets is propelled by a rowing motion, using more muscle groups than a conventional recumbent. It took several years to build, but Derk has already been rewarded with victories in the 1989 Tour de Sal and the 1992 Dutch HPV championships.

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product may not necessarily be available from all the cycle shops listed at the back of this (see pages 2 and 3). Produkse sind nicht alle dutch die zeilnebmenden FohrradhOndler zu bekommen, die 5ie am Lade von diesem Bach fmnden. Es wed stark empfohlen, daB Sie Seiten 2 und 3 Iesen.

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high specification grade of Chrome-Molybdenum steel from which Radius make their prized recumbents. Peter Range initially launched three racks through Tubus, a company set up for the purpose. Two further racks have just been added to the range.

As a partner in Radius, the largest makers of recumbent cycles in Europe, Peter Range is a man who knows his metals. Some five years ago he became aware of the need for a cycle rack which had all the advantages of existing aluminium alloy racks, but offered lots more. He found that the tubing to use was the some

ubus racks are lighterand a rigid (or more rigid) than almost all aluminium alloy racks on the market. Their graceful lines are designed to evenly absorb the flow of forces. They are not easy to make. To bend thin-walled tubing in such graceful curves, without kinking, takes time and expertise. The end result is a rack of great strength, lightness and visual appeal. i

The Cargo is a four-point fixing rear rack with tiny 'adjustment rods' for an exact fit to your bike

If you're horrified by the idea of fitting a standard reflector on your elegant Tubus rack, the makers also supply a rather graceful reflector weighing only 20gm The Ergo is a front-wheel low-rider braced by a bow (0. 7oz). It fits other racks, too. which passes behind the forks. It is suitable for bikes with good clearance between wheel and frame.

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The Logo Logo is similar to the Cargo, but uses a sliding plate method for adjustment

The Fly is a very lightweight, three-point-fixing rack intended for racing and light sports bikes.

The Tara is a law-rider with the bracing bow forward of the forks. It is suitable for bikes without the wheel-frame clearance needed for the Ergo

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MICHAEL KUTTER The Velocity Michael Kutter was busy designing an electrically-assisted treadle-driven tricycle when he hit upon an idea for that Holy Grail of cycle-motor engineers, continuously variable transmission. He built a two-wheeled, battery-powered prototype which worked so well that he decided to go into production. That was three years

o fly up hills three times .faster than usual. That is the prospect offered by Michael Kutter's Velocity. It offers motor-power only, pedal-power only, and a combination of both. But it also has continuously variable transmission. The transmission, within the rear hub, is non-stepped, so that between top and bottom you have every possible gear, and the system is automated. Electronic sensors measure your pedalling cadence and when this starts to rise, the transmission gives you a higher gear. Power for the higher gear comes from the motor instead of your legs. You therefore accelerate smoothly without shifting the derailleur gearing and without putting in extra effort. It's like walking onto an escalator: you zoom along without trying. You can pedal faster if you want, going beyond the cadence at 'which the motor's electronic gearing will complement your efforts, but still The continuously variable transmission is situated in the hub of the rear wheel

ago. Now the first twenty Velocity bicycles are on sale. However, Michael would like to see the Velocity mass-produced, freeing him to develop other projects, such as his fan-driven dynamo light

taking advantage of background motor assistance. Most of the time you can ignore the derailleur and just pedal. You need to shift gear manually only if you exceed 33kph or if you meet severe hills. According to Michael Kutter an athletic rider can maintain 50kph (32mph). The Velocity is not ideal for the disabled, nor for riders who like to pedal only occasionally. There is no point in fitting a top class propulsion unit to a cheapo bike, so the Velocity is fitted to a

Velocity

Cannondale mountain bike (with or without suspension), using a few special parts. The rear wheel is made of pressed aluminium and the hub can be removed by undoing six Allen key fixings. The motor and electronics were developed specifically for the Velocity, complete with various power regulators and safety systems. There isn't a cooling system as the Velocity never gets hot - as was demonstrated in the first Tour de Sol. Michael Kutter's prototype easily beat ten similar bikes, which flagged on the hills. A new electronic unit is now being fitted, which is much smaller than the one shown in our photograph. The battery charges in just two hours at a standard socket. And the cost per charge? About one English penny.

Limited Edition Prints Encycleopedia has commissioned David Eccles, one of Britain's foremost cycling illustrators, to produce original images of 19th century cycles in the form of a limited edition set of four linocuts. David was born in the Republic of Ireland in 194Z and grew up on a farm. He was educated at Portora Royal School (previously attended by Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett), and at the Central School of Art and Design in London. He has spent most of his working life in publishing; and currently works as a freelance, doing

inocuts are made by cutting away parts of an image from a piece of thick cork linoleum, the area left behind being the solid part of the image. This raised part accepts ink from a roller and the resulting image is transferred to paper by pressure, a process known as relief-printing. First of all David usually draws the design on tracing paper, then, by re-drawing the outlines on the back of a kind of carbon paper, he transfers the image onto the lino-block. This is in fact a mirror image of the eventual print so David has to avoid potential pitfalls such as accidentally drawing the transmission on the wrong side of the bicycle. He uses a variety of little gouges and knives to cut out the image. Occasionally, as he proceeds with the cutting, he will take an impression from the lino-block to see how the printed image is shaping up. Even during the final printing it can be necessary to make tiny alterations if, for example, a fine line is showing a tendency to fill with ink. The size of lino-block David chose for. our prints is near the maximum for a press the size of his 'Albion' (pictured above). Manufactured in London by T Matthews between 1867-8, it's made out of cast iron with various parts in brass and wood. Because both the printing and the inking are done by hand it is therefore unlikely that any two prints will be exactly the same.

illustration, cartography, print-making; calligraphy, occasional letterpress typography, and a bit of writing. He is married, with no children, but has about nine bicycles, including two tandems. A linocut has a limited capacity for printing due to the relative fragility of the material. David produced 75 individually numbered and signed sets of the four prints before cancelling each block, thereby ensuring that they are truly a limited edition.

Atracing is made of the artist's drawing, but the detail of the picture emerges only as -. the cutting is underway -

The careful cutting-out begins and a reversed image begins to appear. One false move could ruin days of work

3 4

Every so often the cut is inked up so that a trial 'pull' can show progress

&a The cut is regularly inspected in fine detail, and worked on till the artist is satisfied.

Alpha Bantam circa 1897

Mergamobile circa 1890

Alpha Bantarr The Alpha Bantam was built by the Crypto Cycle Co in Forringdon, London and was one of the last in a series of attempts to maintain the popularity of direct front drive against the ever increasing popularity of the chain-driven rear wheel drive. The Bantam sported on epicyclic hub gear in the front wheel.

Mergamobi k

Originating from Germany the 'Mergamobile' was made of wood and propelled via a pulley system operated in a treadle fashion via the pedals. It was designed to be suitable for all ages of riders by varying the length of the cords. Considered retrogressive at the time, it has a paradoxically modern look about it nowadays.

Bicycle Racing

High bicycles were exciting and precarious thoroughbreds. Direct drive meant that one rotation of the pedals translated into one revolution of the wheel: so wheels remained large until the gradual introduction of the smaller-wheeled safety bicycle, made possible by the happy idea of running a chain to the rear wheel.

Dursley Pedersen Tandem

Bicycle Racing circa 1875

Dursley Pedersen Tandem circa 1899

Pedersens, in solo or tandem form, were on elegant and expensive alternative to conventional diamond-framed bicycles. At least one Pedersen tandem weighed an astonishing 281b (12.7kg) and was designed to carry 24 stone (153kg).

YORK FILMS Bicycle - the cycling video

LJ5

York Films are a small company who are not frightened to think big. David and Raili Taylor's six-part television series on cycling was filmed in The USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Britain; and then broadcast to great acclaim throughout the world. This is an intelligent and entertaining production which covers the whole glorious spectrum of cycling. Although the series was originally broadcast in 1991, only now have all six programmes in the Bicycle series been released on a specially edited two-hour video. The English language sound track is clear and measured, and should be understood and appreciated by most readers of Encycleopedia. Consultant on the series was Encycleopedia Editor Jim McGurn, and highly featured are Encycleopedia's Consultant Editor Richard Ballantine and Technical Contributor Mike Burrows,

Programme One Invention

Programme 1 The Business

The evolution of the modern bicycle from the student's sketch discovered among Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts to the English safety. bike which "set the fashion to the world" in 1885. The German running machine of 1817, the first pedal bicycle developed by a Scots blacksmith in 1840, the reign of the French velocipede, a re-enactment of 2,200 high-wheelers in procession at London's Hampton Court in 1882.

How mighty bicycle manufacturers like Schwinn, Raleigh, and Peugeot have lost their pre-eminence to Japan, Taiwan and mainland China and how the European and American industry is fighting back. Plus the multi-billion yen racing business of Japanese Keirin. The 50 tracks where cycle super-stars attract 27 million spectators who support one of the world's biggest betting industries.

Programme Two Wheels of Change Modern cycle design in all its variety. Form, function and materials. Mass-production and craftsmanship. How the mountain bike has swept the world, for good or for bad. Is it simply a variation of the safety bike design from 1885? The recumbent as radical bicycle engineering. The aerodynamics of cycling.

Progranime Three The Ultimate

It-

A season with Greg LeMond - riding with the Tour de France. Who makes the money? What's in it for the riders, the sponsors, the camp followers? Plus some bitter exchanges between LeMond and five times Tour winner Eddy Mercx. The Americanisation of the greatest roadshow on earth.

YOKK FIi,ki\S OF ENGLAND

Frogramme Five Free Spirits The sweetspots and obsessions of those who live by the bicycle. The Californian computer nomad who pedals the ultimate high-tech recumbent; Beryl Burton, history's greatest woman cyclist, Elaine Mariolle; who cycled across America in just over ten days; Nick Crane who rode a mountain bike to the top of Kilimanjaro.

Pro gramme Six Vehicle for a Small Planet The world's 800 million bicycles outnumber cars two to one. Bikes in Asia transport more people than do all the automobiles on earth. Yet increasingly clean air, road space and fossil fuels are being sacrificed to the motor vehicle. The worst offenders are the United States (where there is one car for every two people) Western Europe and Japan. The argument for a mass return to the bicycle, the perfect green vehicle for a small planet.

.TrI.It e are p'eased to ideas and products. Bike Cuhure more next year? With its quality of announce the launch of will also act as an information presentation and colour Bike Culture, an exchange for readers as well as for Encycleopedia 1993/4 should internationally inventors, designers and really have cost twice as much as distributed quarterly magazine for campaigners. our artificially low launch offer open-minded cyclists. The first issue of Bicycle price of E5.95. For the 1994/95 Bike Culture will not carry Culture is in late November '93, edition the price has to go up to any paid-for advertising. When and thereafter late February, early £20. This is still excellent value as you buy Bike Culture you are June (as part of the annual not only will it be as well produced getting 100% of our own material Encycleopedia), late July, late as this edition, but it will also (which means it costs a little more November etc. feature many more products, and of than consumer cycling magazines). Each issue will cost £5 - except course it will also include the June Written in English, Bike for the June issue, which will be an issue of Bike Culture. Culture will be published four integral part of the annual Bike Culture will only succeed times a year. It will be available Encycleopedia costing £20. The with your support. Regardless of only through EncycleopediaJune issue will not be available where you live, whatever your 4 affiliated cycle shops or directly separately. However, we hope you native language, Bike Culture is a from ourselves. It will not be will subscribe to a package of truly independent international available through the news-trade. Bicycle Culture and Encycleopedia publication, written by cyclists for There will be regular columns for £25, thus getting the 1994/5 cyclists, and dedicated to keeping by correspondents from all the Encycleopedia for the reduced rate you in touch with cycle culture from of E5.00 including postage. countries in which Encycleopedia a global perspective. is represented, plus news, issues, Why will Encycleopedia cost

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The Association of Self-Managing Cycle Shops At the Cologne Cycle Show of 1992 one stand stood out that of the the Association of Independent Cycle Shops. Who were these people, who could finance and build an awesome landscape

he Association was founded in 1985, when a group of far-sighted German shops came together to increase their influence, their buying power and their marketing clout. Today there are over a hundred shops in the organisation, including one in Denmark and one in Austria. The administrative centre is Berlin, where co-ordinator Ulrike Saade balances the needs of the often independently minded shops with VSF activities on the national political stage. These activities go far beyond self-help. The VSF, as the organisation is known in Germany, is a pressure group which promotes the bicycle as a great environmental asset. They publish Abfahren, a thought-provoking magazine, which is sold through all VSF shops. They also bestow a bi-annual Order of the Rusty Sprocket on any part of the cycle industry which is letting cyclists and the environment down. In 1990 they had the audacity to present their Rusty Sprocket to Shimano, for annually updating their product ranges. Shimano were not pleased, but nevertheleT came back the following year to help fund a fairly' ,ik(> uncompromising VSF book on the role of cycling in combatting traffic chaos. / /) The VSF has, as a member, the Fahrradmanufaktur (Bicycle Factory), in Bremen. Alongside good quality conventional cycles, this factory is prototyping a radical new city bike. If it goes into production it will be sold through the VSF shops. ( The VSF also has as an associate member, Rasko, a distribution company set up by the shops. As in previous years, the VSF will in 1994, be giving a prize of 10,000 DM (4000) to- the person who ' in their opinion has done most toaddtess the problem of traffic chaos. i (,' L i.7 (j;( /r" I' The VSF set-up is an example-ofwiat'cafcle achieved by imagination, organisation and solidarity, Perhaps one day there will be similar organisationsin other countries, or even Europe-wide. In its own way, Encycleopedia has perhaps already sown the seeds for such an affiliation. The shops featured on the following pages are all independent retailers — many of our featured shops, ip ,,-'1 Germany are members of the VSF — who are sympathetic to the aims of Encycleopedia and ar,i Tç prepared to do their best to source the products I featured in this edition.

of up-ended cars which seemed to have nose-dived into the ground, each with a bicycle sitting proudly above it? The stand space alone must have cost a fortune and a half.

The daring 'iSF stand

Ott"

der Rasko and Fob wd

der I

C7m 4n

L""(/'

Ulrike Saade, VSF Co-ordinator, deals with bike shops and big government Ulrike Saade, VSF-Geschaftsfuhrerin, setzt sich für die Belange der Fohrradläden em and koordiniert die Aktivitäten des VSFs aufnatiorvaleF Ebene.

0V _T/

ktur auf

Der Verbund Selbstverwalteter Fahrrodbetriebe Auf der !FMA 1992 in Kö!n erregte ein Stand unsere besondere Aufmerksamkeit nämlich der des Verbundes Selbstverwalteter Fahrradbetriebe. Wer sind these Leute, die die finanziellen Moglichkeiten haben, eine Wahnsinns!andschaft von durchrennten

Autos, die aussahen, als ob sic in den Erdboden gerammt wdren, auszuste//en? Auf den Autos wurden Fahrrader der Bremer Fahrradmanufaktur prasentiert. Der Messestand muB em Vermogen gekostet haben

er Verbund wurde 1985 gegrundet, als einige weitsichtige und andersdenkende deutsche Fahrradhiden sich trafen, urn gerneinsam Geschäfte zu machen und über Probleme zu diskutieren. Durch die Grundung des VSFs konnten sie ihren verkehrspolitischen Einfluf3, ihre 'Markt-Macht' durch Sammelbestellungen und ihr Marketing-Wissen besser koordinieren und kanalisieren. Heute gibt es im Verbund etwas über 100 Mitglieds-Lãden; sogar in Dänemark und ôsterreich ist der VSF vertreten. Der Bund wird von Berlin aus geeitet, von wo aus die Geschaftsfuhrerin Ulrike Saade, zusammen mit Tina Fried, die Belange der unabhangigen VSF Laden koordiniert und auf nationaler politischer Ebene realisiert. Diese Aktivitaten gehen welt uber den Gedanken der Selbsthilfe hinaus. Der VSF ist eine Lobby, die das Fahrrad aus umweli-politischen Gesichtspunkten propagiert. Sie geben die Zeitschrift 'Abfahren' heraus, die mit Fahrrad-relevanten Themen gespickt ist, und die in alien VSF-Läden kostenlos erh6ltlich ist. Der VSF verleiht auch alle zwei Jahre das 'rostige Ritzei', ein Negativ-Preis, der immer zur JFMA an eine Firma oder Organisation in der Fahrradindustrie geht, mit der Radfahrer und Fahrradhändler unzufrieden sind. 1990 wurde die Firma Shimano mit dem rostigen Ritzel 'ausgezeichnet', da sie alljahrlich ihre Produkte ändert und es schwierig ist, Ersatzteile für ältere Komponenten zu kriegen. Shimano war darüber natürlich nicht sehr begluckt; trotzdern unterstützten sic den VSF finanziell auf der nachsten IFMA bei der Wanderausstellung "Gegen-Verkehr", einer Ausstellung, die die Rolle des Fahrrades im taglichen Vërkehrs-Chaos aufzeigen will. Ein Mitglied im VSF ist die Fahrradmanufaktur in Bremen, die hochwertige Fahrräder hauptsächlich Ober die VSF-Läden vertreibt. Diese Firma stelite zur IFMA auch den Prototyp eines revolutionären Stadtfahrrades aus, das wenn es produziert werden soilte, nur über die Mitgliedsladen erhältlich sein wird. Ein anderes VSF-Mitglied ist der Aachener Fah rradtelle- Gros shandel Rasko, der von den 100 Laden gegrundët wurde. Wie schon in den vergangenen Jahren, so wird der VSF auch 1994 wieder einen Preis von DM 10.000.- an die Person oder Gruppe verleihen, die ihrer Meinung nach vie] für das Fahrrad and gegen das Verkehrschaos getan hat.

Der VSF ist em gutes Beispiel dafür, was mit viel Phantasie, guter Organisation and Solidaritatsgefuhl auf die Beine gesteilt werden kann. Vielleicht wird es eines Tages ahniiche Organisationen auch in anderen Ländern, oder in ganz Europa geben. Wahrscheinlich hat die Encycleopedia auch ihren Tell zu einem soichen Zusammenschlul3 beitragen. Die 43 Laden, die auf den foigenden Seiten vorgestelit werden, sind alles unabhangige Fahrradladen -über die Hälfte der deutschen Laden sind VSF Mitglieder die die Ideen der Encycleopedia unterstützen, und die afles versuchen werden, die Rader und Komponenten, die in diesem Buch vorgesteilt werden, für Sic zu besorgen.

For a full list of VSF shops write to the Verbund Selbstverwalteter Fahrradbetriebe, Paul-Linke-Ufer 44A, 10999 Berlin. Tel. 030-612 1870

Urn eine VSF-Mitgliedsliste zu erhalten, schreiben Sie bitte an: Verbund Selbstverwafteter Fahrradbetriebe e.V., Paul-Linke-Ufer 44a 10999 Berlin. Tel. 030-612 18 70

Kalle Ka!khoff the PR and information co-ordinator for the VSf is also the German representative for

Encycleopedia Kalle Kalkhoffkoordiniert die InformotionsflUsse unter den 100 MitgliedslOden and ist gieichzeitig der Ansprech partner in Deutschland für die Encycleopedia

i ne Ca)' once currenuy veing cieve;upeu Dy U IC v ar

Dos Stadtrad der Fahrradmanufaktur, dos momentan noch in der Entwicklungsphase ist.

High Street Centres of Culture

The 43 participating shops for the 1993/4 Encycleopedia are listed on the following pages indexed alphabetically under name of town. Consult this A-Z index of the various towns to establish your nearest location Where appropriate, for relatively small towns we have included a reference to the nearest city. AUSTRALIA Canberra

Melbourne

DENMARK

Copenhagen

ATH Bath has been a tourist city for 2000

years, its Roman Baths being among Britain's finest Roman remains. The city also contains stately homes, elegant shops, parks, and beautiful architecture, including England's largest Georgian crescent. A centre

ENGLAND Bath Birmingham Bridgwater (Taunton) Cambridge Lee-on-Solent (Portsmouth)

London Manchester Newark (Nottingham) Oxford York

GERMANY Bergisch-Gladbach (Cologne) Berlin Braunschweig Essen Frankfurt Gottingen

Grobenzell (Munich) Hamburg Hanover Marburg Monster Oldenburg Ports Westfalica (Minden)

for some excellent cycling, and the County of Avon has a transport plan which aims to increase cycle paths and parking.

is a country town set in fine, wellwooded landscapes, twenty kilometres to

• .

•

'.s--

the east of Cologne. Among the gentle hills there is a wealth of old castles and pretty villages, waiting to be explored by bicycle. The City of Cologne, home of IFMA, international cycle show, is only half

BERLIN Berlin is one of the world's most lively and fascinating cities. It has always been a centre for new thinking and alternative lifestyles. By 1871 the King of Prussia was Emperor of Germay and Berlin was the capital of the German Empire. Now that it is no

Troisdorf (Bonn)

IRELAND

Dublin

NETHERLANDS Wirischoten Breda (Groningen) Utrecht Voorburg (The Hague) SCOTLAND Edinburgh

Glasgow

SWITZERLAND

Wabern (Bern)

WALES

Machynlleth (Aberystwyth)

organises the London to Brighton amongst other things. Access: just minutes from Bath City Centre and Bath Spa Station.

John's Bikes Nineteen years ago John Potter began repairing bikes for friends. News spread, and a business developed from it. The people at John's Bikes still pride themselves on their spares service and repair workshop. They are a Shimano service centre. The shop is closely associated with John Potter's famous cycle rides company, Bike Events, which

ERGISCH-GLADBACH Bergisch-Gladbach

Regensburg Reutlingen

an hour away by rail.

Open:Mo-Sa 9,00-17.30. 82 Walcot Street, Bath, Avon BA 5BD. Tel: 0225.334633

which includes recumbents, tandems and child trailers. Their business philosophy involves treating all customers as

Veloladen

individuals. Access: take the SlI from

Bicycle Culture and Technology is the way Veloladen describe their activities - and they stock interesting machines: tandems, hybrids, town bikes, MTBs, children's bikes, trailers and 'specials'. They have a special interest in HPVs, and are closely connected with the Aeroprcjekt recumbent. The Veloladen team encourage interest in all sensibly designed cycle technology, partly through their hire fleet

Cologne Central Station to BergischGladbach Station, then it's a ten minute

longer an 'island state' within East Germany, Berlin is an excellent base for the touring cyclist to discover parts of Germany which have been largely

inaccessible since 1945.

Zentral rad Take your bike to Zentralrad and they will give it a free-of-charge service. This is just one unusual aspect of a bike shop which is central to the bicycle culture of Berlin. With a staff of ten, they are able to reach out to the community with the cycling message. They believe strongly in the

Ira"ASI&MOlw walk.

Open: Mo-Fr 10.00- 13 . 00, 15.00-18.30, Sa 10.00-14.00. Bensberger Str. 117, 51469 BergischGladbach 2. Tel: 02202-41221

importance of service, but also in offering a wide range of cycles. Among their specialisms are Pedersens, and kiddi-cranks, which are raised bottom brackets to help children reach the pedals on the back of a tandem. Access: two kilometres from Berlin Central Station.

ZENTRALRAD Open: Tu-Fr l000— 1830, Sa 10.00-13.00. Thurs till 20.00 during Summer. Oranienstr. 20, 10999 Berlin 36. Tel No: 030-6152388

Die ",kentren fOr Fahrrad-Kultur in Eurer Stadt 401

IRMINGHAM England's second city has been an important place for industry throughout the ages. The museum at lronbridge Gorge, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution shows the city's part in the past. In 1994 Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre will host a major new cycle

B_.

RAUNSCHWEIG

Braunschweig is a ' magnificent city of culture, with many pre-13th Century buildings, in the northern German state of Lower Saxony. It is. known as the City of Henry the Lion, who put his stamp on the appearance of the city in the 12th Century. Braunschweig is surrounded by excellent rural cycling areas,

RI DGWATER Bridgwater sits at the heart of Somerset, north of Taunton and numerous cider orchards.

An hour's ride to the east is Glastonbury. the alleged burial place of King Arthur and the site of an annual music festival. Close by are the Quantocks a range

from Birmingham New Street Station. Three miles from Rolfe Street Station, Smethwick.

Bearwood Cycles Variety is the byword at Bearwood Cycles and has been for 64 years. The staff have an in depth knowledge of the cycle world and are pleased to answer your questions, they can supply from stock anything from a genuine velocipede to the latest high tech carbon fibre racing and ATB cycles plus thousands of spares etc. Access: four miles

extending into former Eastern Germany, the former border being only 30 kilometres away.

BEARWOOD CYCLES Open: Mo-Sa: 9.30.5.30. Closed all day Wednesday. 428-432 Bearwood Road, Smethwick, Warley, Birmingham, B66 4EY. Tel: 021-429 2199 Fax: 021-434 3045

fi ne city. All six workers are keen, committed cyclists. Access: four kilometres from Braunschweig Station.

Radhaus Radhaus describes itself as a 'young' shop, even though it has been in business for ten years. They are referring to the happy, energetic atmosphere in the shop, where the workers take real pleasure in stocking "as many unusual bikes as possible". They also promote high quality city bikes, including traditional Dutch roadsters, as a means of keeping traffic chaos out of their

monuments of the Grote Kerk (13th century) deserve a closer look. Much of the town is surrounded by woodland and heathland, and the cycling is excellent.

Once a frontier towi ravaged by war the Belgian border is nearby Breda is now an important shopping centre thanks to its extensive pedestrian precinct. Sipping beer or coffee from a terrace is a good way to view the city, but the elaborate

show, open to the public. Not far from the city, and easily accessible in a day's ride, are Shakespeare's Stratford-on-Avon and the superb mediaeval castle at Warwick.

Schietecat Tweewielers Schietecat Tweewielers specialise in mountain bikes, especially the shiny, lightweight and expensive variety. Well-attended mountain bike 'testing days' are offered for those customers who need convincing. Alternatively, mountain bikes (and others) can be hired. The shop also stocks a good range of hybrids, recumbents,

of undulating chalk hills which are ideal for gentle touring.

Rad/>. haus Open: Mo-Fr 10.00-13.00, 15.00-18.00, Sa 10.00.13.00. Closed Th morning.. Heinrichstr. 25, 38106 Braunschweig. Tel: 053 1-339650.

folding bikes and child trailers. Access: S mins walk from Breda Central Station.

I;k tweewielors Open: Mo 13.30-18.00, Tu, We, Fr 9.00-6.00, Th 9.00.18.00, Sa 9.00-17.00. Closed Su. Korte Boschstraat 1-3, 4811 ES, Breda. Tel: 076-212830.

Access: 200 yards from Bridgwater Station.

St John Street Cycles After eleven years' trading and a large increase in customers, St John St Cycles recently moved down the road to larger premises. They specialise in touring bikes, touring luggage, tandems (complete or frame-only), cost-effective components and, most importantly. good advice. This is a shop which places service high on the agenda, resulting in much repeat custom. They also offer a free delivery service.

Open: 9.00-6.00 Moâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Sa. 36 St John Street, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 5HS. Tel: 0278 423632

411116i,

De Culturele Centro van de Hoofdstralat

AMBRIDGE

Cambridge is one of England's oldest and most famous university cities. The university colleges are rich in architectural heritage: Pembroke College was Sir Christopher Wren's first building and the Bridge â&#x20AC;˘ of Sighs at St John College dates back to great bicycle city, Cambridge is

ANBERRA

C nm

A city of fine modern architecture and green open spaces. Cycling around Canberra is a less claustrophobic experience than in many other cities, and you are never far from water. Lake Burley Griffin gives the city a sense of openness and tranquillity.

OPENHAGEN

Denmark's capital sometimes looks like a tapestry of variously-coloured 18th century houses. You'd need to look hard indeed fora skyscraper. The pace of life is extremely relaxed for a capital I city, enabling pedestrians and cyclists to more . easily enjoy

OPEN HAGEN

Copenhagen is 825 - years old, and unlike most capital cities it is cycle friendly. There were 50km of cycle tracks as early as 1912 and now there are many more. The bike could be said to be the cultural symbol of Denmark. On the roof of one building you can see a bronze statue of a cyclist appear if the weather is good,

known for its throngs of cyclists, many of whom are students, whilst the county is known for its dramatic fenland skyscapes and for its cathedrals at Ely and Peterborough.

Ben Hayward Cycles Trading since 1912, Ben Hayward Cycles specialise in "service, quality and value". They stock a wide variety of touring, mountain and commuter bikes, including the mould-breaking Moulton range. The staff particularly enjoy the sheer variety of bikes which they deal with in the course of

Canberra houses a cycle museum, and is the centre for many organised cycle rides.

their working day. Cycle clothing is one of the shop's strong points and they have a separate shop dedicated to clothing, helmet and general cyclewear (Ben Hayward Cyclewear). They also operate a well established mail order service. Access: 1.5 miles from Cambridge Station. Ben Hayward

CYCLES

Open: 8.30-5.30 Moâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Sa, 69 Trumpington Street, Cambridge, C132 I RJ. Tel: 0223-352294 Cyclewear: 0223 301118

resources stretch to the bike of her dreams. Access: 3.5 kilometres Canberra Station, 5 kilometres Queanbeyan Station.

Canberra Cycles Canberra cycles have grown as part of the cycling boom in Australia, and the size of their showrooms and repair shop reflects the popularity of cycling in the sunshine continent. The staff enjoy the variety of customers who walk through the door. One person may be looking for a $2000 touring bike, and the next might be a student from the university who needs advice on how to make her limited

attractions such as the splendid Tivoli Gardens, which were thronged with thousands of beginner cyclists in the great, worldwide cycling boom of 1896. Don't miss Copenhagen's many museums and the statue of the Little Mermaid in the harbour.

PCANIBERRA LES Open: Mo-Fr 8.00-6.00,

Sa 8.00-4.00, Su 10.00-3,00. 70 Newcastle St, Fyshwick, Canberra 2609. Tel: 06-2804984

and exports them as far abroad as Japan. They have also been involved in building prototype recumbents for people who come in with designs. Such is the level of commitment that Toby Louis-Jensen often lets people try out his personal recumbent. Access: 300 metres from Norreport Station.

Louis Cykier Louis Cykler is only 3/2 years old, but has already made an impression by specialising in the mountain bike and recumbent market - which many had said did not exist in Denmark. The shop sells Pedersens,

but if it rains you see the same lady appear holding an umbrella.

Christiania Cykelwerksted In the 1970s a group of Danes set up a community based on alternative thinking and lifestyles. Cycling was part of their vision. Ten years ago Christiania Cykelwerksted was founded, and has grown from a workshop repairing bikes for local people to a professional shop that attracts customers from all over Copenhagen. The reason for its success is the tangible enthusiasm of the staff.

10 111S CYK ER Open: 11.00-3.30 Mo-Fr, 10.00-1.00 Sa.

Frederiksborggade 43, 1360 Copenhagen. Tel: 33-937281

They specialise in mountain bikes and Pedersens, and in selling spare parts for these bikes. Access: approx. 2km from Central Station, Norre Port, and Oster Port 1

Open: 9.30-5.30 Mo-Fr.

Badsmandsstraede 43, DK - 1407, Copenhagen, Denmark. Tel: 31-954520

Hovedgaidens Centre for Cykei Kultur

UBLIN

Ireland's capital and literary centre. Home to George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce and Oscar Wilde, all of whom, and many more, are celebrated in the Dublin Writers' Museum Dublin is a seat of learning, and many a student has learnt a lot on a trip to the

EDINBURGH -

Scotland's historic capital, with a growing culture of cycling. It's a compact city, making the bicycle the only transport you'll need. A city of , .. contrast, perhaps the most famous thoroughfare is -. Princes Street, which has shops on one side and a striking

EssEN

Only 150 years ago Essen had a population of 8000. Now it is the fifth largest German city. .Investment in urban renewal, pollution control and landscaping have made Essena surprisingly clean and 1 .'..' attractive city. The city - - contains eight million trees, twelve to every - inhabitant, and ten times

RANKFURT

Frankfurt, the commercial capital of Germany, is a city with history. At one time German kings and emperors were crowned there, and the first parliament in German history was constituted in the city. It was also the birthplace of Goethe. The Frankfurter

Guiness Brewery or Whisky Corner. Dublin makes an excellent starting point for an unforgettable cycle tour of rural Ireland.

renovate your beloved old heap. Square Wheel run a supervised cycle park and a cyclists' information centre. Access: 700 yards from Tara St Station, I mile from Heuston Station.

Square Wheel Cycles Square Wheel Cycles are a communitybased shop. They campaign for cycling at city level, and have had some important successes. Their knowledge of the best cycle routes in the countryside around Dublin is worth its weight in gold. An expert repair service is offered, with spare parts supplied for most bikes. They'll even

Squarc Mhed (cictuork

castle towering above the other. Edinburgh the "Child Friendly City", is also famous for festivals: science, jazz, book, film, theatre, and fringe.

excellent and adventurous hire fleet. The New Bike Shop supports Spokes, the Edinburgh cycling campaign. Access: 3/4 of a mile from Waverley and Haymarket Stations. All bus routes to Tollcross.

The New Bike Shop The New Bike Shop, The Bicycle Repair Shop and Central Cycle Hire. One business, two premises, three specialities: ' repairs, hire and sales. This is a shop which is keen to support all forms of cycling. The staff are as happy to fix a three-speed hub as they are to sell a top range MTB. They repair just about anything, and have an

Open: 8.30-6.30 Mo窶認r.

Temple Lane South (Off Dame Lane), Dublin 2. Tel: 010353 1-6790838

Open: 10.5.30. Closed Sunday and Tuesday, but in June, July, August: 7 days a week. Lochrin Place, Tollcross, Edinburgh. Tel: 031-2286363, Repair: 03 1.2286633, Hire: 031-2286333

Rudi mach ma'

specialisms is frame building - and they make anything from triathlon bikes to expedition tourers (to measure, of course). They also hire out tandems to the public, and 'exotic' cycles to organisers of exhibitions and fairs. Rudi mach ma' are proud of their achievements in getting Essen onto bicycles. Access: 4 kilometres from Essen Station.

Eight years ago Rudi mach ma' was the smallest bike shop in Essen, with only 16 square metres of display space. Now they are one of the biggest, with 1400 square metres, and eight workers. One of their

Open: Mo-Fr 10.00-18.30, Sa 10.00-13.00. MaxKeithstr. 25, 45136 Essen. Tel: 0201-267284

as many new trees are planted each year as there are new born babies. Essen contains fifty districts, many of which have a strong separate identity. Crossing Essen by bike you would notice a continuous rise from 26 metres above sea level on the northern edge, to 202 metres at the southern edge.

Stadtwald is the largest community-owned forest in Germany. It offers delightful rides for the cyclist, and the nearby Taunus mountains offer something for the more intrepid rider.

Radschlag Radschlag stock a good range of town, touring and off-road bikes. They even sell genuine, high quality Dutch roadsters. Radschlag concentrate on customer service, and are happy to supply odd bike bits which other shops have no time for. One of the Radschlag workers is English, and is happy to

R(441'

PC(4

talk bikes in her native tongue. Radschlag are a campaigning shop. They recently publicly offered bikes to two leading officials in the city transport department, in the hope that it would change their attitude. The officials enjoyed cycling so much that they bought the bikes. Access: 4 kilometres from Frankfurt Station.

radschla9 Open: Tu-Fr 9.00-13.00, 15.00-18.30, (Th till 20.30), Sa9.30-13.30. Hallgartenstr 56, 60389 Frankfurt. Tel: 069-452064

High Street Centres of Culture

LASCOW One of Europe's "Cities of Culture", Glasgow is host to opera, ballet, the Royal Scottish Orchestra, museums and art galleries. It is a city which has yet to fully appreciate the wonders of the :- bicycle. In the -' meantime there is a , choice of bus, boat, taxi foot and

OTTINGEN-GRONE

Gottingen is a classic historic university town in Lower Saxony, where the lively ways of the students co-exist happily with the gaily decorated half-timbered houses from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. When they are not enjoying the culture of the city, students love to -. cycle in the four national

ROBENZELL

Gröbenzell is a small and pretty town 20 kilometres west of Munich, in the southern German state of Bavaria. It is surrounded by quiet cycle routes: ideal for touring the delightful villages of the area. The landscape is fairly flat, with lots of trees, and with distant hills

AMBURG The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is one of the oldest republics in Europe. It is elegantly set on the Elbe River and the Aister Lake. Nearly half of Hamburg's -. surface is made up of parks, green areas, nature reserves, rivers, lakes and canals. With a total

helicopter tours of the city. Cyclists will be more interested in quieter pleasures of the Glasgow and Loch Lomond cycleways.

Dales Cycles Dales pride themselves on their upmarket and specialist machines, such as the Flying Scot. Their large showroom is a mecca for Glaswegian cyclists, with twelve full time and six part time staff on hand with advice. There is a hire service offering ATBs, hybrids, touring bikes and boot racks. Dales hope to extend this service soon, with a 'try before you buy facility'. And, to

parks which surround Gottingen.

Bicycle Hall Gottingen's students ride their bikes day-in, day-out, and so Bicycle Hall's repair service is much in demand. The four workers take particular pride in a fast turn-around on repairs, service is the cornerstone of the business. Since there are so many young potential cyclists in the town, Bicycle Hall are in a position to give crucial advice, making sure that their customers' first experiences of

to contemplate. A trip to the Bavarian capital, Munich, makes an interesting contrast. Lovers of cycle history will find the science and technology museum of particular interest.

Flux Fahrräder A combination of high quality products and honest, thorough advice has led to the success of this small, country-town bike shop. It's what goes on behind the scenes which makes this bike shop different: its owner, 'Cum', is the designer and maker of the Flux recumbent which is featured in

of 2400 bridges it outdoes Venice, Amsterdam and London put together.

Zweirad und Zukunft Zweirad und Zukunft ('Two Wheels to the Future') is much more than a bike shop. It is a kind of development centre for all things cycling. Current projects include recumbent-building, solar powered bikes, and a trailer containing electric motor and battery which pushes the rider along. These projects are run in co-operation with a sister concern, Zweirad Werkstatt Ottensen, whose task it is to offer

help cyclists fight free of the recession, they may soon be introducing an interest free credit scheme. _____________ Access: 5 minutes from Queen Street Station.

ID-— —

Open: 9.00-6.00 Mo–Sa. 150 Dobbies Loan, Glasgow, Scotland, G4 OJE. Tel: 041-3322705

cycling are happy ones. To this end, a variety of bicycles are kept in stock. Access: four kilometres from the main station.

L;C 1

Open: Mo-Fr 14.00-18.30, Sa9.30-13.30. Pestalozzistr. 3.5, 37081 GottingenGrone. Tel: 055 1-91060

this issue of Encycleopedia. All four workers enjoy the contrast between their work on high-value recumbents and on the more conventional bikes for the local population. They think all bikes are wonderful. Access: ISO metres from the Groberizell railway station.

LI Open: Mo, Tu, Fr 10.00-12.00, 14.00-18.00, We 8.00-12.00, Th 14.00-20.00, Sa 9.00-13,00. Schubertstr. 2,82194 Grobenzell. Tel: 08142-60470

apprenticeship courses in cycle mechanics and the cycle trade. They currently have 16 apprentices. Access: three minutes walk from Hamburg-Altona • railway station.

Open: Zweirad und Zukunft Mo.Th 7.30.16.00, Fir 7.30-13.00. Zweirad Werkstatt Ottensen Th 10.00-18.30. Mo closed, Sa 10.00-13.00. Gaustr.19, 22765 Hamburg. Tel: 040-393992/ 040-395285

-Kultur in Eurer Stadt 1. Die Zentren fOr rahrra( r

AMBURG

Hamburg has a long seafaring tradition, with the port as its heart, accounting for an eighth of the city's surface area. Each year 13,000 ocean-going vessels sail into the city, but the number of cycle journeys along the pleasant riverside paths - , - has never been counted. There is fine cycling in the surrounding areas,

ANOVER

Hanover is the capital of Lower Saxony. From the accession of George I in 1714 until 1837, the electors of Hanover were kings of England. After the Second World War. many historic buildings were rebuilt from the original plans. The Herrenhausen

EE ON SOLENT

Lee on Solent fits into the splendid English tradition of small sea-side towns. It was built on land bought by afar sighted entrepreneur and developed by him as a resort for V the monied classes. There is delightful cycling along the sea front, a route which V forms part of an

NDON •.

One of the world's -V. great capitals, and the often inevitable starting point to a visit to Britain. Armed with a cycle route map from the London,Cycling Campaign (avaiable from bike shops), and with a very good cycle lock, the visitor can spend happy days on a tour of the world-class museums, art galleries,

with villages full of thatched-roofed, half-timbered houses and baroque churches. To the north the Baltic Coast is now accessible for the first time since 1945, and large areas of untouched nature reserves await discovery.

The New Cyclist An English name for a shop which specialises in quality English bikes: Chas Roberts, Woodrup, Nigel Dean, Moulton, Brompton etc. A full range of other bikes is also stocked, and cycle repair is emphasised. The New Cyclist also runs a

gardens laid out in a formal geometrical style are one of the most important examples of this 18th Century style in Europe. There is a fine range of museums and art galleries to visit.

Räderwerk Raderwerk ('Bikeworks') is a new shop, run by cyclists with a long-standing commitment to new ideas in transport alternatives, and a reputation for working hard at getting things changed. They are, for example, the designers and manufacturers of the Max and Flizza

extensive South Coast path, taking you to the New Forest, or to Hayling Island, with excellent views of the Solent, the Isle of Wight and all the passing craft on the Solent. A superb area for cycle touring.

Wheels Wheels is a friendly, family business which has, over its eleven years of trading, built up a solid reputation for quality cycles and quality advice. Although this has brought commercial success, they are determined not to follow the trend for fast expansion. The five workers enjoy a happy atmosphere

visitor centres and monuments. The London Cycling Campaign is one of the largest in the world, and the London local authorities amongst the most stubborn.

hire service, for tandems, recumbents, and load-carrying bikes. The five workers enjoy the variety of tasks which come their way. Access: two kilometres from Dammtor railway station.

THE NEW (ICEISTI Open: Mo 14.30-18.30, Tu-Fr 7.00-13.00,

14.30-18.30, Sa 10.00-14.00. Grindelberg 45, 20144 Hamburg 13. Tel: 040-4220658

trailers which are featured in this issue of Encycleopedia. Räderwerk's cycle repair workshop is already going full swing, with the facility for customers to borrow a temporary bike while their own is under repair. The partners hope to develop a varied and useful hire fleet over the course of their first year of trading. Access: three kilometres from Hanover Central Station.

RADERkERK Open:Mo-Fr 10.00-18.00, Sa9.00.13.00. Calenbergerstr5o, 30169 Hanover I. Tel: 05 11-717174

in the shop, and, according to the owner, it's been enormous fun from the very first day. Wheels specialise in custom-built touring/road bikes, and mountain bikes; and they build superlative wheels, as befits the name of the shop. They have invested in an accessories and spares service which gives the customer a real depth of choice. Access: five miles from Fareham Station.

WHOL:

Open: Tu-Sa 9.00-1.00, 14.00-17.30. 74 High Street, Lee on Solent, Hants, P013 9DA. Tel: 0705-55182S

available for hire. It's a shop with a difference: a no-gimmicks centre for all things cycling. Access: Russell Square and Holborn tubes. 10 minutes from Kings Cross.

Bikefix Bikefix is central London's only specialist repair shop. In their large workshop they custom build frames and wheels, and carry out any and all bike and frame repairs. Bikefix pride themselves on speed and efficiency, and essential to this is a huge stock of parts and accessories. Tandems and other cycling oddities are usually

" eyeleniaint niiicc Open: Mo-Fr 8.30-19.00,

Sa 11.00-4.00. 48 Lambs Conduit Street, London, WC I.

Tel: 071-4051218

De Culturele Centro van de Hoofdstraat

ONDON

Although London has many committed and active cyclists, the city has yet to fully recognise the bicycle as the answer to its crippling transport problems. Lonoon cyciists regularly remind the authorities that a thousand-mile network of cycle routes

ONDON There is much more to London than the city centre and the traditional tourist attractions. There are published routes, devised by London Cyclists, which take you on tours of the often delightful London suburbs. These routes often have a theme, and describe the kind of

ONDON You come across all kinds of cyclist on _______ the roads of London. Watch out for the cycle couriers, whose riding style can be unorthodox to say the least - how things have changed since the upper middle classes cycled sedately round Hyde Park in long tight-waisted clothing. -f That was in the 1890s.

ACHYN LLETH A small Mid-Wales : town which makes a great centre for cycling. Machynlleth is a lively and historic FRI market town set in the DyfI Valley in Montgomeryshire. Surrounded by beautiful countryside and wildlife, it is also home to the Centre for Alternative Technology,

had been promised. Nevertheless, an alert and confident cyclist can enjoy slipping past the slow moving traffic queues, leaving almost every other road user behind. Most London cyclists use mountain bikes, although adapted touring machines are beginning to make a come-back.

Brixton Cycles Co-op

little wider than a corridor, but now benefit from very spacious showrooms. Brixton Cycles specialise in custom building, commuter bikes and related products. Trailers and racks can be ordered on request and are available on hire. Access: Brixton British Rail 400 yards: Brixton Tube 300 yards.

fiuIXTOil/ C161[f CO-OP

Brixton Cycles Co-op is a lively workers' co-operative which has been trading for nine years now, in the heart of Brixton, a multi-cultural centre south of the Thames. They began with a workshop that was

Open: Mo-Sa 9.30-18.00, We 8.30-18.00, Th 9.30-19.00.

social history which is frequently missing from guide books to London's centre. A book of leisure cycle routes out of London is soon to be published.

bikes can be hired, and hire-purchase is possible in many cases. Access: 200 metres from Olympia Underground and British Rail.

435-437 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London, SW9. Tel: 071-7336055

Cyclecare (Olympia) Based in central London, Cyclecare specialise in commuter bikes, folding bikes and (as originators of RELEASY) cycle security. They are stockists of Brompton, Moulton, and Pedersen, and keep a good selection of tyres and spokes. Cyclecare also offer a wheel-building service for small wheels. Commuter and mountain

Hyde Park itself has changed little, and the speakers on their soap boxes at Hyde Park Corner on Sundays are worth a visit. If you are interested in cycling history, look at the collection in the Science Museum, South Kensington.

Mosquito Bikes In just eleven years Mosquito have expanded from a back street workshop into a quality bicycle shop catering for urban commuters, triathletes mountain bikes and touring cyclists. Despite this rapid growth they haven't lost their high

which develops and promotes "green" methods and technologies such as solar, wind and water power, organic gardens and bio fuels. They encourage visitors, and there's enough to see and learn to keep you there for a whole day, and even longer.

Joyrides Cycles joyrides is a small shop with wide horizons and a welcoming atmosphere. They specialise in recumbents (the Linear and Peer Gynt), and the Duet wheelchair tandem. There is a full range of conventional bikes, accessories and

CYCLECARE (Olympia) Open: Mo-Fr 1000.18.30, Sa 10.00-17.00. 30 Blythe Road, Olympia, London, W14 OHA. Tel: 071-6029757

quality service or relaxed atmosphere. They have a strong clothing department, with facilities for trying garments on, and produce their own catalogue. Access: one minute from British Rail Essex Road. Five minutes from the tube stations at the Angel and at -

sq u TI

Highbury and Islington.

4t o-

- 0:)

Open: Mo-Fr 9.00.1830, Sa 10.00-8.00.

Summer: Su 11 .00-4.00. 123 Essex Road, Islington, London,

NI 2SN. Tel: 071.2268765

trailers. They operate a popular cycle hire service, and organise cycle holidays in Mid-Wales. Joyrides are also active in promoting cycling amongst local people, and have had many notab le successes. Access: 00 yards from Machynlleth station. Open: New Year to Easter: Mo, Tu, We, Fr, Sa 10.00-17.00, Easter to New Year: 9,00-17.00 seven days a week.

The Old Station, Machynlleth, Powys, Wales, SY20 8TN. Tel: 0654-703109

Hovedgadens Centre for Cykel Kultur

ANCHESTER A city brimming with culture, theatre, music, art, museums, universities and, if you can ignore the Arndaie centre, classic Victorian architecture. Manchester is developing an impressive pedestrian zone, and I the new tram system

is benefiting all non-motorists. The city is currently bidding to stage the Olympics in 2000, and construction of a velodrome is underway.

Bicycle Doctor Bicycle Doctor was formed ten years ago, as a workers' co-op. It now has seven members, all committed to getting the = people of Manchester on bikes. They offer touring, racing, and mountain bikes, as well as clothing and accessories, and a full repair service in their workshops. The shop's free notice board lists clubs, events

ARBURG

•

and second hand sales. There is a 5% discount for students. Bicycle Doctor plans to organise regular rides, on and off-road. Access: two miles from Oxford Road station.

Marburg is a pretty town in Hesse, in middle central Germany. Its Elizabethkirche was the first pure Gothic building in Germany. It was a pilgrimage church, and one of the most important ecclesiastical buildings on German -soil. The university was ' founded in 1527 and two years later Marburg

ELBOURNE Melbourne is a busy port city, and capital of the State of Victoria. A cosmopolitan city, with many different ethnic groups. Melbourne's 250,000 inhabitants have been discovering cycling in a big way, and cycling has been placed high on the

UNSTER Monster is often considered to be Germany's leading cycling city. Its network of cycle paths is thronged with cyclists, who would consider no other form of transport for such a compact city. . • I ]/" IIj e = MUnster is twinned ' -L.! with York, which is one of Britain's leading cycling cities,

BICYCLE DOCTOR Open: Mo, We, Th, Fr 10.00-18.00, Tu 14.00-18.00,Sa 10.00-17.00.

68-70 Dickenson Road, Rusholme, Manchester, M 14 5HF, Tel: 061 2241303.

Velociped

bikes under their own brand name Velociped. Five people are involved in the running of Velociped: others branched off some time ago to form a local bike hire company. Access: two kilometres from the main station.

Based in a traffic-calmed zone in the oldest quarter of Marburg, Velociped stock bicycles to meet all needs. City bikes are a speciality. Their shop is in the 500 year old quarter of the city. They custom-build

Open: Mo-Fr 10.00-13.00, 15.00.18.00, Sa 10.00-14.00. Weidenhäuserstr 64, 35037 Marburg. Tel: 06421-24522. For hire bikes tel: 06421-24522

hosted a famous conference of theologians, including Luther, at which differences between the Protestant and the Reformed Churches were ironed out. Luther never had the pleasure of riding a bicycle, and we can only speculate as to what his attitude would have been.

ocipled

St Kilda Cycles

months or longer. Open seven days a week, St Kilda puts efficient service as its main goal. Access: two kilometres from Balaclava Station.

St Kilda specialise in good quality repair work including a same day service for people who use their bikes for work or daily transport. Every effort is made to obtain hard-to-get spare parts and products. They hire out high quality bikes, including mountain, touring and triathlon bikes, for any period from one day to two

Open: Mo-Fr: 8.30-18.00, Sa 9.00.14.00, Su 10.00-16.00. Carlisle Street, St Kilda 3182. Tel: 03-5343074

political agenda. Victoria is the Australian State which has made cycle helmets compulsory, and the consequences are being scrutinised around the world.

and it will soon be possible to cycle from city to city on an international bike path passing through the Netherlands, with a sea crossing from Hull to Rotterdam. The continental section is in place, and parts of the British section are ready.

Logo Logo carry a varied selection of bicycles and offer a friendly service. Town bikes and recumbents are a speciality. Their own bikes are built under the trade name "Bic-Fahrrader". All four members of staff are keen cyclists and always ready to offer

helpful advice. Access: two km from Monster Station.

404

Open: Mo-Fr 9.00-13.00, 14.00-18.00, Sa 10.00-13.00. Logo, Geiststr. 48, 48151 MUnster. Tel: 0251-791974

High Street Centres of Culture

EWARK

The district of Newark and Sherwood is steeped in history, and was, of course, once the home of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. The Major Oak in which Robin is thought to have hidden from the Sheriff of Nottingham still stands in Sherwood Forest. A cycle ride around the area

LDENBURG

Oldenburg's nearness to the Netherlands may be the inspiratior to the city's excellent pro-bike policy. A glossy leaflet tells tourists about the pleasures of cycling in the city, and warns that car drivers should watch out for cyclists (legally) going the wrong' way up one-way

XFORD Many periods of English history are documented in Oxford's streets, houses, colleges and chapels. The city of 'dreaming spires' has 900 buildings of architectural or historic interest within a single square mile. There is no

becomes a journey into the past. The many surrounding villages often have historic significance, East Stoke for example, was the site of the final conflict in the War of the Roses.

Castle Cycles Founded in 1981 Castle Cycles have been providing customers with a good service and that includes after sales care. They stock a wide range of value for money bikes, accessories and spares, including the Linear and Kingcycle recumbents. For the younger bicycle enthusiast they also stock

CASTLECYCES Open: Mo-Fr 9.00.17.30, Sa 9.00-17.00. 15-17 Boar Lane. Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 IAJ. Tel: 0636-79893

Die Speiche

workers enjoy their contacts with the many student customers who rely on the shop. Pedersens and Galaxes are usually stocked (both featured in this issue of Encycleopedia). There are plans in progress for a cycle museum on the upper floors of the shop's premises, to open in 1994. Eight Dutch roadsters form part of their hire fleet.

Die Speiche (the Spoke) is a bike shop immersed in the deep cycling culture of Oldenburg. It is always busy keeping the town's 120,000 bicycles in action. The

Open: Mo, We, Th, Fr 9.30-13.00, 14.00-18.00. Tu 14.00-18.00, Sa 14.00-18.00. Donnerschweerstr. 45, 26123 Oldenburg. Tel: 0441-84123

famous fortress or grand cathedral that will give you a short-cut impression of the city - you need to get on your feet or your bike with a guide book in your pocket. Cycling is, of course, the traditional form of transport for the student population.

never owned a bike before. The shop is proud of its fine collection of postcards sent from around the .. ,.- -- .i world by customers on cycle tours. Access: one kilometre from Oxford Station.

streets. All new roads must incorporate cycle paths. Oldenburg is in the very north of Germany, close to Bremen. In the 17th Century it developed into a North German cultural and economic centre, despite having been part of Denmark for 100 years. A handsome city with fine cycling opportunities round about.

Die 5peicIe.

Walton Street Cycles One of the great pleasures experienced by staff at Walton Street Cycles is kitting out the new students with bicycles at the start of each academic year. Many come from areas where cycling is rare, and some have

ORTAWESTFALICA (MINDEN) Minden is on the site of the old ford over the River Weser. The rolling countryside around Minden is a delightful area in which to cycle. A sight worth visiting is the point at which the Mittellandkanal aquaduct crosses over the River Weser. Many beautiful . cycle paths cross the area, alongside the

kiddy trailers. Access: a quarter mile from Newark Castle, half a mile from North Gate.

waterways, and the area is famous for its restored windmills.

Radsport Lindemann Radsport's strength is their open mindedness to new technology and innovation. They stock a wide variety of bikes: suspension, triathlete, transporter and mountain bikes. They are also well known for Pedersens of Denmark (featured in this issue of Encycleopedia). Radsport are keen to make links with the local community, in an attempt to further

Open: Mo-Fr 8.45-17.45, Sa9.00-17.00 78 Walton Street, Oxford. Tel: 0865-511531

the use and image of the bicycle. They have plans for a "Day of the Bicycle", featuring street races, amateur mountain bike races and planned rides for all ages. Access: 7km from Minden

Station.

Rod-Sport

II NDEMANN Open: Mo-Fr 9.00-13.00, 2.00-18.30, Sa 9.00.13.00. Portastr. 21, 32457 Porta Westfalica. Tel: 057 1.76735

Die Zentren ftir Fahrrad-Kuitur in Eurer Stadt

REGENSBURG

Regensburg is an old Roman town on the Danube. It has always played an important role in German history - as an episcopal see, as a Free Imperial City, and as the seat of the eternal' Imperial Diet until 1806. The 12th Century bridge across the Danube is one

EUTLINGEN

Reutlingen is a lively town of 100,000 in Swabia, central southern Germany. It is graced with handsome towers : reminders of the • L •: days when independent towns needed defence against local barons. Reutlingen sits at the edge of the Swabian ura, a charming

ROISDORF

Troisdorf is a town of 65,000 people. Nearby is a nature reserve and the 18th century Wissem Castle. Situated between Cologne and Bonn, it is easily accessible to tourists visiting either city. A local train line runs between Troisdorf and Cologne. Bonn, Germany's capital is -. nearer: just a 45 minute

TRECHT

Utrecht has a rich history as a centre of Dutch trade and culture. It is home to Holland's largest university. The historic town centre features the Oude Gracht Canal, which has many beautiful bridges dating back to mediaeval times. A cycle friendly city, and a

of the oldest in Europe. There are excellent cycle paths following the Danube for great distances, and others leading into delightful countryside.

Fahr Rad Laden Pedersens, recumbents and high quality town bikes are the specialisms of this outward-looking and pioneering shop. They realise that unusual and 'exotic' bikes require much careful explanation and advice to customers, and customer-care is the cornerstone of the business. Access: four kilometres from Regensburg station.

range of hills, with undulating forests and meadows, and many delightful villages wonderful cycle touring country.

TransVelo Fahrradladen Ten years ago cycle enthusiasts in Reutlingen set up a self-help cycle workshop. Now it is one of the largest cycle shops in the region, with seven workers, among them three qualified engineers, one of whom has conducted academic research on the physics of the bicycle wheel. So high has been the level of commitment amongst the workers that in

ride along a bike path. Troisdorf's River Sieg flows into the Rhine, and rides on the paths along both rivers are highly recommended,

Open: Mo-Fr 9.00.18.00, Sa 10.00-13.00. Obere Regenstr. 4, 93059 Regensburg. Tel: 0941-41305

the early days several of them virtually lived in the shop. TransVelo run an interesting hire fleet, which includes a rickshaw. Access: 800 metres from Reutlingen Station.

TRANSVEIO Fahrräder GmbH Open: Mo-Fr I0.00-18.30,Th 11.00-18.30, Sa 9.00.14.00. Planie 22, 72764 Reutlingen. Tel: 07121.470726

customers can make a well informed choice. Rad and Rat carry a wide stock of recumbents, and aim to extend the popularity of the recumbent. Access: 800 metres from Troisdorf Station.

Rad & Rat Vambike have been trading for two years now and regard service and advice as their strengths. They specialise in city and touring bikes and load carrying trailers. They also stock children's bikes, regarding this as an important but often neglected part of the cycle trade. Their hire service includes a "try before you buy" feature so

Rod (5 Rot

Open: Mo-Fr 10.00.13.00, 14.30-18.30, Sa 10.00-14.00. Closed Saturday afternoon. Alte Poststr. 21, 53840 Troisdorf . Tel: 02241-78645

fine base for a cycling holiday in the Netherlands.

Wim Kok Fietsenwinkel Wim Kok Fietsenwinkel have been trading since 1970. They have a strong sales and repair service, and hold a wide range of leisure bikes: recumbents, tandems, hybrids, touring bikes, trailers and strollers. One of the most important shops in the Netherlands, Wim Kok runs courses in cycle maintenance and roadside repairs. Access: 3km from Utrecht Station,

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Open: Tu-Su 9.00.18.00, Th late night 19.00-21.00. Closed Monday. Nachtega.alstraat SI, 3581 AD, Utrecht. Tel: 030-315780

De Culturele Centra van de Hoofdstraat

OORBURG

major city you come to.

Voorburg is near the Hague, the capital city of the Netherlands. As with most Dutch cities, the Hague and its surrounding towns are blessed with excellent cycle paths. If you take a ferry to the Hook of Holland, and take the bike path to the north, the Hague is the first

ABERN

Access: 100 metres from Voorburg Station.

Van Herwerden Wielersport When a shop comes up to its 100th anniversary you might expect it to start looking back. Yet van Herwerden look ahead, with new ideas for a new era. It's a large shop, with nine staff, and there's room for lightheartedness - such as the jungle setting for the MTB collection. One of their strongpoints is the women's section, with bikes, clothing, saddles and such like for female needs. There is a special counter for spare parts.

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Open: Mo 13.00-18.00, Tu-Fr 9.00-18.00, plus 19.00-2 1.00 on Th evening, Sa 9.00.17.00. Parkweg 75-79, 2271 AG, Voorburg. Tel: 070-3861719

Bricomec

Wabern is situated on the edge of Bern, just a twenty minute bike ride from the city centre, by cycle path. A cycle path leads further out to the Berner Oberland, an area of outstanding beauty. Wabern has one of Europe's most scenic - campsites.

INSCHOTEN

Encycleopedia's only shop in Switzerland offers a good range of cycles, conventional and otherwise, but also takes a strong interest in veteran bikes, undertaking restoration work for customers. The shop's fleet of veteran cycles is often made available for special occasions, and there are, of course, modern bikes for hire. Bricomec involves itself in communitybased cycling initiatives, and believes in offering customers as many options as possible. Access: three minutes from Wabern Station.

BRICOMEC VELOS

Open: Tu-Fr9.00-12.30, 14.00-18.30. Closed Sunday and Monday. Seftigenstr 225, CH-3084 Wabern, Switzerland. Tel: 031-9611796

sea and many waterside cycle paths.

Maas Tweewielers Winschoten is an important agricultural centre in the north of Holland. Close by is Groningen, thought by many to be Holland's most cycle-friendly city, a roI assured by its position on the Eems Kanaal. The canal provides a link with the

ORK Awarded the title of Britain's Top Cycling City by New Cyclist Magazine, York is a historic and splendidly preserved city which :â&#x20AC;˘ has kept its long tradition of cycling. * The city council has a positive cycling policy, and the cycle paths charity, Sustrans, have built 'cross-country routes -

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Maas Tweeweilers is now forty years old and those years of experience show in the ales and advice they offer to their customers. At Maas Tweewielers all cycling tastes can be met; their large showrooms mean they can stock many bikes. The shop mechanics also run a full repair service. Access: 250m from Winschoten Station.

MAAS TWEEWIEL ERS Open: Mo-Sa 8.30-12.00, 13.00-18.00. Blijharnsterstraat 22,9671 AW, Winschoten Tel: 05970-12336

out of York. Their Inverness-Dover and Hull-Liverpool routes will meet just south of York. Open Road, the publishers and editors of this book, live and work in York.

York Cycleworks A worker's co-op founded in 1980 by cyclists for cyclists, Cycleworks have expanded from a small shop into a thriving business, with a large showroom and workshop - a real acorn to oak tree story. In late '93 they will be opening an as-you-wait repair centre. Despite the expansion, service remains personal and

friendly. They are happy to supply anything - from a humble valve cap to bikes most people can only dream of York Cycleworks have been responsible for assembling all Encycleopedia products which have arrived in the city for assessment and photography. Access half a mile from York Station. Open: Mo. Sa9.00-18.00. 14-16 Lawrence Street, York, YO 313N. Tel: 0904-626664

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Photo Credits Non-studio photography copyrights Sue Darlow, Jim McGurn, Jason Smith, Patrick Field, Kevin Foley, Glasgow Tourist Board, Danish Tourist Board, Bath City Council, Irish Tourist Board, Mid-Wales Tourism, Douglas Corrance of Edinburgh Marketing, Amy Davidson and Barbara Berkowitz. The front cover, Freedom Bikepacking, Brompton, Galaxe and Radius Peer Gynt were photographed by Graham Mathers.

encycleopedia (Ger. Lexikon, Du. lexikon, Fr. Encyclop€die). A lexicon of new and old ideas in cycling lovingly compiled by bike freaks for bike freaks. An inspiring guide to new and old ideas on two wheels and three. An alternative transport guide for a small planet. An excellent investment for anyone who cares. A book which could change your life.