Road bikes - a set on Flickr These are some pictures of my 1975 Panasonic Tourist-10 road bike and 1970 era Raleigh Sports bike. The original speedometer that was on the Panasonic broke so I replaced it with the one shown. I found the speedometer on Ebay. The Trek light that is on the Panasonic bike I bought at my local bike shop. The Panasonic road bike is especially cool because the overrunning clutch is located in the front on the crank set. This design allows the chain and crank set sprockets to be in constant motion with the cassette and wheel set, while the cranks are stationary. The design was made for 3 years but then ditched due to it's low amount of strength. The Raleigh bike uses an internal 3 speed hub. Basically it's a planetary gear set and single cog instead of a cassette and derailleur. It's a very cool ride that makes me feel like an old fashioned bike messenger when I ride it.
Nice bikes! :thumbsup:Those are some amazing bicycles. They are truly classic designs. My father had a Raleigh in the early sixties. The Panasonic reminds me of a Schwinn Collegiate I had at school. Thanks for sharing the pictures, both great bikes to enjoy show off. Jim
cbman, that 3-speed bike style is still very popular in England. I see them all over the place. More so than any other type. I raced my first village day race at age 9 on a girl's 3-speed, basket up front and all. Two miles of cobblestone and catcalls.
neicull: Those are fabulous photos. My favorite two are of the desperate little man with the white dog in the background. Must be around WW1. Notice the frames on the utilitarian single-speeds? No difference from today but for heavier metal. I'll bet the lad in the SHORPY photo gets beat up a lot by the white dog mug.
Look at the last photo inline. The uniform rider has an early small-wheel time trial bike. Front wheel must be a few inches smaller. Or it's an illusion with how the bike is slightly tipped. I like to think he's ahead of his time with the smaller front wheel. (fad died before I was born)
I seem to recall seeing the depression era photo before. The kid was like 9 years old and he was a messenger in the red light district (where the photos were taken). The next to last photo, No wonder the kid looks miserable, his mother dressed him in knickers (apropos for the time), and a girls shirt and shoes. Marty
