The book 'Wiener Mechaniker Raeder'

I recently purchased the German language book 'Wiener Mechaniker Raeder' which has dusted down long forgotten and little used, A level German vocabulary. My computer keyboard is English, so I don't have the umlaut or eszett and have used the English dipthong 'ae' instead of the 'a umlaut' in the title. The book is subtitled 'A journey through more than a 100 Vienna bicycle makes 1930 – 1980'. The blurb on the back translates as:-

Vienna is big, but the diversity of Viennese bicycle marques was once much bigger; more than 100 marques existed in the city from the 1930s to the 1980s, among them innovative, oblique, noble, freakish, good dependable, solid and off the peg, - for example, noble racing bikes with paint finishes from another time (Rih), Aero bicycles from 50 years before the aerodynamic craze (RZ), prototypes from aluminium and small diameter steel tubes (Austria-Alpha), lugless welded frames (Degen), rethinking of frame design ( Wisent Einheitsrad), to name but a few examples.  For the first time, the complete history of the Vienna bicycle marques in a picture book, with all marques from Alpenrad to Ziel. 

I found the contents of the book fascinating. It educated me as to the variety of different bicycle makers working in Vienna, some from the 19^th century onwards, others appearing for a few years after WW2, then disappearing. The bicycles used to illustrate the book are well photographed and in some cases I would have liked to have seen a little more detail, such as head lugs etc. However, I'm sure the authors were forced to cut down the amount of material, to be able to make the book format and they have done a superbe job. The book has the following chapters:- Introduction (Prolog), Authors thanks (Dank), The bicycle marques A – Z (Wiener Fahrraedermarken A - Z), Puzzling machines (Ratselhafte Gaule) , And now? (Und Jetzt?), Picture index (Abbildungsverzeichnis), Bibliography (Literaturverzeichnis) and finally about the authors (Uber uns). The book is printed on glossy art paper, and each marque is given an introductory text box showing the years of production, the company address, the owner details and whether they built their own machines or not. There is then narrative text, accompanied by the superbe photographs. The authors have a passion for their subject and have done their research well, as they mention some bicycle makers lost in the mists of time, of whom, only a printed advert from a newspaper or magazine show they existed at all.

The cast aluminium RZ / Err-Zett children's bicycle illustrated on page 235 of the book and on the front page of the publisher's website, predates the Kirk Precision cast magnesium frame by some years. The authors record 'Wem dieses Design einfiel, ist leider nicht uberliefert, vielleicht war es ja ebenfalls Ottomar Rosenkranze selbst' – 'Whoever came up with this design, is unfortunately not recorded for posterity, but perhaps it was Ottomar Rosenkranz himself'. The frame material used in the Kirk Precision may have been different, but the concept of a cast frame was clearly established much earlier by RZ / Err-Zett and gives weight to the old saying 'There is nothing new under the sun'.

The book has a small section pages 332 – 338 on puzzling machines (german jocular chapter heading meaning enigmatic old nag, or gift horse!) which the authors believe to be Austrian bicycles made in Vienna but of which they have little or no information. The book finally brings the story up to date with information on modern framebuilders working in Vienna.

The book can be bought via the publishers website and is now available through Amazon,  the ISBN number is 978-3-85119-342-8. If you order a book through the publisher's website, you will be sent an invoice in Euros, which will have to be paid through your bank. Once payment has been made, delivery to the UK takes around two weeks. The book is well worth the money and is cheaper than some of the recent Japanese and US books on Toei, Singer and Herse. The authors have set out to record methodically the custom built marques originating in Vienna over a 50 year period and add considerably to the body of historical knowledge. It shows what can be done and it would be nice to see a similar work published on the framebuilders working in the London area over a similar time period! The only caveat is that if you rely on an internet language translator, you will get a literal translation of the words. The danger here is that you often need to translate the concept, not the literal words, to make sense of what is meant by the authors. However, it has been a very enjoyable and educational time spent with my old German dictionary and this book, discovering the delights of the Vienna bicycle trade. I can heartily recommend it.

Visit to Scottish Cycle Museum, Drumlanrig Castle

I posted earlier on 11^th July about a track bike which I saw at the Scottish Cycle Museum in the Stableyard at Drumlanrig Castle. I spent a few enjoyable hours looking at the bikes. I have to confess that I have no real interest in early machines such as Hobbyhorses or Ordinaries. I accept that some people do have an interest and I acknowledge that without them, we wouldn't have the machines we use today. I suppose my interest in bicycles and cycling was shaped by the people I knew growing up, some of whom who had cycled from the first decade of the 20^th century. I was more interested in hearing how the custom built lightweight bicycle had developed following the Great War. 

This was the machine that I could relate to, from my own experience of cycling. It was interesting, as a teenager, hearing tales of marques of machines and how folk cycled in the 1920s and 1930s. 

Having grown up in a cycling family, I was well versed in my parents experience of cycling after WW2. So my interest in cycling only goes back around 90 years.

I was very interested to see the examples of bicycles made by some of the Scottish framebuilders. Flying Scot are well known, but there were others builders, not only in Glasgow, but outside the central corridor.

I was particularly interested in the bottom bracket detail on the Lindsay of Dundee Scottish made bike, as the same detail was also found on some of the Leach Marathon frames, built by Bill Leach, a London builder. 

I really enjoyed the display of Scottish made machines and I would loved to have tried one or two, just to see how they rode. 

Another bicycle which caught my eye was a pre WW2 Granby. I was able to see it had the frame number stamped into the underside of the fork crown and had the Granby designed rear dropouts. 

More recent developments weren't ignored and there were two cast magnesium Kirk Precision frames there, a complete road bike and the MTB version – frame only. 

Mark Beaumont's Koga Miyata bike that he rode around the world to break the record on was also on display. 

If you are ever in or near Thornhill, the cycle museum at Drumlanrig Castle is well worth a visit.

Frame numbering

One of the most frequent postings on web forums by people who are starting to collect bikes is 'can anyone identify my bike or frame?'  The easiest route to possible identification is find the frame number.   It sounds simple enough, but it is made a lot easier if you know where to look.   Volume bicycle manufacturers like Raleigh tended to use the seat lug, as in this 1925 Raleigh roadster.

The size and font of the numbering could also change over time as illustrated in the Raleigh Moulton frame number, although the location of the frame number was the same.  

 

One caveat about Raleigh frame number information on the web. Sheldon Brown is quite accurate on Raleigh frame numbering, except where he supposes about Irish Raleigh production. His information is simply incorrect. As it was posted 'on the internet', it is assumed by many, as an incontrovertible truth, when it is not. Sheldon's pages were a work in progress. Unfortunately, this all came to a halt, on his untimely passing. I will blog accurate information on Dublin Raleigh frame numbers using known examples at a future date.  Raleigh have also used the back of the seat tube, either below the seat lug, or above the bottom bracket, the underside of the bottom bracket shell and rear dropout as location of frame number.  Some of these locations were used for 'badge engineered' Raleigh production.  As mentioned above, the style of font used in the sequential frame number changed over time and the example below was found on a 1920s British roadster.  

Other British bicycle manufacturers used either the seat lug or a rear dropout. BSA sports frames tended to have the frame number on the left rear dropout. 

Hercules in the 1950s also used the left rear dropout and used a different font to BSA. 

 

Sunbeam during it's time of ownership by AMC used the right hand rear dropout on some models. 

Bespoke custom frame builders in Britain used various locations to install a frame number. Unusually, some builders put their frame numbers on the bottom bracket shell at the down tube lug. 

Others stamped the underside of the fork crown. It was not unknown to have the frame number on both the frame and fork. 

Often the frame number was stamped on the fork steerer tube as well. 

However, easily the most common location for a frame number was the underside of the bottom bracket shell. 

The number was usually stamped in line with the axle, or at right angles to the crank axle and parallel to one on the bottom bracket cups.  Imported Peugeot bikes from the late 1970s/early 1980s had a frame number stamped into the bottom bracket shell which was parallel to one of the bottom bracket cups. Peugeot also had a paper identifier covered in clear vinyl wich identifies the model, frame size and sequential frame number. 

The location varied between the underside of the bottom bracket, bottom of the seat tube above the bottom bracket shell, or on the left hand chainstay.

The model numbers appear to be slightly different according to the country of sale. Gitane put their frame number on the left rear dropout of their tandems. The sequential frame number is on the bottom part of the dropout and the year identifier above. 

 

A further complication and a bit of a red herring can be a re-finisher's number. 

Frames were often stamped by a re-finisher before being enamelled to make sure the right frame and fork were returned. These are usually 3 digit numbers and can confuse as they are on both frame and fork.

Once you have located the frame number, the process of trying to indentify  the machine that you have found can begin. Finding the frame number can be difficult if it is only lightly stamped, or been damaged on a rear droput, or covered up with paint. Some small bespoke frame builders didn't bother with a frame number. Late 1980s volume manufacturer (Londonderry built) Viking 531 frames also don't appear to have been given frame numbers. I have also found 1990s examples of Dawes 531 frames with the same problem. Finally, another recent phenomenon which can add to the confusion is post code stamping of a bike frame to try to deter theft and ensure the frame is returnable to it's owner. These are usually 7 digits, usually two letters, three numbers and two letters. They tend to be stamped where they can be easily found, so keep looking to see if there are any others!