The *Post Peak Oil* Racing Bicycle, by Gregg Senne

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My design based on some specimens from around 1860. All the dimension are mine, as is the frame design. The earliest had no pedals or steering. One just use one's feet to paddle along and lift the front around obstacles. Steering came next. This made it possible to coast down hill at greater speed. Next came pedals on the front steering wheel. This led to the "ordinary" or penny-farthing as the desire for more speed forced an increase in the driving wheel diameter. The split in the other direction, or what came to be known as the "safety", came by putting the drive wheel behind the rider. At first there was no practical chain drive and a shaft and pinion approach required precision that wasn't generally available. But, cranks and pedals were a pretty good first approximation of a drive train. By the time the crank drive came along, wood had been abandoned for steel, except for some rim manufacturers that produced wheels with wooden rims with steel spokes into the '30's in the US.

To produce one would first require some refinements to the design. The axle diameters are just a rough guess. A lot of the ironwork could be pared down as the design progresses through several prototypes. The bellcranks for the pedals could be lightened considerably. Remember that Campagnolo produced a very light steel crankset that was for years comparable to aluminum alloy. The bearings are simple bronze sleeves mounted in blocks.

Producing wooden wheels is a highly skilled affair. Wood for spokes must be very straight. Spokes are traditionally split from a cant, not sawn. The raw spoke is then smoothed with a draw knife, spoke shave, rasp, and scraper. Some of the work could be accomplished on a lathe provided the centers for the spoke are consistent with the direction of the grain. The off center bit at the hub could be roughed out with a tablesaw and jigs. Fellies, the part at the rim that receives the spokes could be roughed with a bandsaw and rotating arm jig. Again, the direction of the grain is critical. Rims could be rolled and welded out of mild steel. Rims are usually heated to expand them, placed on the wheel, and then quenched to tighten up the whole affair. This has the added bonus of revealing defects in the joinery should the finished product be out of true.

The only other pedal design I've seen required horizontal foot motion from the rider. I made it more like a modern bike by incorporating the bellcranks to translate the back and forth to up and down. I believe this would provide some advantage on hills as one has the option of standing on the pedals. The bearings are simple bronze sleeves with a thrust surface against a step in the axle. Daily oiling would likely be required.

Elm is the traditional choice for hubs. The fibers in elm interlock to provide a wood that resists cracking. Naturally, elm hubs would be taken from cants that do not include the center of the log. An large diameter old growth log with a fine grain is a good choice. Take the cant from the outside omitting the sapwood. Season for about two years at a minimum. Bore the through hole for the axle first and then mount on centers to keep the whole thing concentric. Compression rings similar to the rim are an insurance policy against cracking. Should cracks appear, the rings will keep the hub in compression and prevent failure. Rings could be taken from a suitable diameter of seamless pipe or rolled and welded.

The glue up for the frame would start with 1/4" slats about 2 1/4" wide. The forms would have to compensate for spring back, so a few trial frames might be necessary to adjust the forms. The separate pieces would be ripped from the rear wheel end to form a fork. Again, some heating and gentle bending would be required. Rivets just behind the end of the saw cut will keep the pieces from cracking further. The two frame pieces would be glued and bolted up near the fork head. A through hole near the end provides the axle for the forks. Bronze inserts would provide a bearing surface for the fork head axle. Two solid pieces would span between the rear axle mounts and the bellcrank mounts.

The triple clamp for the forks could be cast and machined or built up from pieces. As with the spokes, the fork tines should be split to their rough dimensions and then finished with spoke making tools.

The tire might be a bit of a problem. Modern ordinaries use a strip of neoprene with a wire in the middle. The loop is completed with a simple butt joint. I assume the wire is crimped somewhere near the joint. The tire is slightly undersized. The assembly is forced onto the rim and stays there mainly by friction. Perhaps a little rim cement for tubulars would be a good idea. I saw a video on the web wherein a gentleman riding his ordinary down a grade came to harm when his tire parted from the rim. Riding on the steel rim would be foolhardy at best.

The frame and fork dimensions could be tweaked to provide some "give" to soften the ride. A saddle with some sort of springs would be helpful. Of course it would have to be leather. Give it a good soaking and then ride to fit.

A shiny brass carbide (acetylene) lamp would be a nice touch. Anyone fitting this model with a computer should be flogged and pilloried.

by Gregg Senne