Fun in the Winter Sun

I have bragged in the past about the Co-Habitant's wonderous winter commuting skills. But truth be told, is that really so impressive to accomplish on a cushy modern Pashley? Yesterday, he tried riding Rodney - his vintage Raleigh DL-1 with rod brakes - and reports his experience:

In a vintage bike, the freezing temperatures can really effect the brakes and steering. The cold stiffens the grease in the headset, making the steering extremely stiff. Of course you can rebuild the headset, but this takes either skill and time, or money to spend at the bike shop - so it is yet another issue to take into consideration when buying old bikes. Similarly, old brake pads tend to harden in the cold, compromising braking performance considerably. On regular caliper brakes, the brake pads can be replaced with new salmon KoolStops to remedy the problem. But rod brakes are incompatible with the KoolStop pads, so there is not much that can be done really.

So there you have it: a vintage bicycle with rod brakes is great in the snow... unless you need to stop or safely turn. Of course none of that prevent the Co-Habitant from riding it around the neighborhood - though thankfully, he does not plan to commute on it to work.

And we're out there having fun

in the cold Boston winter sun

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Riding in a Winter Wonderland

On Sunday, we had a truly beautiful winter day. Because the blizzard hit Boston on a weekend, the snowplows were not as active as they would have been during the working week. For the first half of Sunday, the entire neighborhood lay covered in a blanket of pristine white snow, and only around lunchtime did people begin emerging from their houses to reluctantly shovel their driveways.

Despite being down with a minor cold, Velouria could not sit still in the blizzard. Stir-crazy in our small apartment and desperate to feel the fresh snow under her tires, she begged me to come out just for a bit, at least to give it a try. How could I resist her charms?

She posed for me next to the fence while I photographed her this way and that. A kickstand was not necessary, because the foot-deep snow enveloped her wheels and functioned as a bicycle rack. With her black frame and cream tires, Velouria was stunning in the snow. The aesthetic experience of seeing her thus even made up for carrying her down the front stairs - which had been semi-visible when the Co-Habitant left for work several hours earlier, but were now completely buried in snow. With the bike in my arms, I slowly extended my toe and felt each step under the snow before proceeding onto it. With the 40lb DL-1 this was doable, but I would not have been able to execute the same maneuver with the heavier Pashley.

The snow was still falling as we prepared to head out, quickly covering the saddle with a thin layer of powder.

Upon Velouria's advice, the voyage I chose was an easy and safe one: a trip to a grocery store that is just a 6 minute walk (3 minute ride under normal conditions) from our house via a secret route through dead-end back streets. There would hardly be any cars there, and if I found myself unable to ride I could just walk the bicycle the rest of the way to the store and back.

I took my camera along and had grandiose plans to stop every so often and photograph Velouria against the backdrop of various winter scenes. However, the visibility was so poor and the snow so... snowy, that getting off the bicycle to pose it became the farthest thing from my mind once we were underway. Instead I offer you views of a few landmarks.

"No Outlet" - Hah! Perhaps not for cars, but for a bicycle the gaps between fences will do just fine.

Arriving to the grocery store via the back parking lot.

At this point I will give you my ride report: Basically, my biggest problem was visibility, or rather, the lack thereof. These pictures do not really capture how difficult it was to see in front of me as I was cycling, but the falling snow obscured my vision completely. In these back alleys that was okay, but I cannot imagine cycling on real city roads in these conditions. As for the bicycle's behaviour... It was fine. Granted, I was so paranoid about falling, that I cycled very slowly and made ridiculously wide turns. Riding through the snow in this manner felt similar to cycling on the sandy fire trails on Cape Cod, only slower.

I did not experience a sense of slipping on the snow while going straight or while making turns, but again, I was intentionally cycling very slowly. The tires on my DL-1 are the Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, 28" x 1 1/2". By the time I returned home from the grocery store (having purchased a bag of raw cranberries and some chocolate), the snow had made its way into every single crevice of the wheels, covering the spaces between the spokes and dress-guard cords.

If you click to enlarge the picture above, you can see that the snow also made its way into the gaps around the brakes. This is a problem not just for bicycles with rod brakes, but for any bicycle with rim brakes. The snow lodges itself in between the rim of the wheel and the brake pad immediately, increasing stopping time considerably. Because I was cycling so slowly, this did not really matter; at that speed I could stop the bicycle by merely putting a foot down. But if you plan to cycle with anything resembling normal speed, I think drum or disk brakes are the only solutions that will provide adequate stopping power.

This short but beautiful winter adventure was more than enough for me and Velouria. We were happy to return to the warmth of our home - both of us trailing lots of snow. That snow on the saddle accumulated during the time it took me to drag the bicycle up the front stairs. If you don't want snow on your leather saddle, consider swapping it out for a vinyl one for the winter. For me, a little precipitation on the leather is okay though.

I did experience a panicked sense of remorse when I saw the extent of snow accumulation on the bicycle once we got home, and the next 30 minutes after this photo was taken were spent with a rag, frantically wiping off the moisture. I have been assured however, that the snow in itself is not bad for the bicycle; it is only the salt that is damaging. Thankfully, the roads had not been salted yet at the time of our ride. Velouria enjoyed the refreshing tour through our local Winter Wonderland. She is up for doing it all again - as long as I promise to go slowly, keeping her rod brakes in mind.

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Dirty Little Secret

Sure, at first glance this is just another filthy Sturmey Archer hub. Those who know bicycles will see that it's an AW model, which identifies it as being from a vintage 3-speed. But look closer still. Anything unusual? If you have a good eye, you can see the words at the very bottom of the hub: "Patent applied for". Patent applied for? Why, this must be one of the earliest Sturmey Archer hubs ever made! What bicycle can it possibly belong to?

Meet my "dirty little secret". She was given to me about a month and a half ago, but I kept quiet, because I am not yet certain what I will do with her. From a historical point of view, this is an amazing find: an early Raleigh Tourist in all original condition; year of production most likely 1936. This early Raleigh is the predecessor to the DL-1 Lady's Tourist I so love, but there are some notable differences between them. This early bicycle has a geometry that I find somewhat puzzling: The seat tube is quite long (almost the same size as on the 22" DL-1), but the wheelbase is extremely short, making for a crowded "cockpit" with very little room between the saddle and the handlebars. This makes the bicycle seem much too small for me, even though the saddle height is just right for my size. I would love to know the reasoning behind this construction.

A very early Sturmey Archer 3-speed quadrant shifter. This preceded the trigger shifter that we are used to seeing on the handlebars of vintage 3-speeds. On diamond frame bicycles, the quadrant shifter was mounted on the top tube. On this bicycle it is mounted at the very top of the "loop" tube. Aside from some fading due to age, this beautiful shifter is in perfectly preserved condition. The whole bicycle, in fact, seems to be frozen in its original state, save for a coat of surface rust. The rod brakes are attached via braze-ons on the inside of the fork (as opposed to clipped on, as became the standard on later models) and function extremely well. The chrome on the handlebars and rod levers is in excellent condition.

The original chaincase is entirely intact and dent-free. Notice also the holes drilled for skirtguards in the rear fender! I wonder what sort of guards this bicycle had when it was being ridden 70+ years ago.

The rear reflector is glass, not plastic.

And I believe the pump is original as well, though the handle has split open. It is engraved with a Greek-themed motif. Aside from the split pump, other aspects of the bicycle that are damaged beyond repair are the melted rubber grips (see first picture) and the cracked tires. The wheels themselves look extremely rusty, but some have suggested that they might be salvageable by a soaking in an oxalic acid bath.

The bottom line however, is that I am at a loss about this bicycle. Under the circumstances in which it was given to me, it was pretty much impossible not to take it. But I have no idea what to do with it! Even in its present state, I could probably sell it and make a bit of money, but the thought of doing that makes me sad. I could restore it and probably make quite a bit of money, but that's sad as well. Plus it looks like I will be having a very busy winter, and restoration projects might prove impossible with everything else I already have on my plate. Perhaps I should look into donating it to a museum? In the meantime, this 1930's beauty is being kindly housed by Open Bicycle. For anybody local who is interested, the bike is available for public display (but it is not for sale). Ideas for what to do with it are most welcome. Perhaps it would make a good winter bike? (I kid, I kid!)

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LED Lights for Classic and Vintage Bicycles?

When it comes to bicycle lighting, our primary objective is to be extremely visible. On bicycles without a dynamo, this means LED lighting. One downside to LED lights, is that most of what's currently on the market looks very modern and "techy".We try to find LED lights that are both the brightest and the least in conflict with the classic looks of our bikes. A good example of that is the set-up on my vintage Raleigh DL-1 (above). I have received some emails asking how those lights are attached, and so I will describe it here.

Like all of our LED lights, the lights on this bicycle are by Cateye - a company whose products seem to be consistently good. The headlight is the Opticube HL-EL530, mounted on the right fork blade. Mounting it in this manner requires 2 supplementary gadgets: the FlexTight mounting bracket, which comes packaged with the headlight, and the Minoura Besso fork mount, which must be purchased additionally.

The Opticube headlight is sold with a FlexTight mounting bracket included. This bracket is designed to be wrapped around a handlebar or around a long lug nut on the front wheel, like the one that comes standard on the Pashley and is pictured here. However, most bicycles - including my DL-1 - do not have sufficiently long lug nuts for this, and so you will need either a lug nut extender or a special mount that attaches to the fork blade like a branch, around which the FlexTight bracket can be wrapped. The mount we like to use for this is the Minoura Besso, priced in the $5-10 range.

Here is another view of this setup. You can see how the Minoura Besso mount is attached to the fork blade, and the Opticube headlight is then attached to it with the FlexTight bracket.

Yet another view from the back. I should note that some are against attaching a headlight to the fork blade, based on the idea that it can slip down and fall into the spokes. Personally, I think that this really depends on your attachment method. If you use a proper mount and attach it tightly, it seems extremely stable and not in the least prone to slippage. If you've had a bad experience with this method, please let me know; so far I have not heard of any.

This is what the headlight looks like in motion, "in the wild". From a short distance it actually resembles a vintage light, and it certainly comes across that way in pictures like these. Of course, up close you can tell that it is modern, but the design is nonetheless one of the most elegant ones available, as far as modern bike lights go.

For tail lights, we use two Cateye TL-LD610 lights, attaching one to each rear stay in the same way as on our Pashleys.

The diameter of the rear stays is usually not large enough to fit these lights, but they are sold with plastic liners to expand the stay diameter.

Using these two light strips on the rear stays is the nicest tail light setup we can think of. Not only does it make the bicycle highly visible in traffic, but it also gives the cars a good feel for its width - which can be very important in the dark.

And as far as aesthetics go, attaching the lights along the stays creates a very natural, unobtrusive look that does not conflict with any part of the bicycle's design.

My descriptions make it seem like the lights - especially the headlight - are a pain to attach, and I have to admit they kind of are. But you only need to do it once, and in the end it is worth it: Top of the line illumination, maximum safety, and classic looks will be your rewards.

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The Bicycle as Art Model

I try to keep my non-bicycle-related life separate from this weblog. However, I have already mentioned that I am an artist and support myself financially with an academic dayjob. Well, this week the bicycle world and my professional life collided. That is to say, I used a bicycle in one of my art projects. Here is the Co-Habitant dismantling the tripod after a photoshoot on the South Boston waterfront. And that's Velouria in the background, next to the two wooden chairs.

My art is a little difficult to describe. Technically, I am a painter. But before I paint, I create the fictional worlds depicted in those paintings by making series of photographic "tableaux-style" stills. This part is done by both myself and the Co-Habitant as a team: We work together, where he is the technical expert and I am the set designer. We both take the photos, but he is responsible for setting up the technical aspects of the shots and I am responsible for the composition. We use manual film cameras and usually black and white film. But we always have a digital camera along, because it is useful for testing out compositional ideas, getting a sense of the lighting, and so on. So these are some of the pictures off of the digital camera that were taken during the photoshoot. Some were for compositional and light metering purposes, but in others we were just fooling around.

The idea here was to set up an environment that combined notions of indoor and outdoor space.We then enacted a variety of metaphorical scenes using this set-up.

The above picture is an example of "bad composition" that we, thankfully, caught on the digital camera before wasting expensive film on these shots. See how my feet overlap with the bicycle wheel? That's no good; the chair should be further away. For things like that, a quick little digital camera is extremely useful.

A much better composition, for a different scene.

Well, that's enough of the pretentious artsy shots. Here is another one of the Co-Habitant after the photoshoot was done. I was very proud to have captured the full moon here.

And here I am. I really hope that Velouria does not let this shoot go to her head. It's one thing to be featured on a bicycle blog, but being an art model is altogether different!

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Cross Town Express to Castle Island

This past Sunday marked my biggest vehicular cycling accomplishment to date: We rode from Cambridge/Somerville to South Boston and Dorchester - via a 9-mile route that took us straight across greater Boston. It's by no means the most cycling we have ever done, but it was certainly the most cycling we have done through a high-traffic urban environment. (We do not attempt to photograph ourselves while riding in traffic, so these photos were taken along the South Boston waterfront.)

Referring to the map above, we went from point "A" to "B," then to "C" and to "B" again - and of course eventually, back home to "A".

Our destination was Castle Island in South Boston, where the goal was to cycle along the Harbor path through Dorcester and back. The harbor path is quite nice and about 3 miles in length, but it is crowded with pedestrians in the summer. In early November, however, it is just perfect: Still enough people for it not to feel abandoned, but plenty of room to cycle.

As you can tell by the photos, I was on my vintage 3-speed Raleigh DL-1 with rod brakes. No problems at all. The widely spaced 3-speed Sturmey Archer hub combined with lowered gearing (22 tooth cog) was more than sufficient for any elevation we encountered.

Oh, and I finally installed lights and a bell on this bike. The headlight is a CatEye Opticube LED mounted to the right fork blade, and the tail-lights (not visible here, but see the last two photos of this post) are Cateye Bike LD610s, attached vertically to the rear stays. The bell is a Crane brass bell.

We began our ride on Sunday mid-day and there was considerable traffic, but not too bad. Interestingly, as soon as we crossed the bridge into South Boston, we got some friendly comments from local motorists. Not what I expected given the aggressive reputation of this area. I think people found our vintage bikes and dressy attire appealing - a nice thing to see on a Sunday?

For those unfamiliar with the history and cultural climate of South Boston ("Southie"), it is an old working class neighborhood that has traditionally been predominantly Irish. And I don't mean just Americans with Irish heritage, but a considerable number of recent immigrants: you can hear Dublin and Cork accents spoken. Over the past decade, the area has grown more ethnically diverse, and some parts of it have also become "gentrified". But overall, the feeling of its historical roots still remains. The image above is the old Women's Bath House (now part of a community swimming facilities) that is located along the harbor path right before Castle Island.

Castle Island itself (which, as far as I can tell, is really a peninsula) curls around and connects to another part of the mainland via a narrow strip of land (see point "B" on the map above). This strip does not naturally close all the way, but they built a bridge to complete the loop. The Pleasure Bay Loop is part of the cycle path and offers nice views of the Boston mainland, the harbor, and the mysterious industrial landscape of the Conley Terminal of the Port of Boston.

Arrival at Castle Island via the Pleasure Bay loop. Here we were approached by an elderly man who asked us about our bikes and told us that he rode a DL-1 in Ireland since the 1930s - because the roads where he lived were bad and it was the only bike that could handle them. More evidence that the DL1 makes a great "off-Roadster". The gentleman also told us that his other bike at the time was a "fixed wheel bicycle" - hard core!

Finally, here is the real attraction of Castle Island: Fort Independence - originally built in 1634 for the sea defense of Boston. The fort is located upon a hill, and visitors climb it to sit and watch the airplanes land at Boston's Logan Airport just across the water. On the photo above I managed to capture one of the planes landing - though they look much larger and more impressive in person! The cool thing about planes landing, is that there is always a group of them, waiting for their turn to land in a cluster of lights in the sky. Then suddenly one light separates form the cluster and begins to move toward you until it grows larger and more plane-like. It really is pretty neat to watch, and Boston's Logan Airport is special in that it's surrounded by water.

Walking my bike up the hill; a corner of Fort Independence in the background. Didn't want to cycle on the nice grass.

Next to Fort Independence is the legendary Sullivan's. This is a fast food place that serves everything from delicious cheeseburgers to lobster bisque (there are healthier alternatives as well, but somehow they don't seem appropriate). As you can see, Sullivan's even had VIP parking for our bicycles. The thing to do is to order from Sullivan's, then take the food to the top of the hill and dine while watching the planes land at sunset.

The sunsets on Castle Island are beautiful, but difficult to capture.

We enjoyed cycling along the South Boston waterfront, as well as the process of getting there and back. Returning home at night was particularly nice: the beautiful lights over the water, the melodic noise of traffic, the peaceful darkness. It feels good to be comfortable cycling through the city you live in.

If you are in the Boston area and want to try cycling to Castle Island, the best way to get there from the center is on Summer Street, straight to the end. Summer Street may seem intimidating, but it is surprisingly okay. If you don't feel confident the first time, go on a Sunday morning: Everyone will be either asleep, in church, or nursing a hangover. The streets will be yours!

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