, I am back, and my latest kick is to incorporate my bicycling skill into this reenacting hobby, I have several wehrmacht fahraden but need more, the members of my unit agreed to participate in reenactor rides if I find them a bike. so, once again I am on a quest. ie to find the illusive bicycles fit for conversion to wehrmacht,(or allied) service
English bikes Hey, you guys in the UK might could help, i need S.A. hubs 3 spring saddles, rod brake parts etc. seems to me there were lots of those items in the UK oh Sturmey Archer, see us yanks aint too stupid. i can even make the bloomin things work. lots of our early experiences were on Raleigh 3 speeds wish I had a few of those bikes now. If you are on the continent esp NL I am sure those sparrows sometimes came with rod brakes, it isnt even out of the question to ship me some donated bikes if I pay the postage. we have now 11 members in our German unit the 12th inf div. hey, on your left!
party pin on bell? What would u think of epoxieing a party pin to your bike bell, it would kind of set your velo out as ""different"". besides red and black and white are a good combination.
awesome Brit cyclists and nurse OMG thats exactly what Ii had in mind. Super authentic looking uniforms and a pretty girl, hey, wheres mine? and a BSA para folding bike, SWEET! I have the P.37 and a denison but no BSA. for some unknown reason the British impression is no longer as popular here as it once was but then neither is the straight GI look, thank you very much.
Re: English bikes Hey KP, I'm sorry to have to say that, even though I live in the NL and am fairly common with cycling, I have never heard of this kind of bikes. I actually didn't know the armies back then had any, except then for the Swiss and the Dutch... Did you have any luck in tracking some bikes yet? I sure hope so. greets, PP
The US army used bicycles as well, which were standardised in 1942-10 for Men's Bicycle and 1943-02 for Women's Bicycle. The two different bicycles had standard bicycle crossbar configuration for men and women (though three and two crossbars were used in stead of two and one for men's and women's bicycles, respectively), the sprocket ratio was slightly higher for the men's bicycle and the saddles seems to have been different, but were (as far as I can see) otherwise identical. The bicycles weighed about 25 kg (55 lbs), so they were not exactly light-weight. They were manufactured by the Huffman Manufacturing Company and the Westfield Manufacturing Company.
The Japanese Army made great use of bicycles - it gives a lot of extra mobility with no fuel or fodder to be transported, and they are small & light enough to use on jungle trails and even to be carried over rough ground.
