Picture(s) of the day....

[NewcastleFalcon]

Bellingham September 2016

In full view here it is, and worth a considerable amount of money



Its is Birmingham Small Arms finest a Gold Star no less, but this particular model is known as the DBD34 Catalina Scrambler.


It was named to commemorate BSA and Chuck "Feets" Minert's success in the 1956 Catalina Grand Prix

from owencollection.com

The machine he rode was a 1956 BSA Gold Star Scrambler. Chuck comments, “I changed the tank to a 5 gallon, borrowed a front brake baking plate with a scoop (for additional cooling), and used a 19” front wheel instead of the standard 21” wheel preferred by the English!” The west coast distributor for BSA, Hap Alzina asked the factory for a replica of this bike. By the late 1950’s, the US market was the strongest in the world for BSA and they followed his advice and responded with the Catalina Scrambler in 1959. The machine would go unchanged until its production stopped in 1963.

And Catalina-an island off Los Angeles California

Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

Ha! a Goldie So not a mud-plugger after all!!!

Yes, very valuable nowadays...

[NewcastleFalcon]

Ha! a Goldie So not a mud-plugger after all!!!
Yes, very valuable nowadays...

Well I dont think I would take it round a muddy field but it does have the lack of headlights and marginally knobbly tyres. The tea room is in the carriage in the background, and sitting at the window you could see virtually everyone who came into the carpark had a good nose round the bikes just like me!...and obviously we couldn't leave until the "lads" had started them up.

If anyone wants to take themselves back to Grandstand on a Saturday afternoon in the sixties, and Murray Walker commentating on the scrambling, here's a nice little 10 minutes for you



Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

When this thread was in its infancy (Page 1 to be precise), this other BSA product made it to picture of the day. Yes the "Winged Wheel".

https://bsamuseum.files.wordpress.com/2 ... el_usa.jpg

led on to the rival "Cyclemaster" getting an outing

https://cyclemaster.files.wordpress.com ... .jpg?w=450

Well to bring things up to date.....here comes today's equivalent......

[NewcastleFalcon]

......its this

http://www.electricbikeconversions.co.u ... n-Kit1.jpg

and for something easier still there's the Rubbee

http://ideascrunch.com/wp-content/uploa ... arge_9.jpg

Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

and for something easier still there's the Rubbee

Interesting spoke lacing on the rear wheel... Those wheels too are intriguing. They look like aero wheels but no way is that an aero bike...

On the subject of electric bikes, just read a road test of this one:

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bi ... 987/90635/

It comes out well but has a bug at the moment. Work the electric side too hard and it cuts out without warning due to it getting too hot!

It climbed a big mountain stage in a third of the time a pro cyclist on a conventional bike could...

It could be the future for many

[NewcastleFalcon]

Electric bikes are all over, even in little Bellingham we visited the other day, it has a small shop "The Bike Place" which had a few on offer, with more from their bigger outlet up at Kieilder just up the road. All with tags on with 12 months interest free payments etc. making it quite easy to go for one.

Had no idea there was a market for the conversion of your own bike to electrically assisted with those kits. I think the one in the pic is about £400, but there is a whole variety of different options available.

Its probably already taken off, but if it hasn't i could quite easily seeing it leading the way in electric transport, and the prices will no doubt start to come down as the market develops.

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Seems like Rubbee comes from a Lithuanian Company, quite topical for me, as a friend of mine has recently arrived back with his e-bay purchase of a Moulton, having bought it and collected it, and ridden it home to County Durham from Lithuania, with the assistance of a North-Sea ferry of course.

Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

Seems like Rubbee comes from a Lithuanian Company, quite topical for me, as a friend of mine has recently arrived back with his e-bay purchase of a Moulton, having bought it and collected it, and ridden it home to County Durham from Lithuania, with the assistance of a North-Sea ferry of course.

Gosh That’s a fair old ride! Much kudos to him...

Yes, I agree that e-bikes are really likely to take off big-time soon and conversion kits like that can only help. Once the general populous discover them they#re going to be so well loved... All the convenience of a bike with none of the hard graft...

Not for me though... I'll stick with fully human-powered bikes as long as I can...

[white exec]

I can't fathom the plaited spokes on that rear wheel.

[CitroJim]

I can't fathom the plaited spokes on that rear wheel.

Nor can I Chris They must take some skill to tension them I'd love to know if it's genuine or just a bit of clever artistic license... The bike is all about style so I suspect the latter somehow...

[Hell Razor5543]

I think the cyclist was out at night and got in the way of a herd of stampeding badgers. He pulled a wheelie in shock (which is why the front wheel is OK), but 4 badgers weren't prepared to wait for the bicycle to get out of the way.

[harryp]

To go back a page or two, I owned both a Matchless 350 single "Rigid Rear" and later an AJS 500 single "Jam Pot".
The rigid rear handled better than you might think (OK not racing it!) and the "Jam Pot" name refers to the rear dampers being of much larger Dia than the norm - and which looked rather like a .. er... jam pot

[CitroJim]

the "Jam Pot" name refers to the rear dampers being of much larger Dia than the norm - and which looked rather like a .. er... jam pot

And very distinctive too. You could tell a bike with Jampots a mile off

But did they actually work better than the norm Harry? I always got the impression there was no clear answer back in the day...

[white exec]

I can't fathom the plaited spokes on that rear wheel.

Nor can I Chris They must take some skill to tension them I'd love to know if it's genuine or just a bit of clever artistic license... The bike is all about style so I suspect the latter somehow...

I've just twigged.
Those strange rear spokes are . . . . wire coathangers!