Re: [CR]Illegal derailleur on a 1910 TDF bike??

(Example: Component Manufacturers:Cinelli)

In-Reply-To: <20020317224404.76842.qmail@web14008.mail.yahoo.com>
References: <20020317224404.76842.qmail@web14008.mail.yahoo.com>
Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 18:46:08 -0500
To: classic list <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "Roy H. Drinkwater" <roydrink@mac.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Illegal derailleur on a 1910 TDF bike??


Reading the description of that stage in 'The Unknown Tour De France" by Les Woodland, it probably was some large cog. That's the stage Lapize shouted "Murderers" at the Tour officials after crossing four major passes, the Peyresourde (where Ullrich crashed last year), Aspin, Tourmalet, and Aubisque. Do a Google image search for these with 'col' as a prefix.

Roy 'still sitting around' Drinkwater Lititz 'snow', PA


>Anyone else got a copy of Tour de France/Tour de
>Force, by James Startt? If so, open to page 28,
>and look carefully at the picture of Octave
>Lapize as he pushes his bike up a pass in the
>Pyrenees in 1910. (Look at the road condition,
>too........cart track would be a kind
>description).
>
>Anyway, his right calf hides some of the
>drivetrain, but from the chain angles it seems
>that he has either:
> A derailleur on the back, or
> A VERY large rear cog.......if the front
>chainring is about a 44, then the cog must be
>about a 30 to 32'er.
>
>Do others see this the same way, or is there some
>other explanation?
>Back in those days, riders would often have a
>different size cog on each side of the rear hub
>and flip the wheel around, but does anyone know
>if they were both fixed cogs, both freewheel
>cogs, or a combination of both?
>
>To aid people without a copy of this book, I
>scanned the page/pic, and uploadedit to the web:
>http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292022731&p=4259177999&idx=2