>From the archives, 2001 (not the last word, but interesting):
> According to "Le Monde De Daniel Rebour", page 176, there is a Cyclo
> freewheel (French) six speed freewheel dated 1963.
> >
> >As far as I am aware the first production bike with a six-speed
freewheel
> >was the Moulton Speed Six in 1964/5. Although not common it was a
genuine
> >catalogued production machine built in reasonable numbers. It used a
> >special freewheel with small top sprockets and a modified Cyclo
Benelux P60 rear
> >derailleur (modified by Cyclo not Moulton).
> >Regards
> >Hilary Stone
Pete Geurds wrote:
> >> Thanks for the catalog pages.
> >> I was surprised to see a 13-26 six speed Regina freewheel in
1964(?)
> >> Was this intended for touring and would it have required 126
spacing?
Chuck Schmidt wrote:
> > Good question!!! This always puzzled me. In the mid-1950s the
racing
> > bikes came with 4-speed freewheels, even though there were 5-speed
> > freewheels available. In the mid-1960s the bikes came with 5-speed
> > freewheels even though there were 6-speed freewheels available.
> >
> > I have heard that the early 70s Raleigh Professional was the first
> > production bike that came with a 6-speed freewheel (Atom) and I
don't
> > think 6-speed freewheels were generally in use until the mid-1970s.
> >
> > Seems like there was a ten year lag each time before anyone decided
they
> > really needed another gear. Quite a contrast to today's drivetrains
> > with the number of speeds in the rear increasing every couple of
years.
Mark Bulgier
Seattle WA USA