>About two years ago (Help me with this one Jan),
Vol. 3, No. 4. Two-and-a-half years ago. Good memory! Table of
contents of all issues is at
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/
>VBQ had an article entitled the Great Race of 1894, about a local challenge,
>between Tucson and Phoenix riders, in the wilds of southern Arizona just
>eight years after Geronimo surrendered. One of the competitors, a Fred
>Graves "rode a 32-pound Lu-Mi-Num geared to 63 inches."
>So it appears someone was playing around with aluminum bikes this early, but
>at 32 pounds it wasn't much competition to steel. Haven't researched this
>marque so I don't know if there's anything out there.
According to the article, 26.5 lbs. for the Lu-Mi-Num, with "white ash lock-joint rims and a high frame" ordered specially for the race from the East. He finished 41:30 behind the winner, after some mechanical problems, apparently as the result of a crash. His pedal wobbled and his chain broke. He repaired the chain, but threw it twice more during the race.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
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Seattle WA 98122
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