New edition of Brompton book
Back in early 2010, I reviewed David Henshaw’s excellent book Brompton Bicycle. There is now a second edition. This differs mostly in the second half of the book, with a rearrangement and expansion of coverage of Brompton’s future, customised machines, Brompton people and places, and how the bikes are made. The publisher details and price are as before, except that the new edition has a different ISBN: 978-1-901464-25-2.
The second edition is, if anything, even better than the first and is thoroughly recommended. My original review can be read here.
Tony
Raleigh book now out
At last, the Raleigh book is now out. Any bookshop should be able to order it for you. The larger online suppliers already have it. Here’s a link to Amazon’s page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1892495686
I hope you enjoy the book and please spread the word about it. Many thanks to everybody who took part in this big project.
Tony
Tony Hadland’s Bibliography
This listing includes books which Tony Hadland has either written, edited, designed or to which he has contributed chapters or research. Each entry makes clear the extent of his involvement and the current availability of the book. The listing excludes magazines, book supplements and in-house technical manuals.
BOOKS ON CYCLE HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY
RALEIGH: PAST AND PRESENCE OF AN ICONIC BICYCLE BRAND
Comprehensive history of Britain’s most famous cycle maker
Author: Tony Hadland
Editor: Rob Van der Plas
Hardback: 2011
Availability: from October 2011 via Amazon, any bookshop or the publisher, Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications
THE MOULTON BICYCLE
Technical history of the original F-frame Moultons.
Author: Tony Hadland.
First edition (staple-bound): 1981, reprinted same year
Second edition (softback):1982, reprinted 1986, 1991, 1994
Hardback version of second edition: 2000
Availability: out of print
THE STURMEY-ARCHER STORY
Technical history of Sturmey-Archer bicycle gears.
Author: Tony Hadland.
Hardback: 1987 (out of print)
Softback: 1987
Availability: from the Veteran-Cycle Club book sales or telephone the publisher, Dorothy Pinkerton, on +44 (0)121 350 0685
THE SPACEFRAME MOULTONS
Technical history of the later Moulton bicycles.
Author: Tony Hadland.
First edition (hardback): 1994 (out of print)
Second edition (hardback): 2009
Pocket edition (softback): 2009
Availability: Second and pocket editions available via Amazon and any bookshop should be able to order copies
IT’S IN THE BAG!
Outline history of portable cycles in the UK.
Authors: Tony Hadland and John Pinkerton.
Hardback: 1996
Spiral-bound: 1996
Availability: from the Veteran-Cycle Club book sales or telephone the publisher, Dorothy Pinkerton, on +44 (0)121 350 0685
A HISTORY OF ROVER CYCLES
Authors: John Pinkerton and Derek Roberts.
Chapter on Land Rover cycles by Tony Hadland.
Hardback: 1998
Availability: from the Veteran-Cycle Club book sales or telephone the publisher, Dorothy Pinkerton, on +44 (0)121 350 0685
HUMAN POWER
Arnfried Schmitz’s story of his involvement with streamlined Human Powered Vehicles and their evolution through the 20th century.
Author: Arnfried Schmitz.
Edited, designed and pre-pressed by Tony Hadland.
Softback: 2000
Russian edition (softback): 2007
Availability: from the Veteran-Cycle Club book sales or via the author at Gallas, Lioux, Gordes, F84220, France
CYCLISTS, CYCLING, CYCLES AND CYCLE PARTS
An anthology of writings and research.
Author: Arnfried Schmitz.
Edited, designed and pre-pressed by Tony Hadland.
Softback: 2010
Availability: may be ordered through any bookshop or direct, at lower price, from Tony Hadland
THE DANCING CHAIN
History and development of the derailleur bicycle.
First edition (hardback): 2000
Authors: Frank Berto, Ron Shepherd and Raymond Henry.
Contributions from Tony Hadland and Walter Ulreich.
Second edition (hardback): 2004
Author: Frank Berto
Contributions from Ron Shepherd, Raymond Henry, Walter Ulreich, Tony Hadland and
Gordon Selby.
Third edition (hardback): 2009
Author: Frank Berto
Contributions from Tony Hadland, Jan Heine, Raymond Henry, Gordon Selby, Ron
Shepherd and Walter Ulreich.
Availability of third edition: via Amazon and any bookshop should be able to order copies
BICYCLE DESIGN
A non-mathematical explanation of bicycle science, by the creator of Chris Boardman’s Olympic machine.
Author: Mike Burrows with Tony Hadland.
First edition (softback): 2000, reprinted 2001
Second edition (softback): 2004
Third edition (softback): 2008
Availability: third edition available via Amazon and any bookshop should be able to order copies
ENCYCLEOPEDIA 2001
Annual guide to alternatives in cycling.
Editors: Peter Eland and Dan Joyce.
Editorial team: The editors plus Jim McGurn, Tony Hadland, Simon Levermore and
Hannes Neupert.
Softback: 2000
Availability: out of print
CYCLE HISTORY 11
Proceedings of the 11th International Cycling History Conference, Osaka, Japan.
Editors: Andrew Ritchie and Rob van der Plas.
Contains a paper by Tony Hadland on Raleigh UK in the last quarter of the 20th
century.
Hardback: 2001
Availability: from the Veteran-Cycle Club book sales or Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications
CYCLE HISTORY 13
Proceedings of the 13th International Cycling History Conference, Muenster, Germany.
Editors: Andrew Ritchie and Nick Clayton.
Contains a paper by Arnfried Schmitz on the rise and fall of Ideale, edited by Tony Hadland.
Hardback: 2003
Availability: from the Veteran-Cycle Club book sales or Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications
CYCLE HISTORY 19
Proceedings of the 19th International Cycling History Conference, Saint-Étienne, France.
Editors: Nadine Besse and Anne Henry.
Contains a paper by Arnfried Schmitz on the Vector high-speed trike in the Mercedes test tunnel, edited by Tony Hadland.
Hardback: 2010
Availability: from the Veteran-Cycle Club book sales
SUNBEAM CYCLES
Authors: John Pinkerton and Derek Roberts
Contributions from Scotford Lawrence and Tony Hadland.
Edited, designed and pre-pressed by Tony Hadland.
Hardback: 2002
Availability: from the Veteran-Cycle Club book sales or telephone the publisher, Dorothy Pinkerton, on +44 (0)121 350 0685
RECUSANT HISTORY
THAMES VALLEY PAPISTS
The clandestine survival of Roman Catholicism in Berkshire and southern Oxfordshire after the Reformation.
Author: Tony Hadland.
First edition (hardback): 1992 (out of print)
Second edition (softback): 2004
Availability: from Mapledurham House (email or phone the estate office or visit in person)
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND SECURITY
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
New perspectives for the construction professional.
Editors: Peter Barrett and Rod Males.
Chapter on information management by Tony Hadland.
Hardback: 1991
Availability: out of print
STAYING LEGAL
A guide to issues and practice for users and publishers of electronic resources.
Editor: Chris Armstrong.
Chapter on information security by Tony Hadland.
Hardback: 1999
Availability: out of print
ARCHITECTURE
BRANCH DESIGN FOR THE 21st CENTURY
New directions in bank design.
Edited by D. Kaine Stankovich.
Chapter by Tony Hadland.
Softback: 1994
Availability: out of print
EXPLORATION
GLIMPSES OF A VICTORIAN HERO
Excerpts from the travel diaries of William Gill, explorer and spy.
Edited and pre-pressed by Tony Hadland.
Softback: 2001
Availability: out of print
Moulton material on Hadland.net
If you are interested in Moulton bicycles, you may be interested in this site.
There are several items there that you may not have come across before, for example, the family tree of Moulton frames or the piece on Mao-era Chinese pirate copy of the Moulton.
It’s just a sub-section of my main site, which you might also like to visit.
Enjoy!
Tony
Auf wiedersehen Moulton-meister Hans
It is with great sadness that I heard today of the death of Hans Werner. I was privileged to meet him a number of times, not least when I photographed him for The Moultoneer cover design shown below. We corresponded from time to time on various cycle history matters relating to Moultons, hub gears and, most recently, Raleigh’s involvement in Germany. I always found him a most knowledgadble and courteous person. It was a pleasure and honour to know him.
His friend Brian Perkins has written the following eulogy:
You will be familiar with Hans from his regular articles in the
Moultoneer. He was one of the few members to appear on the cover, with his
excellent John Woodburn replica. This was how I became friends with him in 2002.
Before this Hans had collected bicycles, beautiful German model trains, classic
cameras and small motorcycles, all meticulously maintained. His first Moulton
purchase was a Super 4 mini.
He was most interested in the history of the 1960s Moulton company,
particularly the works specials and the racing records, and that led him to
create the John Woodburn replica that he brought to BoA in 2003. This project
took many months searching on World eBay for the correct vintage parts. After
that success, Hans built a replica of one of Vic Nicholson’s blue Mk3 machines
which he called “Blue Boy”. He told me that it was his favourite Moulton to ride
and he used it frequently in the Bavarian Alps near to his home.
But undoubtedly Hans’ greatest famous Moulton replica was his Moulton Marathon,
completed around three years ago. Colin Martin owned the original, on which he
cycled to Australia in 1970. The Werner replica took months of planning and
research, and several difficult jobs such as installing the main beam joint.
Again he took great pains to get every detail accurate, gradually collecting the
precise vintage parts for the machine. For example, the wheel rims had to be
dimpled Sturmey-Archer. The result was so good, you cannot tell it from the real
Marathon in Japan.
That is why Hans should to be revered by all Club members. But even if he had
done none of these things, he deserves to be remembered for his ready wit and
humour (most un-German, one would have thought), his unending kindness and
generosity of spirit and his warm-hearted friendliness. He was extremely patient
with me for being slow to do small jobs on his bikes, and most tolerant about
the sometimes imperfect results. He once sent me a beautiful Rollieflex camera
as a gift, because he knew that I liked them. We had a long-running e-mail
conversation often involving the grammar and semantics of English language.
Hans’ job was translating patents for Rolls-Royce.
Hans loved Britain and especially classic British engineering. He cared about
the Club and talked of travelling Europe and coming to live in England. It is a
shock that this dream did not sustain him through very difficult and tragic
times.
Hans Werner featured on the cover of The Moultoneer (photo and layout copyright Tony Hadland)
Raleigh book – it’s on the way
For information on the forthcoming book “Raleigh – Past and Presence of an Iconic Bicycle Brand” click on the link below.
Tony
Wantage Tramway – missing movies
The Wantage Tramway was the UK’s first steam-powered roadside passenger tram. It linked the market town of Wantage (then in Berkshire, now Oxfordshire) to the Great Western Railway, north of Grove. The tramway closed in 1945, having run for 70 years, although for the last two decades it carried only freight.
The great mystery is, where are the movies? The only known film footage of the tramway is a short (less than 2 minute) feature by British Pathé. But there must be more. Professional movie cameras were introduced in the mid 1890s. In the early days of cinema, commercial film makers often recorded everyday street scenes. By the 1930s, compact and relatively affordable home movie cameras, such as the 9.5mm cassette-loading Pathex models, were available. Whilst they weren’t that common, there were enough around that surely somebody filmed the tramway.
Also, the tramway passed close to the WW2 USAAF base at Grove, where at least a few of the many American serviceman must have had movie cameras. Maybe even today there is footage of the tranway on an old 9.5mm cassette somewhere in Idaho, or some 35mm home movie in a loft in Montana?
If you know the whereabouts of any more Wantage Tramway film, please contact me. It would be great to pass on copies to the three local museums with a special interest in the tramway. These are:
- The Vale & Downland Museum in Wantage, where there is a display on the history of the tramway.
- Didcot Railway Centre, where Jane (aka Shannon), the sole surviving Wantage Tramway loco, is kept.
- Pendon Museum, Long Wittenham, where a beautiful working model of Jane can be seen.
Tony
Free back issues of Recusant History journal
Canon Gerard Hetherington has a collection of the excellent journal Recusant History for disposal, as he is ‘downsizing’. Recusant History is the journal of the Catholic Record Society. Canon Hetherington’s copies go back to about 1985. Here is a list of the articles covered.
If you would like these journals, please contact Canon Hetherington direct. His contact details are:
Rev. Canon Gerard Hetherington
1st Floor Flat, 8 St Peter Street
WINCHESTER
SO23 8BW
Tel: 01962 850683
New book by Michael Embacher with photos by Bernhard Angerer and foreword by Paul Smith
Thames & Hudson, ISBN 978-0-500-51558-7
In 2007, a book entitled ‘Smart Move’ was published in Austria, in a single German and English edition. It was written by Michael Embacher, an architect and designer based in Vienna, who has ‘an endless enthusiasm’ for bicycles. Michael has amassed an immense collection of beautifully conserved machines and ‘Smart Move’ showcased a selection of them. Two things made the book special: the quality of the photography and the wide variety of bicycles featured. Michael Embacher’s new book, ‘Cyclepedia – A Tour of Iconic Bicycle Designs’, takes the ‘Smart Move’ format a mighty step forward in an all-English edition published in London by Thames & Hudson.
Anyone who has ever worked on a book about bicycles will appreciate how hard it is to get really good (as distinct from merely adequate) photographs of bikes. By their nature, bicycles are skeletal, so the background and surroundings show through the frame and wheels, distracting the eye. Lighting is always difficult, as ambient light is often insipid or over bright, whereas flash creates confusing shadows. In an ideal world, all bicycles would be carefully cleaned and polished, then photographed in a specially erected studio set, with carefully arranged lighting, taking as much time as is necessary to create the optimal images. In the real world, this hardly ever happens but it’s exactly what photographer Bernhard Angerer did for ‘Cyclepedia’. The results are stunning – 457 superb photographs, complemented by colour printing that’s about as good as it gets. You may even find yourself lightly running your fingers over the front cover as you marvel at the slightly raised printing of the bicycle images on it.
The range of machines covered is the other area where, like its predecessor, this book excels. The 100 machines featured here (98 bicycles and two trikes) include many different classes of cycle. They come from France, Germany, Japan, Austria, Taiwan, the USA, Denmark, Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium. Some of the machines shown are very rare indeed. They weren’t all great successes but are featured because of their interesting design. Indeed, 35 pages are devoted to ‘curiosity’ designs. Folding bicycles are given 24 pages, racing bikes 38, touring bikes 19, mountain bikes 5, single-speeds get 10 and urban bikes have 26 pages. Cargo bikes, kids’ machines and tandems also receive some coverage. One thing all the featured bikes have in common is this: the author has tested each personally and they are all roadworthy.
The book has an excellent index, including small photos of all the bikes. There is a timeline chart showing the date and country of origin of each machine. There is also a list of all the machines in weight order, from the lightest to the heaviest. British fashion designer Paul Smith provides the book’s foreword. He concludes, ‘To be honest, it’s just better to look at the book because words alone cannot describe these terrific cycles’. Nonetheless, Michael Embacher’s comments on each machine are worth reading, as they provide background information and the insights of a professional designer who is also an avid bicycle enthusiast. The book also includes a very brief history of the bicycle, provided by Michael Zappe and Mertin Strubreiter.
This book has 224 pages. The hard cover is 11 inches wide by 8.5 inches tall and the spine is an inch thick. One might normally expect to pay about £40 for a book of this size and quality. At under £20 recommended retail price, it’s a bargain.
Tony Hadland
On Your Bike
Many people will have heard and enjoyed the 10-part series On Your Bike, recently broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Producer Simon Evans and presenter Martin Ellis did a great job, telling the story of the bicycle from a social history viewpoint. I greatly enjoyed taking part in the series and quite a few people have contacted me to say how much they enjoyed the series.
One comment I would make about On Your Bike is that it downplayed the impact of the Moulton bicycle and overplayed the significance of the Chopper. The revival of the British cycle industry (as distinct from the North American situation) started with the small-wheels boom in the mid 1960s. By the mid 1970s, although the Moulton had gone, the Raleigh 20 range was that company’s biggest seller. The statistics are quite clear. Unfortunately, there is still some prejudice against small-wheelers in general and Moultons in particular. This sometimes gets translated into a rewriting of history and selective amnesia!
Nearly 20 years ago, I wrote a short article on the impact of the Moulton on cycle sales in the UK. If I were rewriting today, I’d probably modify a few comments slightly, but I stand by the general drift. You can read it on my main website: www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hadland/page18.html
See also the chart in section 2.2 of this article: www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hadland/raleigh.htm Look at how the British cycle industry’s sales trend lines bottom out at exactly the time the small-wheels boom got underway, five years or so before the Chopper was launched.
Never mind – some people still think Henry Sturmey and James Archer invented the Sturmey-Archer gear. They probably also think that Chopper was sketched on an envelope on a flight back from America and that Ronald MacDonald makes their burgers…
Happy cycling!
Tony
