Recalling teenage bike-hood
Henry: We’d take out the innards of the hub, replace the grease with light oil so the gears would turn faster and then…
James: And then?
Henry: We’d add a derailleur set to extend the gearing. So we could cope with the hills.
James: Like having a granny cog? Tell me, did you ever scrape the paint off the frame to make it lighter?
Henry: Oh yes. Began there after turning the handlebars upside down.
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Voice-over
Many geared bikes in the 50s came with a Sturmey-Archer hub. Three-speed, though there was a four-speed too. Didn’t need much maintenance, but Henry, having an inquisitive mechanical intelligence took the wheel off, went past the locknut and into the hub itself. Then squeezed a derailleur cog cluster into the back wheel chain stay dropouts.
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