One of my favorite cycling blogs, along with Lovely Bicycle! and Girls and Bikes is Urban Adventure League.
Today's UAL post is typical in that reflects the creativity and humor of the blog's author, Shawn. The post contrasts bicycle touring electronics of the 1970's with their counterparts today.
Actually, "counterparts" isn't quite an accurate term. For one thing, cyclists today use many more electronic devices, on as well as off their bikes, than we did "back in the day." I never had a transistor radio attached to my bike, but I carried one on rides that lasted more than a day. They were the best one could do for weather reports and such.
As for lights, the post accurately depicts their state in those days: bigger and boxier. What it doesn't, and couldn't, show is that they were also far less effective than today's lights. Halogen bulbs were available only in the larger sizes used in headlights for motor vehicles; they were not yet re-sized and otherwise modified for bicycle lights. And, if I'm not mistaken, LED's hadn't been invented.
One of the better lights I used was made by British Ever Ready Electric Company (BEREC).
It took, if I recall correctly, two D batteries, which meant that it weighed a seeming ton. But it did provide a brighter and broader beam than most other lights available at that time. Plus, it came with hardware that allowed you to mount it in a variety of positions (including the built-in fork mounts found on most bikes sold in Great Britain at that time) and to remove it when you parked. The latter, of course, was a useful feature for commuters who had to leave their bikes in urban combat zones as well as for cycle-campers.
BEREC also made what was, for that time, a nice, if heavy and clunky, tail light:
At the time this light was made, the only available flashing tail light was the Belt Beacon. It was a great light, even by today's standards, but it was difficult to mount and rather flimsy. (I broke two before giving up on them.) On the other hand, the BEREC tail light, like the headlight, was solidly constructed and gave a good beam.
The other alternatives, in those days before halogen and LEDs, were Wonder battery lights as well as various generator-powered lamps. Wonder lights were bright, given the standards of the time, though not as bright as the BEREC lights. They also were much lighter and more streamlined. However, they took a battery that only Wonder made. If you were in France, that wouldn't be a problem, as it and the lights were made there and most shops in the country stocked them. However, their availability was more sporadic in the States, which meant the batteries were considerably more expensive than the D-size batteries that powered the BEREC lights.
The first pieces of bicycle electronics I recall seeing that didn't have to do with lighting were computers that measured distance, speed and, in some cases, cadence. They also measured the time elapsed on your ride. The first such computer, to my knowledge was marketed by CatEye in 1981.
Looking at it makes me think of the portable phones the Miami Vice cars. They are to today's "smart phones" as incandescent bulbs are to LEDs. But they, like this original Cateye and the Commodore personal computers, were the the highest technology of their time.
What I'd really like to see are LED head lamps with the style of 1890's carbide bike lights.
I think there'd be room in it someplace for a cycle-computer with all of the modern functions!
Today's UAL post is typical in that reflects the creativity and humor of the blog's author, Shawn. The post contrasts bicycle touring electronics of the 1970's with their counterparts today.
Actually, "counterparts" isn't quite an accurate term. For one thing, cyclists today use many more electronic devices, on as well as off their bikes, than we did "back in the day." I never had a transistor radio attached to my bike, but I carried one on rides that lasted more than a day. They were the best one could do for weather reports and such.
As for lights, the post accurately depicts their state in those days: bigger and boxier. What it doesn't, and couldn't, show is that they were also far less effective than today's lights. Halogen bulbs were available only in the larger sizes used in headlights for motor vehicles; they were not yet re-sized and otherwise modified for bicycle lights. And, if I'm not mistaken, LED's hadn't been invented.
One of the better lights I used was made by British Ever Ready Electric Company (BEREC).
It took, if I recall correctly, two D batteries, which meant that it weighed a seeming ton. But it did provide a brighter and broader beam than most other lights available at that time. Plus, it came with hardware that allowed you to mount it in a variety of positions (including the built-in fork mounts found on most bikes sold in Great Britain at that time) and to remove it when you parked. The latter, of course, was a useful feature for commuters who had to leave their bikes in urban combat zones as well as for cycle-campers.
BEREC also made what was, for that time, a nice, if heavy and clunky, tail light:
At the time this light was made, the only available flashing tail light was the Belt Beacon. It was a great light, even by today's standards, but it was difficult to mount and rather flimsy. (I broke two before giving up on them.) On the other hand, the BEREC tail light, like the headlight, was solidly constructed and gave a good beam.
The other alternatives, in those days before halogen and LEDs, were Wonder battery lights as well as various generator-powered lamps. Wonder lights were bright, given the standards of the time, though not as bright as the BEREC lights. They also were much lighter and more streamlined. However, they took a battery that only Wonder made. If you were in France, that wouldn't be a problem, as it and the lights were made there and most shops in the country stocked them. However, their availability was more sporadic in the States, which meant the batteries were considerably more expensive than the D-size batteries that powered the BEREC lights.
The first pieces of bicycle electronics I recall seeing that didn't have to do with lighting were computers that measured distance, speed and, in some cases, cadence. They also measured the time elapsed on your ride. The first such computer, to my knowledge was marketed by CatEye in 1981.
Looking at it makes me think of the portable phones the Miami Vice cars. They are to today's "smart phones" as incandescent bulbs are to LEDs. But they, like this original Cateye and the Commodore personal computers, were the the highest technology of their time.
What I'd really like to see are LED head lamps with the style of 1890's carbide bike lights.
I think there'd be room in it someplace for a cycle-computer with all of the modern functions!
