Memory, In This Light

Have you ever tried to describe something you owned or used in your past and, no matter how hard you try, nobody has any idea of what you're talking about?

It seems that the ones who might have owned or used it have no memory of it, and younger people can't imagine it or think you're making it up.  Or, if you're about my age, they think you're just "losing it".

That happened to me a while back.  On my way home from a ride, I stopped in a shop I'd never visited before.  I got to chatting with the owner, who showed me some parts and accessories he accumulated over the years.  They were commonplace when they came his way; now they're considered vintage.

Among those wares was a Japanese generator headlight from, probably, the 1960's.   It was shaped something like the "bullet" lamps that are becoming popular once again.  What was really interesting about it, though, was that it had two differently-sized bulbs and a switch at the top.  He explained that as you built up speed, you powered the smaller "low beam" and, when you got up to your "cruising speed", you flipped the switch to the larger "high beam" light.

That light triggered a memory from my childhood.  The old Royce-Union three-speed my grandfather bought for me about three years before I was tall enough to ride it (and, sadly, only a few months before he died) had a very similar generator headlamp.  Mine also had two lights, I explained, but the larger one was a fluorescent tube.  At slow speeds, you rode by the light of the smaller incandescent bulb, but as you got up to your "cruising altitude", if you will, you flicked the switch for the fluorescent light.

The shop's owner, who's older than I am, says he never saw such a thing and couldn't imagine it.  Still, I couldn't get it out of my mind.  So, I tried Googling all sorts of search terms, including "fluorescent bicycle light", "dual bicycle lights",  "bicycle generator light made in Japan",  "bicycle lights 1960's" and "bicycle lights 1970's", but came up empty.

I actually started to wonder whether I imagined it--or whether some shadowy operative implanted a fabricated memory into my mind to drive me crazy. (No, I'm not a conspiracy theorist; I just know that the world is against me! ;-)) Then a name started to float through my mind:  Kaddomax.  Could that have been the brand name?  I tried several permutations of the spelling, including "cadomax", "kadamax" and, finally, "Kadomax."  I hit paydirt with that last one:

Someone in Greece is selling a pristine set that includes the headlamp, generator and taillight--just as I remember them--in a box that seems only slightly shopworn.    The asking price:  $200, plus $35 for shipping from the Hellenic Republic.

I'd love to know how the seller got his/her hands on that set, and where it was kept for the past four decades.

Of course, were I to buy such a set--or even if I found one in less virginal condition--I would not use it on my daily commuter.  Today's LED lights are lighter in weight, and less complicated and finicky, than the older lights.  I know that LEDs can be made to work with generators, but if I wanted a generator for my daily rider, I'd go with a modern one, as it would be more efficient.

But if I had some restoration project, or simply wanted to put together something unique, I'd buy the Kadomax. Heck, it's tempting, just for the memories it would evoke and preserve.

Making Our Heads Spin

I try not to repeat what other bloggers have already written.  But I simply can’t help myself (Well, I could, but it’s easier and more fun not to!) from talking about something The Retrogrouch noted: leather hairnets are coming back.

 

If you’re of a certain age, you remember them.  You may have even ridden one.  They are lattices, usually black, that look like pie toppings made out of leather (at least they were back in the day).  And they offer just about as much protection in a crash. 

 

For years, I owned one but never used it.  When I first became a dedicated cyclist—during the ‘70’s Bike Boom—it was pretty much the only kind of headgear, aside from caps, available for cyclists.  A few riders wore other kinds of helmets designed for ice hockey (which professional hockey players weren’t wearing) and other sports, or for construction.  But most of us didn’t wear any head protection (except for a cap) because those helmets were bulky, cumbersome or poorly ventilated and, even though many of us had “leather hairnets”, most of us didn’t think they would protect us in any meaningful way.

The original Bell Biker ("turtle shell") helmet, 1975

Not long after Bell introduced its “turtle shell” helmet, another company began to market something called the “Skid Lid”.  It looked like someone constructed a “leather hairnet" out of foam-lined plastic and removed the lid.  It may still be the best-ventilated hardshell helmet ever made, but as Retrogrouch notes, it probably wouldn’t protect you from anything more intense than a skid.

Skid Lid helmet, circa 1978

The first hardshell helmet I used regularly was the Bell V-1 Pro, which came out during the mid-80’s.  It tried to mimic the styling of the “leather hairnet”, but nobody was fooled.  At least it offered meaningful protection and was lighter and better-ventilated than Bell’s (and other companies’) earlier offerings.

Bell V1 Pro helmet, circa 1985: the first helmet I wore regularly (yes, in this color--don't you just love it?)

Now, it seems that some company in Taiwan is offering "leather hairnets", not only in classic black, but in a variety of neon hues and patterns as well as the tricolore and tricolori of the French and Italian flags. They're listed as "SPIN--Foldable Vintage crash hat", which may be just a very bad translation of something. It seems that someone’s idea of “retro” means combining the worst of two earlier eras:  the pre-Bike Boom days and the ‘80’s.  I fully expect they’ll be a hit with the wannabe hipsters!  Maybe those who have taste, or simply money or pretention, will buy the “authentic reproductions” Brooks will be offering.

"SPIN Foldable Vintage Crash Hat"

 Note:  “Leather hairnets” are very similar to headgear worn by American football players before World War II.  Some of us thought that Gerald Ford was, well, Gerald Ford because he wore one when he played college football during the 1930’s.

Pre-war American football helmet

 

This Liberia Might Help Liberia

If you've been following this blog, you know that I'm interested in (and ride a few) vintage bikes, parts and accessories---in part because some of the stuff I rode in my youth (and even later!) is considered "vintage" now!

Anyway, if you pay attention to really vintage bikes (i.e., ones made before I was born!), you know that some bike-makers got creative with their parts, some of which they manufactured themselves.  Among them are the chainrings on cottered steel cranksets, which sometimes had interesting designs or the name of the bike manufacturer.

Here's one that's on eBay now:

 

Turns out, Liberia was a brand of bicycles made by Grenoble-based Manufacture Francaise Cycles (MFC), starting in 1918.  In MFC's early days, they also made motorcycles that bore the same name as the velos.

MFC founder Antoine Biboud was a keen cyclist (Why wouldn't he be in that part of the world?  Trust me:  I've ridden there!) who insisted on strict quality control.  Even his lowest-priced models had carefully-mitered tubes and carefully filed lugs.  His insistence on quality might be one reasons neither he nor his kids (who inherited the company and ran it for the rest of its history) ever tried to sell his bikes much beyond the Rhone-Alpes region of southeastern France. 

Biboud's motto translated roughly to "Don't follow the peloton, lead it!"  He passed it on to the teams his company sponsored during the two decades after World War II.  One of its riders, Henri Anglade, was the French national champion in 1959; other Libera riders took various honors in the Tour de France and other races.

After a two-decade absence from the peloton, Liberia teamed up with Mavic in 1988 to co-sponsor the RMO team, which featured such riders as Richard Virenque and the Madiot brothers.  Unfortunately, the successes of these cyclists weren't enough to buoy the company's fortunes. So, by the mid-1990's, Liberia, like many other mainly-regional French bike makers (and some national and international ones like Mercier) fell victim to the rising tide of Taiwanese bikes.

Even though I've seen a few Liberia bikes, I can't help but to think about the African country with that name.  And, someone who doesn't know much about cycling history might, at this point, be put off by the name, what with the Ebola virus.  

At least the seller, Reperagevelo, is a part of Repareges, a French non-profit that sends bicycles to Burkina Faso and Mali to provide much-needed transportation, as well as jobs and other help for disabled people.