When did freewheels become "standard"

I saw a recent movie set in the 1920's, and I noticed that
the postman rode a single speed with a freewheel. Were
freewheels used in the 1920's?

wrote:
I saw a recent movie set in the 1920's, and I noticed that
the postman rode a single speed with a freewheel. Were
freewheels used in the 1920's?

I'll assume you mean "freewheel" as opposed to "fixed gear"- meaning
that the rider could coast without pedaling. I don't have an exact
date, but the lever-drive high-wheel bikes of the early 1880's could
certainly freewheel.

The "conventional" format (chain drive with ratchet at the rear wheel)
probably came along with the rise of the safety in the 1890's- I found
a reference [1] to an "automatic coaster" introduced in 1896 by the
Eclipse Bicycle Co., ancestor of today's Bendix.

Jeff

[1] American Bicyclist & Motorcyclist 100th Anniversary edition, p.
160, published 1979.

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 14:07:23 GMT, wrote:

I saw a recent movie set in the 1920's, and I noticed that
the postman rode a single speed with a freewheel. Were
freewheels used in the 1920's?

If you mean a feature allowing the rider to coast without pedalling,
yes, though I can't say if it's the same as the modern screw-on
freewheel.

Freewheeling rear hubs with coaster brakes are in the 1908 Sears
catalog, and the text makes explicit reference to their having no
ratchets, cams or pawls to delay engagement when changing from one
mode of operation to the other. Most freewheels rely on a ratchet, so
there's a strong inference that ratchets as freewheels were in use in
Sears' competitors hubs...and Sears was disparaging them.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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wrote:

I saw a recent movie set in the 1920's, and I noticed that
the postman rode a single speed with a freewheel. Were
freewheels used in the 1920's?
Shimano was making them in the twenties.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Werehatrack wrote:

...
If you mean a feature allowing the rider to coast without pedalling,
yes, though I can't say if it's the same as the modern screw-on
freewheel....

I would hardly call freewheels modern - it has been years since high end
bikes went to cassettes/freehubs.

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

Werehatrack wrote:
If you mean a feature allowing the rider to coast without pedalling,
yes, though I can't say if it's the same as the modern screw-on
freewheel....

Tom Sherman wrote:
I would hardly call freewheels modern - it has been years since high end
bikes went to cassettes/freehubs.

OK.
But the bulk of new bikes ( Fury and their ilk) aren't
cassette because freewheels are still cheaper.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Tue, 04 Jan 2005 01:51:56 -0600, A Muzi
wrote:

Werehatrack wrote:
If you mean a feature allowing the rider to coast without pedalling,
yes, though I can't say if it's the same as the modern screw-on
freewheel....

Tom Sherman wrote:
I would hardly call freewheels modern - it has been years since high end
bikes went to cassettes/freehubs.

OK.
But the bulk of new bikes ( Fury and their ilk) aren't
cassette because freewheels are still cheaper.

And the "modern" appellation was used in this context because there
clearly were predecessors that would not have been compatible with the
more modern standard threaded hub.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Tom Sherman Wrote:
Werehatrack wrote:

...
If you mean a feature allowing the rider to coast without pedalling,
yes, though I can't say if it's the same as the modern screw-on
freewheel....

I would hardly call freewheels modern - it has been years since high
end
bikes went to cassettes/freehubs.

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

So there are no high end bmx bikes?


--
meb

Werehatrack wrote:
If you mean a feature allowing the rider to coast without pedalling,
yes, though I can't say if it's the same as the modern screw-on
freewheel....

Tom Sherman Wrote:
I would hardly call freewheels modern - it has been years since high
end
bikes went to cassettes/freehubs.

meb wrote:
So there are no high end bmx bikes?

As road bikes, many premium 20-inch use Profile (9t!!)
cassettes now.

You make a good point but it isn't categorical.
In fact, all kinds of cycles use both systems.

I think WTrack may have meant "I'm not sure if they have
always been this thread format" when he qualified with
'modern' and Tom went on from there.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

meb wrote:
Tom Sherman Wrote:

Werehatrack wrote:


...
If you mean a feature allowing the rider to coast without pedalling,
yes, though I can't say if it's the same as the modern screw-on
freewheel....

I would hardly call freewheels modern - it has been years since high
end
bikes went to cassettes/freehubs.

--
Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island


So there are no high end bmx bikes?

No, by definition.

Mark Janeba