Gripshift is an interesting one. I think anyone who had used a Sturmey Archer 3 speed twist grip would say 'don't bother' rather than 'need a good 6/7/etc speed version'.
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CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Made in Scotland(?)
(74 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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Actually, I had the Sturmey twist grip on my Grifter, and I thought it was perfectly good, back in the day. A friend had a Sturmey trigger which I found hard to use. The twist grip made it easier to find that neutral position of the hub, somewhere between blue and yellow, if I remember right?
But when my last mtb came new with mid-90s Gripshift, when Gripshift was suddenly all the rage, I couldn't wait to get rid of it. Too loud and clacky, too hard to twist. But the mountain bikers liked the neatness and invulnerability of the product, and it certainly improved when Sram redesigned it for their own 1:1 ratio derailleurs.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Bikes are also tricky to be completely innovative in, as everything is so inter compatible. There is only really one design of rear derailleur nowadays, they're all dropped angled-parallelogram twin-pulley designs, which fit to a standard 10x1mm dropout hole and have either a 1/1 or 2/1 actuation ratio (and even that 1/1 was a brave move that only worked once SRAM got big enough to be able to offer complete group sets that manuafcturers would actually specify OEM).
When new derailleur designs did come about - and there have been several which are quite a bit better than the current design - they failed because they needed different frame fittings so no manufacturer would specify them.
Posted 12 years ago # -
"I had the Sturmey twist grip on my Grifter, and I thought it was perfectly good"
Maybe my experience was with worn out ones - and losing the tiny ball bearing.
I know what you mean about the GS click - better than a bell some times...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Hello all
My names Nick and I make Paper Bicycles, here in Scotland. Its true that the frames are welded in Taiwan, but the bicycle is made here.
The components that go towards the bicycle come from all over the place; cranks are from Portugal, mudguards from France, handlebars from Germany, kickstand from Newcastle, wheels from Birmingham, and so on. The significant component in peoples minds is the frame, but it represents about 10% of the manufactured value of a Paper Bicycle, and is not even the most expensive component.
By making bicycles here, I don't need to guess what people want but rather built bicycles only after they have an owner. This allows people to get exactly the bicycle they want, and it allows me to respond quickly. Its also much easier to keep a close eye on build quality, and for a small firm like mine its easier to manage my cashflow.
I also licence these frames for use in City rental schemes, because of the numbers involved (typically 1,000 bicycles at a time) these are made in Germany by Panther.
For me I'm more interested in how a bicycle is made rather than where it is made. Was it built on a stand or a conveyor belt, was it assembled in house or outsourced, and was it made before or after it had a final owner? What's appropriate depends on circumstance, but I build my bicycles in house on a work stand to order.
I hope this was helpful.
Nick
t: 01560 600 369 m:+447 981 339 215
http://www.Simple-City.com
http://www.paper-bicycle.com
http://www.CarryFreedom.comSimple City, High Clunch Farm, Stewarton, Ayrshire, KA3 5JT, UK.
Posted 12 years ago # -
gosh, I think the forum just grew up :)
Posted 12 years ago # -
'tis a nice thoughtful post from Nick of Simple City. Orignal area of doubt about where the Paper Bike is built is perhaps linked to the one-off bespoke ones in your favourite colour get built in Glasgow [from the map of the factory tho Stewarton is in Ayrshire land close to Lugton and Dunlop, The Parrafin Lamp has a new name and Jenny A'Things is no more.] Whereas the fleet bikes have a Swiss angle. THus the simple and economical website states 'some of them built in Scotland' [or words to that effect]. I found the following in the spec
Ergonomics
This is an outline of the dimensions of the bicycle to help you decide how well it will fit.
This is no substitute for test riding the bicycle, but it should help.Frame size:
Max leg length:
Min leg length:
Max rider weight:
46cm from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube.
95cm inside leg
70cm inside leg
110kg (tall people), 130kg (short people)
Hasn't quite copied right but you can see the bike is able to accept heavier, shorter people [possibly to do with the long seat post? I don't know but nice that short people get the option of weighing more]
Posted 12 years ago # -
Nick,
I ordered a lollypop hitch from you in December and it's been working really well with with the kid trailer 4 times a week since then. Usually it's on a Pashley but I've also got a tow bar on a Brompton.
I'm working on the memsahib with a view to getting a Y frame but I don't want to have two different hitches on the go so I wondered if you are supplying Ys with the lollypop now or do they still come with the metal hitch?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Nice to see Nick on here! I attended a 'build your own bike trailer' workshop down in Leith last year, run by Nick using the Bamboo trailer design. Great fun, and I still use the trailer for lugging larger and heavier loads around the place.
As some of you may know from previous threads, I'm now the proud owner of a Carry Freedom Y-Frame Small trailer. Tried out a Paper Bike at the Leith Festival last summer, the Bike Station had some. Very nice bike, if I was going to take the plunge it would have to be the 8-speed with a rear rack option.....maybe when I have another 'n+1' moment! Need an 'n+1' storage option sorted out first mind.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@wee folding bike: Mine came with the lollipop hitch.
Posted 12 years ago # -
This site might inspire some thought -
http://www.cunninghambikes.com/innovation/design.html
http://www.cunninghambikes.com/innovation/licensing.html
But there are quite a few bits/photos missing -
"
Welcome to CunninghamBikes. This site was put developed with the goal of creating a single, comprehensive source of information about Charlie Cunningham and his amazing contributions to cycling.
As the author and maintainer of the site, I want to apologize for the long downtime. A system upgrade wiped the back-end database clean and I have been scrambling to rebuild in my spare time. I am soft-launching now and will be adding a ton of content in the next few weeks. Visit often and enjoy.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions or comments. Thank you! noah@cunninghambikes.com
"
Posted 12 years ago # -
Posted 12 years ago #
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There was also a car industry - in Edinburgh -
The office block and (for the time being) the factory building are still there. In the name of progress they would like to flatten the former and put up some tiny little identikit mcapartments in place of it.
110 years ago, the electric car seemed like the future in Edinburgh. Perhaps in another 110 years it will be?
Posted 12 years ago # -
@ wee folding bike
All the Carry Freedom trailers are shipping with Lollypop hitches now.I'm terrible at updating my web site, so from that it would appear the trailers are still shipping with the original universal joint hitch.
Regards
Nick
Posted 12 years ago # -
kaputnik, that's fascinating - I had no idea that's there. When I'm not messing about with bikes, I photograph derelict buildings...
PS Hi Nick ;-)
Posted 12 years ago # -
@Benkinetics likewise - I try at least once a week at least to photograph something interesting and forgotten about Edinburgh's industrial past. Tonight I found a United Fireclay Products brick in remains of Woodhall Mill in Juniper Green. That's a new one for the collection!
Posted 12 years ago # -
I'm setting myself an Art Deco Edinburgh photo task...
Posted 12 years ago # -
I'm rubbish at photographing anything that isn't close up :/ otherwise I'd photograph more than bits of old signs and bricks and rails!
Posted 12 years ago # -
@ruggtomcat: yup, that's the winner.
@BenKinetics, @Simple City and everyone else:
Thanks for contributing to a great discussion!Posted 12 years ago # -
Bike Show Olympia 2009
Posted 12 years ago # -
"
Author Rob Penn travels around the world collecting hand-built parts for his dream bicycle and charts the social history of one of mankind's greatest inventions.
"
Repeat on nowPosted 12 years ago # -
I am just about to embark on the last leg of making a batch of 70 Paper Bicycles for a New York customer.
I thought it might be nice/interesting to photo and blog the ebb and flow of production to give an insight into the creation of a bicycle.
I will be posting things as they happen here:
http://www.simple-city.com/blog/ Probably something every day, but my past record for consistent blog posts is really poor, so we shall see.Regards
Nick
Posted 12 years ago # -
Every day sounds good.
Start as you mean to go on...
Posted 12 years ago # -
Happy working Nick. Would be interesting to see the photo blog.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Right, thats day one up. No photos yet as Flickr is being slow this evening, photos will be here http://www.flickr.com/photos/simple-city/
Posted 12 years ago # -
Is there anywhere in Edinburgh where people can try out a Paper Bicycle? The Paper Bicycle site lists the Bike Station as a dealer but when I asked someone from the Bike Station about this they doubted that it was accurate and said that they didn't sell new bikes; and their website doesn't mention this arrangement either.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Related thread - http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=2942
Posted 12 years ago # -
@cc The Bike Station had some demonstration models last year at their stand at the Leith Gala Day, I had a ride on one. I think it was part of an initiative to promote cycling in general, which was a bit confusing because I associate them with recycled bikes. I assume they still have the Paper bicycles, even if they are not selling them, unless they've given them to someone or an organisation. A pity the person you spoke to does not know about this!
Posted 12 years ago # -
@cc Yup, The Bike Station does have ten Paper Bicycles, for general cycle promotion, but they don't have plans to sell them.
Nick
Posted 12 years ago # -
Hey Simple City
Will be dropping you an email this evening to see if you fancy a wee spot in the next issue of citycycling.co.uk :)
I think this is a nice idea - pondering whether I have time before going online with issue 4 next week to see if I can get a shot on one of the Bike Station bikes. Probably not, but you never know...
Posted 12 years ago #
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