Page 28 - PBCOctober2015

Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume12 No.2 October 2015 "28

Passing of time………..and friends

It is with regret that we once more mourn the loss of a club
member. Alan Eric Gibbons - Dr Faustus

Buzfuz informed me that Eric passed away in July at the grand
old age of 91. He had been a member of the Club since 1974,
enjoying the bonhomie of the club and encouraged his sons to
join as well.

A number of Pickwick members were present at the funeral
and Ben Allen said it was one of the best he has attended.

Ruminations…is it really new technology?

Our recent house move required an inordinate amount of turning out - according to Mrs
Winkle and sorting through old cycling magazines, I came across an April 1975 copy of
“The Centurion”, newsletter of the Century Road Club of America. A particularly
interesting item was about the Oval Chain Ring – the latest technology which we saw Sir
Bradley Wiggins using in his triumphant 2012 exploits.

This ‘new’ technology actually dates back to 1892 – when the earliest recorded event of
a bicycle with an elliptical ring (to give it it’s proper name) was clocked at 1m 56s for the
measured mile behind a pacer. The ‘oval’ have continued to appear at regular intervals
ever since, with the “Linley & Biggs” of England version in 1894, to the “Elan” French
version marketed by the Cyclo Gear Co. in the 1930s in both England & the USA. Also at
this time was the Belgian “Thetic” used by 6-day stars Albert Buysse & Albert Billiet
using a 1” pitch version to win the 1936 Brussels Six Day.
The editor of The Centurion (Dick Swann) recalls ‘many of the kids had at least a try
with the oval ring. Once you got used to the different pedalling style it felt quite normal,
until you changed back to the orthodox ring, when your pedalling became very jerky until
you got used to it again.’

Technology moves forward, but some things really are like the wheel –what goes around
comes around. Editor.