Nabeaquam
BoTM Winner
Was he a king, like Ethel Red the Unhip or Knut the Boneless?
Rewriting Mountain Bike History?
- Thread starter GrahamJohnWallace
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MattiThundrrr
Kona Fan
Hi. Canada here. We've been building rugged bikes for a few years, probably did a little bit of racing too, eh?
'"Out to the bush" whenever you feel like it!'
1930 CCM advertisement
'"Out to the bush" whenever you feel like it!'
1930 CCM advertisement
Everything about this advert is wonderful, 'Lead the regular fellows...' , 'snappy new 1930 models', and especially the word "Bike" in quotation marks. It might catch on.
Just had a look at https://confreriedes650.org/la-confrerie/historique/ - who I assume have a fair amount of knowledge, anyhow, here is a section which peaked my interest (translation to English):
"Alas, for low commercial reasons, in competition with the much more demanded 700C, a rewarding image of racing, and 26 inches of mountain biking, with an adventurous connotation, the 650B was in the mid-1970s pushed towards the exit and towards a disappearance. which some called for."
Reading this, it just seems a bit odd why anyone would even start fiddling with 650B in the late 1970s when the writing apparently was on the wall. Perhaps I'm making 2 + 2 = 5 and/or simplifying history. Thought I would share it all the same.
"Alas, for low commercial reasons, in competition with the much more demanded 700C, a rewarding image of racing, and 26 inches of mountain biking, with an adventurous connotation, the 650B was in the mid-1970s pushed towards the exit and towards a disappearance. which some called for."
Reading this, it just seems a bit odd why anyone would even start fiddling with 650B in the late 1970s when the writing apparently was on the wall. Perhaps I'm making 2 + 2 = 5 and/or simplifying history. Thought I would share it all the same.
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"and 26 inches of mountain biking" must refer to the mid 1980s when US mountain bikes first appeared in Europe. Though maybe the 1990s when 26 inch wheeled mountain bike trend took off in Europe and 26" became more commonplace.
"the 650B was in the mid-1970s pushed towards the exit and towards a disappearance." I suspect that this refers to the mid 1970s popularity of 700c ten speed racing bikes. As far as I am aware, in the mid 1970s and 80s, 650b was remained a popular size in France and elsewhere for tandems, randonneur, utility, and probably children's bikes?
It is however possible that by the mid 1970s there had been big improvements to the poorly maintained roads of the post WWII era. If so, 35-40mm wide 650b balloon tyres may have no longer been the best option for the long distances randonneur riders .
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It's an interesting statement.
I guess a more complete factual answer would be scanning catalogues to see when the 650B was dropped. A very very quick none-exhaustive look says Peugeot's last serious 650B Randonneur for men was in 1978. Interestingly shown alongside a 700C tourer.
https://bikeboompeugeot.com/Brochures France/Peugeot 1978 France Brochure/Peugeot_1978_French_Catalog_Gentlemen_Randonneurs_BikeBoomPeugeot.JPG
I'd imagine the 650B was dropped much earlier for export models. A Mavic or Rigida catalogue would be interesting to find.
EDIT: Reading this, there seems a lot of bullshit said at the Ritchey stand
https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-ge...the-650b-godfather-revolution-and-650b-sales/
I guess a more complete factual answer would be scanning catalogues to see when the 650B was dropped. A very very quick none-exhaustive look says Peugeot's last serious 650B Randonneur for men was in 1978. Interestingly shown alongside a 700C tourer.
https://bikeboompeugeot.com/Brochures France/Peugeot 1978 France Brochure/Peugeot_1978_French_Catalog_Gentlemen_Randonneurs_BikeBoomPeugeot.JPG
I'd imagine the 650B was dropped much earlier for export models. A Mavic or Rigida catalogue would be interesting to find.
EDIT: Reading this, there seems a lot of bullshit said at the Ritchey stand
https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-ge...the-650b-godfather-revolution-and-650b-sales/
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Frankenorange
Orange 🍊 Fan
It's an interesting statement.
I guess a more complete factual answer would be scanning catalogues to see when the 650B was dropped. A very very quick none-exhaustive look says Peugeot's last serious 650B Randonneur for men was in 1978. Interestingly shown alongside a 700C tourer.
https://bikeboompeugeot.com/Brochures France/Peugeot 1978 France Brochure/Peugeot_1978_French_Catalog_Gentlemen_Randonneurs_BikeBoomPeugeot.JPG
I'd imagine the 650B was dropped much earlier for export models. A Mavic or Rigida catalogue would be interesting to find.
EDIT: Reading this, there seems a lot of bullshit said at the Ritchey stand
https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-ge...the-650b-godfather-revolution-and-650b-sales/
This godfather of mtb and wheelsize crap is so fecking boring. Whoop-ee do a man put 650b wheels into a cyclocross frame and used some flat bars to steer it. As for the russians buying up the worlds supply of 650b.....well i call bullsh!t.
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These were Hakkapeliitta winter snow and ice tyres were made in Finland not used there or produced all year round. When stocks ran out, buyers would have to wait until next winter's batch had been made. Just like with studded car ice tyres, they are normally only fitted in winter and not well suited to use on metaled roads.
The widest 650x54B Hakkapeliitta variants were specifically made for the Jaeger Brigade cycle/ski regiments of the Finnish Army. These heavily treaded, studded tyres, were used by specialist artic-warfare troops when the snow conditions were patchy and not well suited to ski use. They were intended for guerrilla warfare operations against the Russians in the vast expanse of the Finnish pine forests. It is highly unlikely that the Finns would have sold these tyres to their Russian enemies.
It is well documented that Geoff Apps was sending these tyres to Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly in the early 1980s. A handful of Californian frame=builders made frames to fit them including Ritchey. It is not clear that any of these frame-builders were ever told where the tyres came from, though Joe Breeze knew.
Photos of Finnish army bikes taken in the summer, usually show them fitted with much smoother balloon tyres and never with Hakkapeliittas.
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I looked at a Richmond Cycles' catalogue from 1983 and the only 650b rim listed was the Model 58 Super Champion, and not one of the six Mavic rim types listed was 650b. The size is listed as being for touring and tandem use.
A 1985 Ron Kitching catalogue lists both the Model 58 Super Champion rim and a stronger box-section Module 4 rim from Mavic.
This chronology is as I remember with new improved products from Mavic appearing on the UK market in the mid 1980s. Later on, around 1986 Mavic introduced a narrower Module 3 rim.
These catalogues imply that 560B was still popular for tandems and heavy touring bikes in the 1980s. Probably because the smaller size made for stronger wheels than either 27" or 700C and wider tyres being available. Also, these fatter tyres could absorb shocks better and so were likely to give a more comfortable ride than their narrower counterparts.
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The TV series "Mobile 101", whilst focusing mainly on the mobile phone, gives an insight into Finnish international trade and Nokia corporate culture:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14956742/
You can watch it on Channel Four:
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/mobile-101/on-demand/75563-001
Here is a screen shot from the opening credits:
After WW2 Finland had to pay $300 million (1938 prices) war reparations to the Soviet Union. Nokia alone contributed 25% of this total by selling the Soviets cable they used for their electrification expansion programme. This relationship with the Soviets excluded Finland from the Marshall plan.
In the Cold War Finland was neutral. This delicate balance meant they traded with both the West and the USSR. Trade with the Soviet Union accounted for 15-25% of Finland's total foreign trade. They swapped goods (lots of Soviet oil) rather than hard cash.
See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_trade_of_the_Soviet_Union#External_linkshttps://www.researchgate.net/public..._behind_the_Finnish_miracle_the_rise_of_Nokia
Back to bicycle tyres...
In the 1980s Nokia made all the studded winter bicycle tyres in the world.
"In one advertising blitz, residents of Stockholm and Oslo were given a business trivia quiz:
What company brought electricity to 350 Egyptian villages, makes the most toilet paper in Ireland, and provides all the studded winter bicycle tyres in the world?
The company was not Swedish, German, or Japanese. It was Oy Nokia."
See:
Page 53, The Nokia Revolution, The Story of an Extraordinary Company that Transformed an Industry, Dan Steinbock, 2001
Military bicycles
As mentioned in previous posts the 650b tyre size was used successfully by the Finnish military Jaeger Companies:
The Military History of the Bicycle: The Forgotten War Machine, John Norris
More great pictures here:
https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/finnish-military-bicycle-refurbished-surplus/73497(Nokia branded road tyres as GJW notes above)
By contrast the Soviet military did not have a bicycle infantry by the time of WW2. Bicycles were mainly used by scouts and signal corps messengers.
"Bicycles didn’t enjoy as much popularity in the Red Army during World War II, as in the Wehrmacht or the Finnish armed forces. In the course of the military confrontation, which was a heavy burden for the USSR, the Soviet industry couldn’t afford their mass production. So, bicycle supplies largely came to the country as part of war trophies."
https://www.rbth.com/history/335426-who-did-russian-bicycle-troops
After the war the Soviets made literally millions (30 million until collapse of USSR) of bicycles, many of them roadsters patterned after a WW1 German bike, a lot of them in the Ukrainain Kharkiv factory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_(bicycle)
These roadsters mainly had a 28" wheel size:
"Interestingly, although size 28" wheels remained dominant in bikes throughout the Soviet period until the end of the 1980s, there were frequent attempts to produce women’s bikes with 26" wheels in the 1950s (apparently by the example of Mifa reparation bicycles). However, this wheel size was discarded in the 1960s, and due to lack of tyres, people eventually stopped using such bikes or got rid of them."
https://www.velomuseum.ee/en/1950
Example roadster with 28 x 1 3/4 tyres:
Bicycle HVZ "Ukraine" B-120. The first model of the post-war series "Ukraine", 1964 Catalogue.
See: https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site/avtoexport_-_soviet_bicycles_1964_scan_33.html
And: https://vplate.ru/velosiped/brendy/ukraina/
Summary:
In the 1980's Nokia made all the world's studded bike tyres.
During the cold war the Finns, including Nokia, traded a lot with the Soviets.
The Soviet military in WW2 did not have bicycle infantry, but did use bikes mainly in Signal Corps.
After WW2 the Soviets made millions of roadsters that would have fitted the 28" Nokia Hakka tyres and were widely used throughout the USSR.
Back to today...
Saddly no more studded bicycle tyres from Finland:
See: https://yle.fi/a/74-20027697
Given that the TV series 'Mobile 101' focuses on the Americans suing the Finns over alleged patent infringment - if Nokia were American would they have sued Bruce Gordon over his Rock'n'Road tyre?
In this video Bruce Gordon talks about copying the Nokia Hakka tyre:
Joe Murray and his Rock 'n' Road tyre drawing
https://www.cxmagazine.com/bruce-gordon-rock-n-road-700c-tire-nahbs-2012
If you enjoy 'Mobile 101' they are making series two...
and thanks if you made it this far!
https://www.nokiantyres.com/company/hakkapeliitta-80-years/historia/1960/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14956742/
You can watch it on Channel Four:
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/mobile-101/on-demand/75563-001
Here is a screen shot from the opening credits:
After WW2 Finland had to pay $300 million (1938 prices) war reparations to the Soviet Union. Nokia alone contributed 25% of this total by selling the Soviets cable they used for their electrification expansion programme. This relationship with the Soviets excluded Finland from the Marshall plan.
In the Cold War Finland was neutral. This delicate balance meant they traded with both the West and the USSR. Trade with the Soviet Union accounted for 15-25% of Finland's total foreign trade. They swapped goods (lots of Soviet oil) rather than hard cash.
See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_trade_of_the_Soviet_Union#External_linkshttps://www.researchgate.net/public..._behind_the_Finnish_miracle_the_rise_of_Nokia
Back to bicycle tyres...
In the 1980s Nokia made all the studded winter bicycle tyres in the world.
"In one advertising blitz, residents of Stockholm and Oslo were given a business trivia quiz:
What company brought electricity to 350 Egyptian villages, makes the most toilet paper in Ireland, and provides all the studded winter bicycle tyres in the world?
The company was not Swedish, German, or Japanese. It was Oy Nokia."
See:
Page 53, The Nokia Revolution, The Story of an Extraordinary Company that Transformed an Industry, Dan Steinbock, 2001
Military bicycles
As mentioned in previous posts the 650b tyre size was used successfully by the Finnish military Jaeger Companies:
The Military History of the Bicycle: The Forgotten War Machine, John Norris
More great pictures here:
https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/finnish-military-bicycle-refurbished-surplus/73497(Nokia branded road tyres as GJW notes above)
By contrast the Soviet military did not have a bicycle infantry by the time of WW2. Bicycles were mainly used by scouts and signal corps messengers.
"Bicycles didn’t enjoy as much popularity in the Red Army during World War II, as in the Wehrmacht or the Finnish armed forces. In the course of the military confrontation, which was a heavy burden for the USSR, the Soviet industry couldn’t afford their mass production. So, bicycle supplies largely came to the country as part of war trophies."
https://www.rbth.com/history/335426-who-did-russian-bicycle-troops
After the war the Soviets made literally millions (30 million until collapse of USSR) of bicycles, many of them roadsters patterned after a WW1 German bike, a lot of them in the Ukrainain Kharkiv factory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_(bicycle)
These roadsters mainly had a 28" wheel size:
"Interestingly, although size 28" wheels remained dominant in bikes throughout the Soviet period until the end of the 1980s, there were frequent attempts to produce women’s bikes with 26" wheels in the 1950s (apparently by the example of Mifa reparation bicycles). However, this wheel size was discarded in the 1960s, and due to lack of tyres, people eventually stopped using such bikes or got rid of them."
https://www.velomuseum.ee/en/1950
Example roadster with 28 x 1 3/4 tyres:
Bicycle HVZ "Ukraine" B-120. The first model of the post-war series "Ukraine", 1964 Catalogue.
See: https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site/avtoexport_-_soviet_bicycles_1964_scan_33.html
And: https://vplate.ru/velosiped/brendy/ukraina/
Summary:
In the 1980's Nokia made all the world's studded bike tyres.
During the cold war the Finns, including Nokia, traded a lot with the Soviets.
The Soviet military in WW2 did not have bicycle infantry, but did use bikes mainly in Signal Corps.
After WW2 the Soviets made millions of roadsters that would have fitted the 28" Nokia Hakka tyres and were widely used throughout the USSR.
Back to today...
Saddly no more studded bicycle tyres from Finland:
See: https://yle.fi/a/74-20027697
Given that the TV series 'Mobile 101' focuses on the Americans suing the Finns over alleged patent infringment - if Nokia were American would they have sued Bruce Gordon over his Rock'n'Road tyre?
In this video Bruce Gordon talks about copying the Nokia Hakka tyre:
Joe Murray and his Rock 'n' Road tyre drawing
https://www.cxmagazine.com/bruce-gordon-rock-n-road-700c-tire-nahbs-2012
If you enjoy 'Mobile 101' they are making series two...
and thanks if you made it this far!
https://www.nokiantyres.com/company/hakkapeliitta-80-years/historia/1960/
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