So you want a Charlie Cunningham Indian #1

[legrandefromage]

Looks in garage - not one specialized in there at the mo. Nope. Nowt from taiwan at present.

If this was built outside the US would it still generate the same interest though. Nowt snobby going on there.


Infact whenever weld comments are banded about that gets my teeth on edge as there's many a reason why that's irrelavent. If the bike was presented a bit better maybe..

Now, back to restoring some 1977 Bose 501 speakers

Edit no 2 - don't tar me with same ******* brush - no weld commenter am I! Nor snobby - its a peice of US mtb history but of little relevance to the rest of the world as so few were produced. So don't snap at those who simply see it for what it is.

 

[legrandefromage]

Wouldn't it bebetter to educate rather than consistantly berate? Maybe that would be time better spent

 

[Russell]

Looks in garage - not one specialized in there at the mo. Nope. Nowt from taiwan at present.

If this was built outside the US would it still generate the same interest though. Nowt snobby going on there.


Infact whenever weld comments are banded about that gets my teeth on edge as there's many a reason why that's irrelavent. If the bike was presented a bit better maybe..

Now, back to restoring some 1977 Bose 501 speakers

Edit no 2 - don't tar me with same **** brush - no weld commenter am I! Nor snobby - its a peice of US mtb history but of little relevance to the rest of the world as so few were produced. So don't snap at those who simply see it for what it is.

When you looked in your garage, did you see your beloved zaskar?

Ever wonder who pioneered the use of 6061 for mtbs?

Ever stop to think if your zaskar would even exist if Cunningham hadn't been badly welding frames together back in the 70s?

Irrelevant? Hardly, every single quality aluminium bike can trace its heritage to Cunninghams work.

 

[Dr S]

Its so much more than the frame material too. Look at a Cunningham compared to other contempory bikes and you will see so much innovation that we now take for granted...

Oversized thin wall tubing.

Geometry to suit off road riding rather than the slack 'Schwinn' inspired geo or geo nabbed from road bikes.

More compact sizings with longer oversized, stronger seatposts (ok this example is a bit of a gate, but most were smaller with generous standover). Most contempory bikes were built big because off the shelf seatposts were for road use and thus rather short.

Wide spaced bottom brackets with sealed bearings. Allowed greater tyre clearances and better chain line.

Grease port hubs and headsets.

Sophisticated braking systems that were far superior to anything else at the time.

135mm rear hub spacings for a stronger rear wheel.

All Cunningham firsts (and I'm sure there are others that I have missed). Look beyond the aesthetics and you will see bikes brimming with innovation. Innovations that shaped the modern mountain bike.

 

[Radoslaw]

I'll just add heat treating process to all that list, proudly presented on my Zaskar's decal Well, it wasn’t his invention but he’s been first by using this technology on alu tubes.

 

[john]

Wonder how high this will go. Assume those interested in this sort of thing have already satisfied themselves as to the provenance of this machine with the seller or Charlie C himself?

 

[Drencrom]

Geometry to suit off road riding rather than the slack 'Schwinn' inspired geo or geo nabbed from road bikes.

More compact sizings with longer oversized, stronger seatposts (ok this example is a bit of a gate, but most were smaller with generous standover). Most contempory bikes were built big because off the shelf seatposts were for road use and thus rather short.

Maybe that is part of the issue here.

 

[yeti-man]

If this had been built anywhere outside the US, I doubt if there would be as much interest.

bullseye!

 

[yeti-man]

Re: welds

at the risk of getting banned,because so many of you lick his ass,them welds look crap :?

Bullseye + the whole bike is plane ugly regardless of what it is. A Breezer first series is a diamond - this is not even an unshaped diamond

 

[Radoslaw]

Yeah. That diamond weight 40 lbs. Cunningham came up with with shocking 24-ish lbs bike, which is rather great result even by today standards.

Now, try do uphill with Breezer 1-st series and Cunningham bike. I'm not trying depreciate Breezer but this deserves respect in History of MTB along with 1-st series.