Vintage Bicycle Item Quiz
- Thread starter eDJ
- Start date
Yep, that's a real board track with real boardtrack/speedway racers running it.
The cost of building one of those today would certainly make it necessary to be
built inside a building.
I've wondered if they covered the board tracks back then with canvas tarps when
not in use or just mopped them with linseed oil and hoped for the best.
The cost of building one of those today would certainly make it necessary to be
built inside a building.
I've wondered if they covered the board tracks back then with canvas tarps when
not in use or just mopped them with linseed oil and hoped for the best.
I often wondered why they were called Board Trackers. I never would have imagined that it was because they actually raced on wood.
Imagine just how much fun that would be to do that, especially on a track as big as that one!
Imagine just how much fun that would be to do that, especially on a track as big as that one!
Wow, my bad ! There has been a flurry of them lately with what I've been posting. I'm
playing weed out now.
playing weed out now.
I was in the antique business better than 50 years with my Mom.One of the things I saved untill it was lost in a fire was a book called something like "My life as a board track racer" and it was printed I think in the very late 30s.
It was the main reason I always wanted to build a racer.
The main thing I remember was the man was standing there with out his shirt on.Not remarkable except he was covered in scars like he had lost the worst sword fight you could imagine.
The track boards were laid down as they came.When you look at a board, the grain has a sharp point in it.Some wood more than others.
When the bikes ran over the track enough times the wood delaminated and the grain lifted making a spear point,which when you hit it as you slid down the track on various body part was not good.The author said some slivers were one and half to two ft long and stuck up an inch or two
They make board track or velodromes for bicyles today.They were built before they put motors on bicycles.Board tracks just followed along as peoples tastes changed.
They would often have ten day bicycle races run in teams.Like the board track racers there were no brakes or gears.It was all direct drive.
Steve.
It was the main reason I always wanted to build a racer.
The main thing I remember was the man was standing there with out his shirt on.Not remarkable except he was covered in scars like he had lost the worst sword fight you could imagine.
The track boards were laid down as they came.When you look at a board, the grain has a sharp point in it.Some wood more than others.
When the bikes ran over the track enough times the wood delaminated and the grain lifted making a spear point,which when you hit it as you slid down the track on various body part was not good.The author said some slivers were one and half to two ft long and stuck up an inch or two
They make board track or velodromes for bicyles today.They were built before they put motors on bicycles.Board tracks just followed along as peoples tastes changed.
They would often have ten day bicycle races run in teams.Like the board track racers there were no brakes or gears.It was all direct drive.
Steve.
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Perhaps it's why the old Boardtrack Racer dressed in a manner that covered them
with as much leather as they could. Leather helments of the day were amazingly
strong too.
with as much leather as they could. Leather helments of the day were amazingly
strong too.
Attachments
found this eDJ. Very cool. BOARD TRACK RACING
One of the racers from 1919 at Sheepsbay; "In the final major race of the 1919 season, Burns earned the 100-mile national championship by edging out Ralph Hepburn by mere inches on the board track at Sheepshead Bay, New York."
Albert "Shrimp" Burns - Motorcycle Hall of Fame
One of the racers from 1919 at Sheepsbay; "In the final major race of the 1919 season, Burns earned the 100-mile national championship by edging out Ralph Hepburn by mere inches on the board track at Sheepshead Bay, New York."
Albert "Shrimp" Burns - Motorcycle Hall of Fame
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I'm wondering does anyone have the movie "Splinter Road? I have wanted to see it, but have not had the spare money to buy it, and I doubt it will ever see Satellite, or rentals.
Mike
Mike
ME TOO !
I'd loved to have seen him race. And that movie Motorbike Mike speaks of, it would be interesting
to see as well. "Splinter Road".
fasteddie's description of the book, "My life as a boardtrack racer" still intrigues me plenty.
When I was boy about 10 years old there was a centenial celebration in my town. My
Great Uncle was an old time country school teacher most of his life and was an avid collector of old books too. As he lived near the fair grounds where the centenial events and antique cars
were shown. We went over by his place after we visited the centenial show and there was a
guy dressed in a "duster" with this old old 1910 Ford Runabout parked in his driveway. Everything
about this guy was from an earlier America "Period". At that time I was puzzled by why a grown
man would choose to live so far in the past and why he'd be at Unk's. Uncle had placed an ad in the paper indicating he had loads of old books and magazines for sale from his collection. LOL, he never missed a shot at talking about vintage stuff either, thus it's why the guy in the antique car was there.
It's only been in the last few years that I can begin to understand and appreciate the interest in the
past with vintage stuff. But back in 1976 all I could think about was the Space Shuttle. I didn't
know of all the interesting stuff they did in the past then and how "interesting" people back then "could" be.
I'd loved to have seen him race. And that movie Motorbike Mike speaks of, it would be interesting
to see as well. "Splinter Road".
fasteddie's description of the book, "My life as a boardtrack racer" still intrigues me plenty.
When I was boy about 10 years old there was a centenial celebration in my town. My
Great Uncle was an old time country school teacher most of his life and was an avid collector of old books too. As he lived near the fair grounds where the centenial events and antique cars
were shown. We went over by his place after we visited the centenial show and there was a
guy dressed in a "duster" with this old old 1910 Ford Runabout parked in his driveway. Everything
about this guy was from an earlier America "Period". At that time I was puzzled by why a grown
man would choose to live so far in the past and why he'd be at Unk's. Uncle had placed an ad in the paper indicating he had loads of old books and magazines for sale from his collection. LOL, he never missed a shot at talking about vintage stuff either, thus it's why the guy in the antique car was there.
It's only been in the last few years that I can begin to understand and appreciate the interest in the
past with vintage stuff. But back in 1976 all I could think about was the Space Shuttle. I didn't
know of all the interesting stuff they did in the past then and how "interesting" people back then "could" be.
You're with your family at a Museum and while walking thru the vehicle displays
you see this one old exhibit. It notes the inventor who built it just after the
Civil War was an American. What's curious about it is that it's steam powered and uses
coal for fuel.
But it can't be a motor bike Right ? Everyone knows Gottlieb Damiler invented the first
motorized bike in Germany when he bolting one of Nicholas Otto's (father of today's four cycle
internal combusiton engines) motors onto the frame a wooden bicycle in 1885.
What have you stumbled on to here ?
you see this one old exhibit. It notes the inventor who built it just after the
Civil War was an American. What's curious about it is that it's steam powered and uses
coal for fuel.
But it can't be a motor bike Right ? Everyone knows Gottlieb Damiler invented the first
motorized bike in Germany when he bolting one of Nicholas Otto's (father of today's four cycle
internal combusiton engines) motors onto the frame a wooden bicycle in 1885.
What have you stumbled on to here ?
Attachments
eDJ--Wish I could have shown you the book. It was full of pictures and not much writing. It probably covered every track in the US.
Like your Uncle I was a collector of paper every thing. Sometimes it was the book/magazine or a pamphlet and sometimes just a picture that I wouldn't ruin a magazine for.
Another thing I lost and wanted to build was a dirt track racer that was in a 1936 Popular Science or Mechanics Illustrated. I had all 3 Months Copies.
All I needed was a 1923 Franklin frame.
One of the minor losses was about 250 gas station and car dealer ink blotters from the 30's to the 50's with pin up art on them.
Every one looked like the girl next door. Just not my door.
Steve.
Like your Uncle I was a collector of paper every thing. Sometimes it was the book/magazine or a pamphlet and sometimes just a picture that I wouldn't ruin a magazine for.
Another thing I lost and wanted to build was a dirt track racer that was in a 1936 Popular Science or Mechanics Illustrated. I had all 3 Months Copies.
All I needed was a 1923 Franklin frame.
One of the minor losses was about 250 gas station and car dealer ink blotters from the 30's to the 50's with pin up art on them.
Every one looked like the girl next door. Just not my door.
Steve.
Great thread! Any thoughts on or history of the first kits? Made to add to a bike. I keep thinking they were WW2 English. Am I wrong?
....And right you are ! The picture is of the original "Velocipede" arguably the
worlds first motorcycle. (although it didn't use an interenal combustion engine it was
a bit before they exhisted. Even Orville & Wilbur had to build their own engine for their Wright
Flier that they flew at Kitty Hawk)
Portrait of Sylvester Howard Roper in 1868 sitting on his light steam carriage. (bottom right)
Notice how similar the compartment Roper is sitting in is to Henry Ford's "Quadricycle". This is
about 7 years before Bell's telephone, nearly 20 years before Ford's Quadricycle and nearly 20
years before Marconi's Radio. The original steam powered automobile is often credited to Nicolas Joseph Cugnot of France in 1769. (at least a working concept of one) But the idea for steam
power for anything other that boats and trains traveled more slowly with inventors in those times
than it did by the late 1800's when communication utilities such as telegraph & telephone became
more widely used. Newspapers could get stories of happenings to print and circulate more readily
among the public once mass communication came into being and more minds were intrigued with
tinkering on inventions that would shape the future. Magazines such as Mechanics Illustrated,
Popular Mechanics, Modern Mechanics, and Popular Science became showcases for visions of the
future. (see below)
In this time in the American Experience individual inventors worked alone or in their small shops
with some other craftsmen who assisted with building the inventors projects. Within a few
decades though, the inventors, engineers, and craftsmen, would work for the corporations
that were emerging in the American Industrial Revolution. The photo in the question post above
was taken at the Smithsonian Institute where the Velocipede is now archived.
Roper's Velocipede was powered by a two cylinder steam engine. The link below is from Lindsay
Publication where a replication of it was built by one of their associates, and written up so
it could be sold at Lindsay.
Lindsay: Bob Jorgensen's Workshop
A better photo of the Velocipede
But as you can see some were rethinging the Boardtrack racer design in the early 20th century.
worlds first motorcycle. (although it didn't use an interenal combustion engine it was
a bit before they exhisted. Even Orville & Wilbur had to build their own engine for their Wright
Flier that they flew at Kitty Hawk)
Portrait of Sylvester Howard Roper in 1868 sitting on his light steam carriage. (bottom right)
Notice how similar the compartment Roper is sitting in is to Henry Ford's "Quadricycle". This is
about 7 years before Bell's telephone, nearly 20 years before Ford's Quadricycle and nearly 20
years before Marconi's Radio. The original steam powered automobile is often credited to Nicolas Joseph Cugnot of France in 1769. (at least a working concept of one) But the idea for steam
power for anything other that boats and trains traveled more slowly with inventors in those times
than it did by the late 1800's when communication utilities such as telegraph & telephone became
more widely used. Newspapers could get stories of happenings to print and circulate more readily
among the public once mass communication came into being and more minds were intrigued with
tinkering on inventions that would shape the future. Magazines such as Mechanics Illustrated,
Popular Mechanics, Modern Mechanics, and Popular Science became showcases for visions of the
future. (see below)
In this time in the American Experience individual inventors worked alone or in their small shops
with some other craftsmen who assisted with building the inventors projects. Within a few
decades though, the inventors, engineers, and craftsmen, would work for the corporations
that were emerging in the American Industrial Revolution. The photo in the question post above
was taken at the Smithsonian Institute where the Velocipede is now archived.
Roper's Velocipede was powered by a two cylinder steam engine. The link below is from Lindsay
Publication where a replication of it was built by one of their associates, and written up so
it could be sold at Lindsay.
Lindsay: Bob Jorgensen's Workshop
A better photo of the Velocipede
But as you can see some were rethinging the Boardtrack racer design in the early 20th century.
Attachments
Hi folks--Put"books on boardtrack motorcycle raceing" on Google and got lots of results.
One was a video of a 1920 board track race.
Try "early american board track raceing" on Google.It was on Cyril Huze blog.It's 10.32 min. long.
Take a look at the track they are raceing on!
Steve.
One was a video of a 1920 board track race.
Try "early american board track raceing" on Google.It was on Cyril Huze blog.It's 10.32 min. long.
Take a look at the track they are raceing on!
Steve.
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I'll definately have to look at that. Possibly buy a copy if it's affordable.
And it sounds like you found the book you were talking about too ?
And it sounds like you found the book you were talking about too ?