FOLDING BICYCLE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 94, 28 July 1944, Page 5

FOLDING BICYCLE

B.S.A. PARATROOPER'S MACHINE EXHIBITION MODEL AT , WHITTLE'S Townspeople of Whakatane havebeen interested to see during the past few clays, a strange type of bicycle standing at the doroway of Whittle's cycle shop at the top of the Strand. It has an oval shaped frame made of double curved tube?* and in the centre of the two maim bars are two large wing nuts. Further enquiries have elicited the information that it is a 8.,5.A. Para-i trooper's cycle., used exclusively by Allied parachute troops. The two wing nuts unscrew, and allow the bicycle to be folded in half and Avhe.n in this position, it could be placed in the back seat of a car with ease.

It was in the autumn of 1941 when, the War Office made an enquiry for o folding bicycle for the use of parachutists. The specifications were that it was to be no more than 231bs in weight and a guarantee had to be given that it would run at least 50 miles over any type of ground without 'packing up' on the rider. It also had to be capable of being dropped by a parachute (the equivalent of an ordinary drop of abouti 20ft).

B.S.A. were satisfied that the standard diamond frame type of bicycle was too heavy - As a '.result of repeated experiments, they succeeded in evolving an. unorthodox machine for the purpose: the eliptical bicycle. The frame of this bicycles was equal in strength to the diamond. type but its weight was only 4%lbs as against 81bs for the diamond type.

Not merely content delivering a "blue-print" machine, B.S.A. also tested it thoroughly on their motor cycling test track consisting of loose ashes and a test hill with a gradient of one in four. A 15stone rider did 18 miles round the? test track on the first day, riding over railway sleepers, scrap dumps, and applying tierce braking when going down the test hill. These tests continued for weeks till it was a positive fact that the 'Folder' as the machine was known,, would more than meet, the requirements for which it was designed.

In spring 1942, the War Office made their own tests on Salisbury Plain, groups of three bicycles being dropped by parachute and then ridden 50 miles. No containers were used on the parachutes.

B.S.A. Folders then went into mass production. The first 50 were despatched to a French-Canadian* force in Burma, while hundreds of them were used later in the invas.ion of North Africa. Since then thousands of machines have come from the B.S.A. works, and thou-, sands more are on the way.

This explains to some extent why the supply of B.S.A. cycles for civilian use has greatly diminished since the commencement of the Avar.

The folding bicycle, is complete with accessories and is a great aid to paratroops who may land some miles from their objective.

The machine on show in Whakatane is perhaps the only one of its type, in New Zealand at the present moment antl any person interested should not miss the chance of calling in at Whittle's to see it before it is sent on to another town. The bicycle, which is very light and extremely easy to push is unfortunately not for sale„ but after the war there, is every chance that this very good all round easily transportable cycle will be available to meet the needs of every civilian.