Inspired by abridge, a Danish inventor set out to build the world’s best bicycle –in his adopted Gloucestershire
OF THE HUNDREDS of weirdly framed bicycles that preceded the adoption of the diamond frame, none was more peculiar than that which rolled out from the Gloucestershire market town of Dursley at the dawn of the 20th Century.
The bicycle was designed by a Dane, Mikael Pedersen, who was born in 1855 in the small village of Fløng, close to Copenhagen. A talented inventor, Pedersen made his name by perfecting a centrifugal device for separating cream, and it was the success of this machine that lured him to Dursley in 1893.
A local manufacturer of agricultural equipment, RA Lister& Co, had acquired the UK distribution rights and Pedersen moved to Dursley with his family to work for Listers and share in the considerable profits from his invention, becoming a well-respected member of the local community.
This story is from the April 2018 edition of Octane.
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This story is from the April 2018 edition of Octane.
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Will China Change Everything? - China is tearing up modern motor manufacture but is yet to make more than a ripple in the classic car world. That could be about to change dramatically
China now dominates the automotive world in a way even Detroit in its heyday would have struggled to comprehend.Helped by Government incentives, the new car world is dominated by China's industries: whether full cars that undercut Western models by huge amounts, ownership of storied European brands such as Lotus and Volvo, or ownership and access to the vast majority of raw materials that go into EV cars, its influence is far-reaching and deep. However, this automotive enlightenment hasn't manifested itself in the classic world in any meaningful way - until now.
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