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Date: 15 Sep 2007 21:08:39
From:
Subject: pacer oddities
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D'oh!
I'd browsed past these photos before, but I didn't notice that the
forks are reversed to let the rider get a tiny bit closer when
drafting a pacer:
http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/Card3.jpg
http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/Card4.jpg
http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/Card5.jpg
I haven't found a picture of a reversed fork in action yet, but these
pictures show how close the rider with a straight fork was to the back
of the pacer, and the small front wheel that helped him get an inch or
two closer:
http://www.oldbike.com/walthour3.jpg
Same rider, reversed fork, but no pacer:
http://www.oldbike.com/walthour.jpg
***
Pictures of tandem motorcycle pacers puzzled me:
http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/motorcycle2.jpg
Why the hell would you need two men on a _motorized_ pacer?
I always assumed that it was a matter of the big guy on the back being
able to sit up straight as far back as possible. Imagine the draft
behind a small woman (wife or girlfriend) perched in the middle of a
Vespa. Now imagine Chalo perched on the license plate of a modern
motorcycle.
But more draft is only part of the reason for putting two men on an
early motor pacer, where a windshield would have been cheaper and
simpler than an extra rider.
The text here explains the real reason for the early two-man pacers:
"He [Walthour] purchased a motor tandem from the Orient Cycle Company
in Waltham, Mass. to use in the races. It was a huge machine weighing
nearly 300 pounds and geared to 170 inches. With each turn of the
cranks it would travel half a block. It was the first motorized
machine in the state of Georgia. The purpose of being a tandem was so
that one man could steer while the other would operate the motor."
http://www.oldbike.com/Walthour.html
The first motorcycle pacers were so clunky and awkward that they
needed a pilot and an engineer!
Later pacers were improved so that the rider could sit upright and
all the way back for good drafting, but still steer and run the engine
single-handed. Here's a more modern single-seater:
http://www.printsoldandrare.com/bicycles/145bike.jpg
They often wore heavy knee-length coats. The coats might have helped
if it was cold, zooming around a track at high speed just sitting on a
motorcycle, while the bicyclist behind was out of the wind and stayed
warm by pedaling. But the long dusters probably also improved the
draft for the bicyclist.
Here's another two-man with an engine operator behind the pilot:
http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?S=arc/pre1920/1901+bicycle+racing+postcard%2Ejpg
Notice that the engine above is so feeble that the pilot has pedals to
help get it all going--another reason for two men.
In the picture below, an Orient tandem with stoker, circa 1900, _both_
engineer and pilot have pedals to get the thing going:
http://www.statnekov.com/motorcycles/book-photos/orient-tandem-pacer.jpg
A similar Hedstrom tandem pacer with pedals for all hands (sorry,
couldn't resist it):
http://www.statnekov.com/motorcycles/book-photos/hedstrom-tandem-pacer.jpg
The next five pictures show similar tandem pacers with pedals for both
the engineer and the pilot to help the huge but feeble engine:
http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/i1_B_L.jpg
http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/i1_B_L2.jpg
http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/i1_B_L3.jpg
http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/i1_B_L4.jpg
http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/i1_B_L5.jpg
Note in the first two pictures how the bicyclist literally uses his
head--instead of a back bar preventing him from running into the rear
wheel, he just leans his forehead against the back of the engineer
sitting bolt upright on the back of the pacer.
It took wives on Vespas about a century to replace all this.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
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Date: 16 Sep 2007 08:44:34
From: Paul Cassel
Subject: Re: pacer oddities
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carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> D'oh!
>
> I'd browsed past these photos before, but I didn't notice that the
> forks are reversed to let the rider get a tiny bit closer when
> drafting a pacer:
>
Those old timers had a lot of spine.
Do you know any reason, Carl, why the pace bikes couldn't be fitted with
a large sheet of metal perpendicular to the direction of travel? That
would seem to me to provide better draft. Alternatively, you could
fashion a sort of fairing off the rear end of the motorcycle for the
bicycle to fit into.
I'm sure these ideas must have been considered. Were there rules of some
sort here?
-paul
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Date: 16 Sep 2007 16:16:08
From: A Muzi
Subject: Re: pacer oddities
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> carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>> D'oh!
>> I'd browsed past these photos before, but I didn't notice that the
>> forks are reversed to let the rider get a tiny bit closer when
>> drafting a pacer:
Paul Cassel wrote:
> Those old timers had a lot of spine.
> Do you know any reason, Carl, why the pace bikes couldn't be fitted with
> a large sheet of metal perpendicular to the direction of travel? That
> would seem to me to provide better draft. Alternatively, you could
> fashion a sort of fairing off the rear end of the motorcycle for the
> bicycle to fit into.
> I'm sure these ideas must have been considered. Were there rules of some
> sort here?
Like Oscar Egg's pointy butt fairing? These sorts of things get banned
promptly as developed.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
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Date: 16 Sep 2007 16:07:45
From: Bill Sornson
Subject: Re: pacer oddities
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A Muzi wrote:
> ...Oscar Egg's pointy butt fairing
Q: What is Flailor's new user name?
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Date: 16 Sep 2007 15:00:34
From:
Subject: Re: pacer oddities
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On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 08:44:34 -0600, Paul Cassel
<pcasselremove2@comremovecast.net > wrote:
>carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>> D'oh!
>>
>> I'd browsed past these photos before, but I didn't notice that the
>> forks are reversed to let the rider get a tiny bit closer when
>> drafting a pacer:
>>
>Those old timers had a lot of spine.
>
>Do you know any reason, Carl, why the pace bikes couldn't be fitted with
>a large sheet of metal perpendicular to the direction of travel? That
>would seem to me to provide better draft. Alternatively, you could
>fashion a sort of fairing off the rear end of the motorcycle for the
>bicycle to fit into.
>
>I'm sure these ideas must have been considered. Were there rules of some
>sort here?
>
>-paul
Dear Paul,
D'oh!
I stumbled across the mother lode of pacer pictures, over a thousand.
A helmet verging on becoming a windshield:
http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=87&w=4&n=1&c=2&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
A 1938 pacer with reversed fork, small front wheel--and a modest metal
sheet:
http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=1124&w=4&c=2&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
An even better windshield:
http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=1141&w=4&c=2&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
The actual bike not only had the monster front sprocket, but also a
front seat adjuster/brace:
http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=1142&w=4&c=2&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
Another front seat adjuster/brace:
http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=1159&w=4&n=1&c=2&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
Front seat _and_ handlebar adjuster/brace:
http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=1226&w=4&c=2&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
Side view:
http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=1227&w=4&c=2&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
More modern version of same adjuster/brace:
http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=1229&w=4&c=2&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
Good picture of pedal-powered pacer:
http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=1175&w=4&c=2&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
Pacer podium girls (the real podium girls are wearing high heels and
bikinis and drafting behind the clogs and long dresses):
http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=43&w=4&n=1&c=2&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
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Date: 16 Sep 2007 20:54:24
From: Carl Sundquist
Subject: Re: pacer oddities
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<carlfogel@comcast.net > wrote in message
news:8j4re35v45fi0bhl2q15p99eog8b92soqf@4ax.com...
>
> A helmet verging on becoming a windshield:
>
> http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=87&w=4&n=1&c=2&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
I can't say exactly why the ridge goes across the top of the helmet, but the
"ridge" in open in the back to allow the pacer to hear verbal commands from
the rider.
>
> Pacer podium girls (the real podium girls are wearing high heels and
> bikinis and drafting behind the clogs and long dresses):
>
> http://imageevent.com/dernysportuk/stayerpictures?p=43&w=4&n=1&c=2&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
BrunoWalrave is the pre-eminent motorpace driver in the modern era. As the
pacer also earns a title along with the rider, Walrave has at least 15 world
championships.
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Date: 16 Sep 2007 13:34:06
From:
Subject: Re: pacer oddities
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On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 08:44:34 -0600, Paul Cassel
<pcasselremove2@comremovecast.net > wrote:
>carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>> D'oh!
>>
>> I'd browsed past these photos before, but I didn't notice that the
>> forks are reversed to let the rider get a tiny bit closer when
>> drafting a pacer:
>>
>Those old timers had a lot of spine.
>
>Do you know any reason, Carl, why the pace bikes couldn't be fitted with
>a large sheet of metal perpendicular to the direction of travel? That
>would seem to me to provide better draft. Alternatively, you could
>fashion a sort of fairing off the rear end of the motorcycle for the
>bicycle to fit into.
>
>I'm sure these ideas must have been considered. Were there rules of some
>sort here?
>
>-paul
Dear Paul,
I don't know if there were (or are) any rules against mounting the
equivalent of a motorcycle windshield on the back of a pacer.
A rider sitting well back and bolt upright on a weirdly modified
motorcycle is good enough to get the job done--the bicyclist goes much
faster.
Modern derny pacers still use nothing but a rider with no special
fairing.
The original pacers were just tandem bicycles, so there was a
tradition of not using special fairings:
http://i5.tinypic.com/5y1u6ba.jpg
Here's a pair of old pacer-bicyclist teams getting ready to race, all
wearing helmets:
http://oldroads.com/pqdb_img.asp?p=http://members.aol.com/menotomy6/disp/race.gif&mod=&mak=Race_at_Revere_Beach,_MA
Here's Major Taylor behind a one-man pacer, with both men wearing odd
helmets:
http://i8.tinypic.com/4katr9f.jpg
Embarrassingly I failed to notice Taylor's reversed fork and small
front wheel when I posted that picture months ago. The mystifying
gadgetry in the pacer rider's lap makes it easy to understand why
earlier pacers needed a second rider to run the engine.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel
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Date: 16 Sep 2007 21:44:41
From: John Dacey
Subject: Re: pacer oddities
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"Sunt superis sua jura." - Ovid
On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 13:34:06 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>I don't know if there were (or are) any rules against mounting the
>equivalent of a motorcycle windshield on the back of a pacer.
The rules that govern motor-paced events are set by the UCI. Among the
things covered in those rules include the dimensions of the pacing
vehicle as well as the permissible attire worn by the motor-pacer. See
chapter 6 (Equipment and Infrastructure) in the section related to
track events:
http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/getObject.asp?MenuId=MTkzNg&ObjTypeCode=FILE&type=FILE&id=34042&
-------------------------------
John Dacey
Business Cycles, Miami, Florida
Since 1983
Our catalog of track equipment: online since 1996
Phone: 305-273-4440
http://www.businesscycles.com
-------------------------------
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Date: 16 Sep 2007 14:08:00
From: landotter
Subject: Re: pacer oddities
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On Sep 15, 10:08 pm, carlfo...@comcast.net wrote:
> D'oh!
>
> I'd browsed past these photos before, but I didn't notice that the
> forks are reversed to let the rider get a tiny bit closer when
> drafting a pacer:
>
> http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/Card3.jpg
>
> http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/Card4.jpg
>
> http://www.oldbike.com/Photo%20Gallery/Card5.jpg
>
> I haven't found a picture of a reversed fork in action yet, but these
> pictures show how close the rider with a straight fork was to the back
> of the pacer, and the small front wheel that helped him get an inch or
> two closer:
>
> http://www.oldbike.com/walthour3.jpg
Hey, look at the pacer, it's the preznut!
Gowd bleh 'merica!
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