|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Vietnam war: reinforced bikes to carry artillery?
Recently I've read a couple of book about the
Vietnam war(s) and more than once I've read that the Vietnamese for transport during their anti-colonial and independence struggle used "reinforced bikes" ("förstärkta" in Swedish which is either "reinforced" or "amplified", I think). On such bikes they would carry all but everything, including big guns, like artillery, to bombard the French and the Americans. I wonder what they mean exactly by "reinforced"? Was that something the guerillas did provisionally in their cave workshops or did the reinforcement happen in factories in China or someplace else? And how do you reinforce a bike to carry an anti-aircraft gun? Put on an extra top tube and give it a 40-spoke rear wheel? And do you actually ride this bike, or more likely probably you just walk by its side with support wheels, pushing it forward until dead tired when the next guy takes by? -- underground experts united http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573 |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Vietnam war: reinforced bikes to carry artillery?
On Sat, 14 Jul 2018 23:29:49 +0200, Emanuel Berg
wrote: Recently I've read a couple of book about the Vietnam war(s) and more than once I've read that the Vietnamese for transport during their anti-colonial and independence struggle used "reinforced bikes" ("förstärkta" in Swedish which is either "reinforced" or "amplified", I think). On such bikes they would carry all but everything, including big guns, like artillery, to bombard the French and the Americans. I wonder what they mean exactly by "reinforced"? Was that something the guerillas did provisionally in their cave workshops or did the reinforcement happen in factories in China or someplace else? And how do you reinforce a bike to carry an anti-aircraft gun? Put on an extra top tube and give it a 40-spoke rear wheel? And do you actually ride this bike, or more likely probably you just walk by its side with support wheels, pushing it forward until dead tired when the next guy takes by? The Viet forces used a number of sources of transportation and bicycles were one of them. (they also used human carriers) and from the d I've seen these were nothing but common ordinary bicycles. Perhaps not the ones that your familiar with, these were usually double top tube, with much heavier spoked wheels, and were common in the rural areas of most SEA countries. I've seen an Indonesian farmer load two 100 kg. sacks of rice on one and set out pushing on the 10 mile trip bck to the village. Look for examples of the still made Chinese Flying Pigion model. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Vietnam war: reinforced bikes to carry artillery?
On Sat, 14 Jul 2018 18:24:03 -0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote: I've seen an Indonesian farmer load two 100 kg. sacks of rice on one and set out pushing on the 10 mile trip bck to the village. My guess is about 350 kg he http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/bicycles/oddities/slides/bricks.html More or the same: http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/bicycles/oddities/index.html -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Vietnam war: reinforced bikes to carry artillery?
On Sat, 14 Jul 2018 21:50:10 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote: On Sat, 14 Jul 2018 18:24:03 -0700, John B. Slocomb wrote: I've seen an Indonesian farmer load two 100 kg. sacks of rice on one and set out pushing on the 10 mile trip bck to the village. My guess is about 350 kg he http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/bicycles/oddities/slides/bricks.html More or the same: http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/bicycles/oddities/index.html While these photos of overloaded bicycles may well generate a certain amount of wonder no one seems to have stopped to think... well how would I do it.... if all I had was a bicycle :-? |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Vietnam war: reinforced bikes to carry artillery?
On 7/14/2018 4:29 PM, Emanuel Berg wrote:
Recently I've read a couple of book about the Vietnam war(s) and more than once I've read that the Vietnamese for transport during their anti-colonial and independence struggle used "reinforced bikes" ("förstärkta" in Swedish which is either "reinforced" or "amplified", I think). On such bikes they would carry all but everything, including big guns, like artillery, to bombard the French and the Americans. I wonder what they mean exactly by "reinforced"? Was that something the guerillas did provisionally in their cave workshops or did the reinforcement happen in factories in China or someplace else? And how do you reinforce a bike to carry an anti-aircraft gun? Put on an extra top tube and give it a 40-spoke rear wheel? And do you actually ride this bike, or more likely probably you just walk by its side with support wheels, pushing it forward until dead tired when the next guy takes by? please see: https://www.alibris.com/Bicycles-in-...rt=p&matches=9 like this: https://blog.e-bikerig.com/wp-conten...ietnam-war.jpg One does not ride it but rather use it as a narrow track wheelbarrow. -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org/ Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Vietnam war: reinforced bikes to carry artillery?
AMuzi wrote:
like this: https://blog.e-bikerig.com/wp-conten...ietnam-war.jpg Sweet! -- underground experts united http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573 |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Vietnam war: reinforced bikes to carry artillery?
On Sun, 15 Jul 2018 03:02:00 -0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote: On Sat, 14 Jul 2018 21:50:10 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote: On Sat, 14 Jul 2018 18:24:03 -0700, John B. Slocomb wrote: I've seen an Indonesian farmer load two 100 kg. sacks of rice on one and set out pushing on the 10 mile trip bck to the village. My guess is about 350 kg he http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/bicycles/oddities/slides/bricks.html More or the same: http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/bicycles/oddities/index.html While these photos of overloaded bicycles may well generate a certain amount of wonder no one seems to have stopped to think... well how would I do it.... if all I had was a bicycle :-? Speaking only for myself, rather badly. I'm in the computah repair biz (this week). In the past, I've tried several times to do service calls on my bicycle. Each time, I ran into problems. It wasn't payload capacity, traffic, roads, or infrastructure as is commonly discussed in this newsgroups. The major problems were security and bus transportation policies. When I arrived at a customers location, I had to make the choice of carrying the bicycle loaded with my tools and parts into the building, or locking it outside to a nearby bike rack or street sign. Inside the building was a problem due to lack of space and having to climb stairs. My bicycle did not fit in most elevators. Most medical office buildings do not bicycles inside. The outside bike rack was a problem because I had to remove everything that might possibly be stolen and then put it all back when I leave. For longer distances, buses looked like a good alternative. Santa Cruz has bike racks on most buses and an official policy document: https://www.scmtd.com/images/department/legal/policies/bikes_on_buses_2009 The problem was 5.01(a). Remove any water bottles, pumps or loose items (bags, backpacks, etc.) that might fall off the bicycle while in transit. Remove any items that may interfere with the Bus Operators vision; There was quite a bit of variability as to how the driver interpreted this clause. One driver insisted that I remove literally everything on bolted on. Others were more lenient. However, I never new what needed to be removed until the bus arrived. I ended up having to carry an empty pannier bag to hold all the junk I had to detach. Some bus drivers also didn't like me carrying "cargo". In order to field strip the bicycle, I would end up carrying at least 2 panniers (one for the junk), 1 brief case (tools and papers), and cardboard box with spare parts, boards, and cables. The volume was sufficient to occupy an extra seat. If the bus was crowded, the would complain, even if I offered to pay double for the extra seat. For the rest of my activities, such as groceries, it won't work. I live 1 mile from the main highway up a steep paved road. It's easier for me to walk up the hill than to ride. Carrying even one bag of groceries would be too much for me. Since I'm getting older and am somewhat out of shape, far too much for me. These are not excuses not to try using my bicycle instead of my car. I've tried several times to make it work, and failed every time. After I retire, I plan to try again. However, no matter what I try, it's obvious that I can't switch to 100% bicycling, and will need to retain the car for those situations where a bicycle just doesn't work. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Vietnam war: reinforced bikes to carry artillery?
On 7/15/2018 12:19 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 15 Jul 2018 03:02:00 -0700, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Sat, 14 Jul 2018 21:50:10 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote: On Sat, 14 Jul 2018 18:24:03 -0700, John B. Slocomb wrote: I've seen an Indonesian farmer load two 100 kg. sacks of rice on one and set out pushing on the 10 mile trip bck to the village. My guess is about 350 kg he http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/bicycles/oddities/slides/bricks.html More or the same: http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/bicycles/oddities/index.html While these photos of overloaded bicycles may well generate a certain amount of wonder no one seems to have stopped to think... well how would I do it.... if all I had was a bicycle :-? Speaking only for myself, rather badly. I'm in the computah repair biz (this week). In the past, I've tried several times to do service calls on my bicycle. Each time, I ran into problems. It wasn't payload capacity, traffic, roads, or infrastructure as is commonly discussed in this newsgroups. The major problems were security and bus transportation policies. When I arrived at a customers location, I had to make the choice of carrying the bicycle loaded with my tools and parts into the building, or locking it outside to a nearby bike rack or street sign. Inside the building was a problem due to lack of space and having to climb stairs. My bicycle did not fit in most elevators. Most medical office buildings do not bicycles inside. The outside bike rack was a problem because I had to remove everything that might possibly be stolen and then put it all back when I leave. For longer distances, buses looked like a good alternative. Santa Cruz has bike racks on most buses and an official policy document: https://www.scmtd.com/images/department/legal/policies/bikes_on_buses_2009 The problem was 5.01(a). Remove any water bottles, pumps or loose items (bags, backpacks, etc.) that might fall off the bicycle while in transit. Remove any items that may interfere with the Bus Operators vision; There was quite a bit of variability as to how the driver interpreted this clause. One driver insisted that I remove literally everything on bolted on. Others were more lenient. However, I never new what needed to be removed until the bus arrived. I ended up having to carry an empty pannier bag to hold all the junk I had to detach. Some bus drivers also didn't like me carrying "cargo". In order to field strip the bicycle, I would end up carrying at least 2 panniers (one for the junk), 1 brief case (tools and papers), and cardboard box with spare parts, boards, and cables. The volume was sufficient to occupy an extra seat. If the bus was crowded, the would complain, even if I offered to pay double for the extra seat. For the rest of my activities, such as groceries, it won't work. I live 1 mile from the main highway up a steep paved road. It's easier for me to walk up the hill than to ride. Carrying even one bag of groceries would be too much for me. Since I'm getting older and am somewhat out of shape, far too much for me. These are not excuses not to try using my bicycle instead of my car. I've tried several times to make it work, and failed every time. After I retire, I plan to try again. However, no matter what I try, it's obvious that I can't switch to 100% bicycling, and will need to retain the car for those situations where a bicycle just doesn't work. I doubt anyone posting here is really car-free. I'm certainly not. And oddly enough, I drive more miles now than I did before I retired. Other life factors changed and caused this, whether I liked it or not. But for me, the big key event was over 35 years ago, when I moved to this area. I made bike access a priority when house searching, just as I had with my previous house in another state. It paid off nicely for me, and still does. I could now reduce my car mileage quite a bit by moving to a completely different community. But at my age, that's not likely to happen. We really like it here. -- - Frank Krygowski |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Vietnam war: reinforced bikes to carry artillery?
Frank Krygowski wrote:
I doubt anyone posting here is really car-free. 100% if you get an exception for public busses once in a while. -- underground experts united http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573 |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Vietnam war: reinforced bikes to carry artillery?
On Sun, 15 Jul 2018 15:53:11 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote: I doubt anyone posting here is really car-free. I was car-free until I was thirty or forty. One day I decided that I would not count the number of sixteen-dollar hours it took to get my driver's license. I'm bidding to become car-free again. I can pedal, but I can't sit quietly for any length of time. I can still drive in town -- if I haven't spent the morning in a waiting room -- but I fear that I'll never get around to shopping in Fort Wayne. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ --- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. https://www.avg.com |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
LBS doesn't carry bikes I might want | Tom Parker | General | 79 | August 25th 08 05:48 AM |
Bike in Vietnam | traveltolao | General | 3 | September 25th 07 03:38 PM |
Help, should I take Uni to Vietnam?????? | cowan | Unicycling | 8 | November 3rd 05 03:01 AM |
Diameter of S.F. reinforced parking meters? | john | Techniques | 0 | November 2nd 05 03:51 AM |
My profile from the Vietnam/Cambodia trip | GizmoDuck | Unicycling | 2 | July 10th 04 02:53 AM |