Cycling Links, General Poo Bah

How bicycles were made in the 1940’s

Back in the mid 19th century, Britain was renown worldwide for its bicycle industry.

In this vintage video by the British Council Film, you’ll get a pretty remarkable look at how workers at a Raleigh bicycle factory built steel bikes almost entirely by hand back in 1945.

Skip to the 11:36 mark to watch one guy prepare more than 1,000 new pedals in an 8-hour shift, and how women were trained to fill new tires and tubes in less than 50 seconds (14:08).

The plant was demolished nearly two decades ago and turned into part of the University of Nottingham. Nice to see a bit of its history still remains.

http://vimeo.com/39401575

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