Pedersen bicycle
{{Short description|Danish bicycle}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
File:Dursley Pedersen ca 1910 bicycle.jpg
File:L-gelenktraeger14.png that Pedersen used to market his frame design]]
The Pedersen bicycle, also called the Dursley Pedersen bicycle is a bicycle that was developed by Danish inventor Mikael Pedersen and produced in the English town of Dursley.{{cite book
| last = Herlihy
| first = David V.
| author-link = David V. Herlihy
| title = Bicycle, The History
| publisher = Yale University Press
| year = 2004
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bicyclehistory0000herl/page/288 288]–289
| url = https://archive.org/details/bicyclehistory0000herl
| url-access = registration
| quote = Pedersen bicycle.
| isbn = 0-300-10418-9}}{{cite web
|title = Dursley Pedersen Cycles: History
|author = Mads Rasmussen
|url = http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/dp_history.html
|access-date = 2009-09-17
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090803215232/http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/dp_history.html
|archive-date = 3 August 2009
|df = dmy-all
}} Though never hugely popular, they enjoy a devoted following and are still produced today.{{cite web
| title = Dursley Glos Web: Mikael Pedersen and The Dursley Pedersen Cycle Company
| url = http://www.dursleyglos.org.uk/html/dursley/industry/pedersen/pedersen.htm
| access-date = 2009-09-17}} Their unusual frame is described as pure cross,{{cite web
| title = Cross Frames: Development of a special type of bicycle
| url = http://www.rijwiel.net/kruisfre.htm
|author=Jan van den Elshout and Herbert Kuner
| access-date = 2009-09-17}} was marketed as cantilever,{{cite web
|url = http://www.pedersenbicycle.dk
|title = Pedersen Bicycle: Static Theory
|access-date = 2009-09-17
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090614134518/http://www.pedersenbicycle.dk/
|archive-date = 14 June 2009
|df = dmy-all
}} and features a distinctive hammock-style saddle. Variations include lightweight racing, tandem, and folding designs.{{cite web
|title = Pedersen bicycle: History
|url = http://www.pedersenbicycle.dk/
|access-date = 2009-09-17
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090614134518/http://www.pedersenbicycle.dk/
|archive-date = 14 June 2009
|df = dmy-all
| title = The Pedersen Bicycle, a brief History
| url = http://www.pedersenbicycles.com/history.htm
| access-date = 2009-09-17}} Other Pedersen innovations include two and three-speed internally geared rear hubs.
History
Pedersen received a patent in the United Kingdom for his bicycle in the early 1890s and constructed the first model out of wood. He formed the Pedersen Cycle Frame Co. Ltd and when that fell into financial difficulties, production was continued by the Dursley Pedersen Cycle Co. The design was also licensed to other manufacturers,{{cite web
| title = The Star Cycle Company, Limited
| url = http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Star.htm
| access-date = 2009-09-17}} and approximately 30,000 units were produced by the early 1920s, but the design never really caught on.
In 1978, Jesper Sølling resumed production in Copenhagen and has been followed by others.{{cite web
|url = http://www.koolstop.com/pedersen/pedersen.html
|title = The Pedersen
|access-date = 2009-09-17
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090727161159/http://www.koolstop.com/pedersen/pedersen.html
|archive-date = 27 July 2009
|df = dmy-all
}}
Technology
Pedersen wrote that he developed the hammock style seat first. It provides suspension from road imperfections with much less weight, {{convert|4|oz|g|sigfig=2}} instead of {{convert|3|lb|kg|sigfig=2}} of traditional leather and steel spring saddles of the day. Pedersen then developed a frame, a truss assembled from several thin tubes, around his new seat design. He attributed his inspiration to the Whipple-Murphy bridge truss. The design initially did not support seat height adjustment, and even after some adjustability was added, required the manufacture of eight different sizes. The non-standard frame design would not accommodate a traditional front fork. Instead, Pedersen developed a fork that also consisted of thin tubes assembled into a truss, which was attached to the frame with bearings at two distinct points, instead of through a traditional head tube. Pedersen also received patents for a chainwheel and bottom bracket combination and lightweight pedals.
Gallery
File:Pedersen-Rad.jpg|Modern Pedersen bicycle.
File:Pedersen Bike.jpg|Modern Pedersen bicycle.
File:Pederson Fahrrad 2004.jpg|Modern Pedersen bicycle.
File:Ironbridge 17.jpg|Antique Pedersen on display.
File:Pedersen-bicycle-1993-replica.jpg|Replica of a Pedersen bicycle, built in 1993 in Düsseldorf, Germany.
References
{{reflist}}
- {{cite book
|last=Evans |first=David
|year=1979
|url=http://www.pedersen-on-tour.de/buecher/buecher/davidevans-engl.html
|title=The Ingenious Mr Pedersen
|publisher=A Sutton
|isbn=978-0-7509-0064-5
}}
- [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9853088_ITM Town recalls pedal pioneer], Bristol Evening Post, 28 October 2005
- [http://archive.gazetteseries.co.uk/2005/10/28/11240.html Town welcomes family of legendary inventor], Gazette Series, 28 October 2005
External links
{{commonscat|Pedersen bicycles}}
- [http://www.pedersen-bike.dk/ Pedersen Bicycle], Denmark.
- [http://www.pedersenbicycles.com/ Pedersen Bicycles], US distributor.
- [http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/ Dursley Pedersen Cycles]
- [http://www.pedersen.info/ Pedersen Manufaktur Kalkhoff GbR]
- [http://www.dursleyglos.org.uk/html/dursley/industry/pedersen/pedersen.htm Mikael Pedersen and The Dursley Pedersen Cycle Company]
{{British bicycle manufacturers}}