>>1553814I've been skimming through Herlihy's "Bicycle" trying to track something down. unfortunately the index doesn't contain any weight terms.
I think it's likely there were, either in the UK or continental europe, but definitely not in the US, which insisted on building heavy-ass bikes until the 70s boom.
he writes many times in vague terms about how light euro models were, but never with hard numbers.
I did find this mid-1930s account:
>some experts warned that the weight of the standard American behemoth would invariably quash the budding adult recreational interest.... one female enthusiast recounted how she was sailing along one day on her twenty--three-pound English roadster when she came across two women pushing their American mounts...20 pounds is 9kg, so hers was a 23 pound English roadster with a 3 speed hub. presumably french race bikes with the nascent derailleur would probably be sub-20lb/9kg. unfortunately I can't find hard data.
>in the early 30s, Cyclo introduced a freewheel with 4 sprockets and lighter derailleurs made with aluminum.... other companies began to use aluminum alloys for different components, like cranks.... several innovative frame makers... made custom-designed touring bicycles. they used the latest in butted steel tubing.... a few firms... even produced alloy frames.frustratingly, there are no numbers accompanying this text, but between the early 30s to the 70s is a long time. it sounds like all the stuff needed for a 9-or-below-kg bike was being made since the 30s.
pic unrelated.
