THE Q-BIKES! - 1966

Who better to get a 60's school kid in the mood for going out cycling, than the Q-Bikes.
This gang of cycling do-gooders, drawn by Andy Hutton, first appeared in the Beano in 1963. Each week the team would get up to all sorts of adventures which would always result in them either rescuing people in distress or catching villains!
They also looked pretty cool, dressed way ahead of their time, wearing helmets with built-in headsets!
The above image comes from an old Beano I have from June 1966, just as they start a new series. The gang are introduced and take the opportunity to give a couple of safety tips while they're at it. In this particular episode, the Q-Bikes went on to capture a pickpocket who was operating on Blackpool beach. Cycling on sand - now that's impressive!
In 1969, however, they ditched their bikes and became the Q-Karts!
So I'm gonna take my cue (Q) from that, and bring this little 60's cycle run to a close.

VARIOUS BIKE ADS - 1966

Here's a blitz of bike ads from 1966.

On top is another of the low frame designs - the Dawes Kingpin.

Under it is an ad for Gamages new Sportsman cycle. This is similar to the kind of bike I had back then. A bit old style compared to a lot of the more radical designs that were taking over, but still had lots of fun on it though.

Next is an advert for the Cyclo Sport P2 Gear. These were usually to be found on racers, a bit like the one next to it in the Vindec ad.

Where would we be without the good old puncture repair outfit? The kit in the ad being by Romac. Well the thing about taking a repair kit with you on cycling trips was, if you got a flat tyre a way out in the countryside, where were you supposed to get a basin of water from?!

Finally, a wee luxury item - the Lucas Cyclometer. You had to cycle around the block quite few times before it would go up 1 notch!

THE MOULTON

The Moulton is now considered a design classic, but seeing the bike's wee wheels when it first hit the scene in the 60's, did make it look quite comical.

It didn't take long for the novelty to wear off though, and was quite a common sight on the roads as it became more popular.

One of the unique features of the design was the inner telescopic front suspension with outer rubber spring. Without this, the small wheels would have made it a bumpy ride!

Talking of which - I remember getting a backie on a Moulton once. Not recommended. I was actually sitting on the back area where the bag goes, and because it was so low down, I had to rest my heels on the wheels axle bolts, which in turn lead to my knees sticking up in the air like a frog. Not very cool!

The footage below shows a couple of variations Moulton managed to come up with.

THE REVELATION AND RSW 16 - 1966

Possibly for the first time in decades, bicycle designs changed when we reached the fab 60's.

Moving away from the old traditional standard bike frame, in came a new look - the low centre of gravity frame, made famous by Moulton.

Other bike manufacturers soon caught on to the Moulton design and came up with their own versions.

Here's 2 examples from 1966 - the top one being a Royal Enfield "Revelation" and the one underneath it, Raleigh's "RSW 16". Both models had the modern low frame design as well as the innovative quick release levers for adjusting the height of the saddle and handlebars.

Although I never had any of the 2 on show, I do remember seeing both of them whizzing around Craigie in the 60's.

The original Moulton was still the most popular, but I actually always preferred the RSW because of the chunky white tyres!

DUNLOP ADVERT - 1966

Dunlop managed to pass on some cycling advice in this ad of theirs from 1966, explaining how to overtake a stationary vehicle safely.
I don't think they were so concerned about dishing out driving instructions in their car tyre ads though because I was once knocked off my bike by a car overtaking me.
The car was towing a caravan but didn't leave enough room as it passed and so when it banged into me, I went flying!!!
You may need to click onto the ad to read it.

HALFORDS ADVERT - 1968

Off we go cycling in the 60's now for a few days, this being an era when the only safety gear used was bicycle clips!
Starting with this 1968 ad for Halfords in the High Street, a shop that was probably Dundee's most well known stockist of bikes.
Other bicycle dealers who were on the go in the late 60's were -
CUTHBERTS - Hawkhill
PT JACKSON - Victoria Rd
LINDSAY BROS - Victoria Rd
JR NICHOLSON - Arbroath Road
ROBERTSON BROS - Strathmartine Rd
JAMES A RODGER - Tannadice St & Clepington St
WESTERN CYCLE DEPOT - Hawkhill
WOOLER'S - Lochee High St
I can remember looking in the window of Nicholson's shop quite a lot around this period as a schoolboy, staring at the rack of racers they had on display and thinking to myself..."maybe one day"...but nope, never did get one!!
(cue quivering bottom lip!!!)