The Incredible Bikes & Cycling Tech Of The First World War

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The first ever Tour of Flanders, otherwise known as de Ronde van Vlaanderen, was held in 1913 but the first world war delayed the second edition of what was to become cycling's favourite monument. A generation of young men were called into service for their country during the Great War and bicycles played an important logistical role in the conflict. Ollie explores the bikes and stories of several young men from that era which are preserved in the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen in Belgium as part of their wider exhibit on the Tour of Flanders.
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28 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 354

@stevecarpenter7462 4 года назад

Perfect video for Remembrance Day. And did you know that the first British soldier casualty was John Parr, a cyclist scout sent ahead to report back enemy movements. He and his fellow cycling scout encountered a similar German unit, and Parr stayed to cover the return of his colleague to report back to their unit. Parr died in an exchange of rifle fire.

@IslaSprollie 4 года назад

One of the best videos I’ve ever watched. Yes make a film about the Italian guy!

@OllieBridgewood 4 года назад

CWRotherham incredible story isn’t it!

@C345OFR 4 года назад

Sadly, it looks like the best video on YT about Ottavio is an audiobook in Italian, no subtitles. That's bizarre for someone with such a fascinating record (and yes, I know there are probably _many_ interesting cycling stories lost to time, but this is _some_ oversight!). What a bloke!

@dejavery 4 года назад

This is one of the best GCN videos I’ve watched. Ollie did a great job presenting it.

@UR_HR 4 года назад

Yes fantastic, and your right, Ollie presented this really sympathetically. Great job

@placidesulfurik 4 года назад

Ollie has become my favourite GCN presenter. He's actually super witty and funny most of the time, but when he gets more serious and passionate like in this one, he's incredibly compelling.

@AlfieVLOG0 Год назад

100%, can't belive how unpopular it is compared to some others!

@tommycooper308 4 года назад

Fascinating from start to finish. Humbling and poignant, too. Could've watched an hour of this; the glimpse we got of those magnificent men and their cycling machines has left me hungry for more, please. Great presenter btw; his enthusiasm shines out, he clearly loves his subject and knows his stuff too. Hope he does more of these historical videos soon. Well done to all involved.

@pascalbocherel7785 4 года назад

Ollie, one if not the best video ever presented on GCN, you did a magnificent job at presenting it.

@GCNuser123 4 года назад

thanks mate. glad you enjoyed it

@jendralhxr 4 года назад

14:12 it goes beyond "super nice", it is EPIC.

@jameslee9017 4 года назад

great video, especially on remembrance Sunday, thank you for this. Perhaps next time you could do one on the awesome British army 1940's BSA folding Airborne bike. Designed for paratroopers to jump with and taken in their thousands to Normandy by sea and air for D Day. I rode one last D Day all the way from Oxford to Normandy - surprisingly comfortable!

@hutchmusician 4 года назад

James Lee What a brilliant adventure that must have been. You didn’t happen to upload footage of it to any well-known video sharing platforms did you?

@jameslee9017 4 года назад

@@hutchmusician sorry no

@HPaulModels 4 года назад

Really enjoyed Ollies enthusiasm for the museum and the bikes. Made the video really special and a fitting tribute on Armistice Sunday. Well done GCN

@nealbeard1 4 года назад

Getting back into cycling after an absence. Just started watching this channel. This guy is a fantastic presenter. Thank you

@tay-lore Год назад

These bicycles are so beautiful. Such amazing machines.

@Ryan_Rides 4 года назад

Love this. I 100% agree that there should be a movie about these guys. A real accurate, action packed, old war movie with; of the time writing. It would be a beautiful sight to see as well considering the scenery. Imagine just being an extra in the movie and getting to ride an early 1900s war bicycle.

@recstoppauseplay Год назад

Fascinating Ollie, and great presentation!

@thomasoei7089 4 года назад

Absolutely brilliant video Ollie! Just in time for Veteran's Day here in the States. I enjoyed learning about the depth of purpose the bicycle fulfilled through this era in history - not just an implement of war and survival, but as a media for peace and recovery thereafter.

@FatBlokeDoingStuff 4 года назад

Excellent video, touching, factful and concise. More like this please.

@AnvilAirsoftTV 4 года назад

Oli loved this presentation. More of this sort of thing please.

@petersauer94 4 года назад

Brilliant absolutely brilliant, I actually learned something today. 👏

@tmbmtl 4 года назад

Those are the best days, cycling and knowledge. Cheers!

@markifi 4 года назад

The carbide variety of those lamps were quite bright. Cave explorers used to use them up until 2000!

@stephanjud4569 4 года назад

Great Video (and a great Place, too!), Thank you very much! For your interest, Switzerland had Cycling Infantry Troops in regular Service until 2005; with the first ordnance bike introduced in 1905 which was then replaced with a more modern bike in..1993! Due to its bullet-proof design you can see quite some of the 1905 Bikes still being ridden as citybikes, and there are even some crazy guys riding them on the Concrete Tracks in Zurich!

@stuartmcgill5065 4 года назад

Some amazing stories, Ollie. Tough blokes in the true sense of the word. Those old bikes make me appreciate our modern tech & clothing all the more. Thanks a lot! :-)

@Lasermanprint 4 года назад

Fantastic video Ollie well done

@ricky7396 4 года назад

Olly does it all history, science and comedy with bags of personality. He even sold me a cube nu road pro with a ad he done in a previous life haha

@OllieBridgewood 4 года назад

Ricky thanks man! Good to hear!

@grigorbrowning 4 года назад

Superb! The best GCN video to date - brilliantly presented by Dr Bridgewood.

@misanthropickat6167 4 года назад

Those stories are all so unbelievable they could be major motion pictures!

@jeremyglenn3130 4 года назад

If only my history classes where like this in school

@Servicevelo 4 года назад

Ace. Another demonstration of Oliie showing his class as a presenter. Obviously well timed as well. Love it. GCN for mainstream TV.

@OllieBridgewood 4 года назад

thanks mate. glad you appreciate it.

@Servicevelo 4 года назад

@@OllieBridgewood No worries., Bretters.

@janwillemkuilenburg7561 4 года назад

Great narrative Ollie!

@javoughnplenty9298 4 года назад

Thanks GCN Tech for the great history lesson

@countteddy 4 года назад

great video.....great bikes and a classic Volvo 244....thankyou.

@MrChristiangraham 4 года назад

Good work, Ollie. Your passion is infectious.

@guysmith3326 4 года назад

Another link between bikes and the armed forces is airfields. Squadron buildings tended to be spread around the airfield, so bikes were a great way to get to the wardroom for lunch, or the admin building, tower etc. I used my 1978 Raleigh Gran Prix like this in the eighties.

@GargASBO 4 года назад

I can relate. My grandfather moved messages by bike for the Belgian "Armée secrete" during WWII. I really hope you can expand the subject to bikes being used during that time...

@petinka721 4 года назад

Super Nice work Ollie!

@Kyujin666 4 года назад

Super Nice! Thnx Ollie very interesting episode 👍

@JosephCabalquinto 4 года назад

So amazing! Completely mesmerized through the whole video learning about the early bicycles of WWI! The Bianchi especially was fantastic! Thanks Olie!

@markmyers8775 4 года назад

Amazing video! So much great history!

@prestachuck2867 4 года назад

Awesome video! Superb narrative by Waffles!

@wiwiwiii 2 года назад

The italian folding bike is also in the cycling museum located onto the Ghisallo pass, simply incredible for that time. A similar folding bike is the BSA airborne used by paratroopers in second world war: folding and weighing only 8 kgs...

@Citizenvelo 4 года назад

This is the content I crave. SO GOOD

@01FozzyS 4 года назад

Definitely ringing the bell for that one! Love the history on the man who's name is on one of my rides.

@tmbmtl 4 года назад

Indeed, rather splendid vid.

@suggyltd9577 4 года назад

Terrific. Thanks for this essay.

@olivierwatteyn5104 4 года назад

Check out the Biking Bar in Ypres, Belgium. It got a 1914 bike, a Freddy Maertens bike and much more of that old school stuff. Great bar near the Menin Gate too.

@jade4805 4 года назад

Ollie!, well done warrior, thank you and GCN for continuing to strive, love it.

@ianstewart8301 4 года назад

This was just fascinating and enjoyable. Great job!

@keithmccallum1054 4 года назад

One of your best videos ever!!

@doxasnob8137 4 года назад

Just...wow! More please!

@chrislilley5320 4 года назад

Wow great story!!

@safehands8889 4 года назад

One of my favourite GCN videos

@owenchuarbx 4 года назад

This is perhaps why I loved ancient bike tech and history lessons too.

@LawrenceSeetoh 4 года назад

What a brilliant tour of the Museum. Thank you !

@piobar19 4 года назад

Perfect video for anniversary of ending WW1 . Would be superb to see more topics like that . Amazing !

@joeottsoulbikes415 4 года назад

Thank you for this look back at early bikes of the war.

@davidblanton5146 4 года назад

Fantastic viewing. Such a great video. Perfect for Sunday morning. Thank you so much for this. Awesome.

@RogerMcGuiremusic 4 года назад

Superb video.

@arnspyarchi6040 4 года назад

I truly want to watch a movie about this guy's life !

@davidscottblacksmith 4 года назад

Superb! Thank you.

@klauslass6766 5 дней назад

There are, if I do remeber right, three cycling museums in Belgian Flanders. This museums director was or maybe still is FREDDY MAERTENS. One of the belgian cycling legends of the 1970s.

@jmoore46jm 4 года назад

Exceptional video, very well done Oille definitely look into going there

@richaw6689 4 года назад

Wicked Vid Ollie.. love the old Bianchi.. 👍

@oscarcaruso204 4 года назад

Unreal! I don’t know what I love ❤️ more, the amazing history behind all these bikes and the riders or the bikes themselves! Thanks for sharing

@tonytheantony 4 года назад

Great video for Rememberance Sunday. Loving cycling, aviation and having a Great Uncle in the RAF who F.T.R in WW2, always fancied an RAF issue push bike🚴#LestWeForget

@660einzylinder 4 года назад

My Grandfather was 'allowed' to buy a new bicycle under special permit in 1942. He was a civilian contractor engaged on building and maintaining an aerodrome for the USAAF. In 1947 he passed the bicycle on to my Father, who was 15 at the time. He lashed out and had it fitted with a 3 speed hub, it remained his only transport until 1989 when he bought his first car, a rather secondhand 1300 Triumph Dolomite. The bicycle is still in his shed, waiting for me to have the time to restore it.

@tonytheantony 4 года назад

@@660einzylinderWow! Such a cool story.👍 😊 Good luck with the resto when you find the time! What a ride that'll be!👍🚴😊

@theafisher759 4 года назад

Really interesting, would love more bike history stuff. I know an American, Margaret Le Long biked from Chicago to San Francisco in 1897! Hers is a cool story as well.

@terryshaw1792 4 года назад

Great video. How about a follow-up featuring WW2 bikes and cyclists - particularly Gino Bartali

@jasongirvan6729 4 года назад

Ollie I love your vids, you make them interesting and your own expression of intrigue is genuine That blazer though you chuckled at not being like gore is a little off base as 100% wool was chosen specifically for its properties of insulation and natural water proof abilities but yes absolutely heavier and especially wet but always dry and warm

@brannmacfinnchad9056 4 года назад

Yeah...I was laughing at that a bit as well. I would also like to point out (to Ollie) that tailors knew how to adjust the standard pattern to accommodate the cycling position well before WWI--adjustments for suits to be worn while sporting weren't uncommon in drafting/cutting manuals. So while more confining than most modern folks are used to, I doubt it was as uncomfortable as you think.

@evandarling699 4 года назад

Bravo! Amazing story and history lesson! Old bike tech!! Thank you

@WmCRobison 4 года назад

Bike packing is nothing new, we use to call it touring. It's probably almost as old as the safety bike. Good video BTW.

@GwenGreenberg 2 года назад

Absolutely love the video. Incredibly interesting. I do wish however we got a tour of the Volvo. That looks really really cool

@gcntech 2 года назад

Maybe one day! Thank you Gwen!

@spokesmann 4 года назад

GCN should be doing more real, well researched retro stuff like this. Top marks people...

@matthewdutton119 4 года назад

Hello Jon and Ollie... I was hoping that you could make a video that explains on how to get the proper tire and tube size based on the size of your rim for road bikes. I apologize if you had already talked about this before but looking across some social media platforms I have only seen a few that come close but usually focus on what is written on the side of the tire. It would seem that the best thing to do is to measure the width of the rim and length of the wheel and then select the proper tire and tube. Thank You... You guys are awesome.

@ClintHalliday 4 года назад

What great stories!

@michaelsterckx4120 4 года назад

My first pneumatic tyre bike, as a kid in the very early 70s, was a second hand rusty iron hulk, and ancient, probably 1940s, and had metal rods connecting the breaks. It ran and ran and never gave up, though.

@mikespeedbob 4 года назад

Think that deserves a ring of the bell !

@skulengu6854 4 года назад

For those of us in the U.S. that distance translates to just over 205 miles. That is a long distance in general, but to do it with the single gear bikes of the day and riding with the cycling gear (kit to the Brits), that is especially impressive. What a fantastic museum. Thank you for all of the amazing videos, but this one is arguably a stand out. Of course, as I say that, I am thinking of so many others that impressed me.

@stepinlingerie9387 4 года назад

Great report. It is unbelievable how the drivers managed in that time. It was barbaric. I did a test this year. Just like Henry Van Lerberge in 1919 I cycled the Heroic Tour of the Battlefields. 2150 km in 8 stages in 11 days, 17000 meters in height, on a 1913 bicycle in an outfit of the time. Well, I did it but I couldn't match the speeds of 100 years ago! Imagine how strong those heroes were then !!! flandrien greatings from Flandrien Cyrille

@gcntech 4 года назад

Sounds like an epic challenge to follow in their steps

@RodPriester 4 года назад

Extremely interesting.....thanks for sharing this

@279seb 4 года назад

Really fascinating history!

@sdkid6059 4 года назад

Great video; much appreciated, as I may never have a chance to visit, being half way 'round the world. Awesome choice for a topic GCN, well done !!

@THE_W0RLD_1S_Y0UR5 4 года назад

Just imagine saving up to be able to buy a bike these days, say a Cannondale CAAD 13, and then entering a professional race and winning it. Amazing stuff!

@2wheelsrbest327 4 года назад

Well done Ollie great presentation and some interesting information. Can you imagine racing in that era ! .

@ryanmattson6241 4 года назад

Loved this video! Those bikes are so awesome 😍👌

@AngeloDeValPhotos 4 года назад

Amazing story about these chaps. Great plot for a film

@stuartdryer1352 4 года назад

Beautiful video.

@richardstoffel6585 4 года назад

Love hearing the tech. Very interesting to see that wide / tub tires was a thing, and yet here we are again. I do like the suspension on that bike, it is very well integrated i almost couldn’t tell until you pointed it out.

@hiddenrob6289 4 года назад

Love cycling videos just what I need to get it going the blood I love it. I always watch these before I go out and get my body moving. I always watch one of these, and then put up my heavy playlist like Delta Parole, Three Days Grace, System and then I just go haaaaard!!!! Tactic hasnt let me down yet.

@BeetleBuns 4 года назад

Wool is actually very good in wet weather, it will get very heavy BUT it will keep you warm and therefore alive.

@MrJoopDeWit 4 года назад

I just love these these videos. I really wonder how modern athletes would compare with these riders.

@Biking360 4 года назад

Amazing video. So interesting.

@gordonliverpool 4 года назад

Really enjoyed that

@tedallenwolff 4 года назад

amazing information. Great job Ollie. GCN rules!

@knuppelgast Год назад

What a story. Proud to ride a Bottechia!

@chasc2389 4 года назад

Hi Ollie, great video. I am wondering if the 1913 era front lamp was in fact a Carbide lamp. Popular in caving still. Would produce a decent light source. The British has cyclist troops too. I recall seeing original poster advertising for men with their own bikes to join up ‘no height limit and bad teeth no bar’Anyway....keep up the top work mate. Maybe a video on work-specific bikes? postal, ice cream, you get the drift....

@stevem.3646 4 года назад

Great work Ollie! I'm looking at the wooden wheel (circa 1910) displayed on my desk right now. The tubular on my (circa 1983) I rode in college, but never on that wheel.

@willshaughnessy8515 4 года назад

One of your best Ollie .. you’re in top form Bottechia amazing chap Any relation to the bike co ?

@GCNuser123 4 года назад

i believe they are and were originally founded with his name.

@davidmarshall2399 4 года назад

Some nice gravel bikes in this vid.

@matthewlewis272 4 года назад

Excellent

@IG-88r 4 года назад

Those military bikes were foldable because that way a soldier could use it both as a cover/stand to fire and to carry it in a similar way than a backpack (this appear in various manuals of the time) to, say, move it walking trough a forest or overly muddy roads

@markwilliams5654 4 года назад

U should do some pre war cycling racing would be great fun

@bobqzzi 4 года назад

Awesome

@nickjames4497 4 года назад

I ride an 1895 racing bike, its great to use,single speed with a spoon brake on the front ,peddle back brake on the rear.Made by the Burton Cycle Co.Looks similar to the first bike in this article...I recently had to change the rose colour tyres ,made before carbon was mixed in the rubber.They were getting a little dangerous to use....

@dustydustydusty 4 года назад

That bike riding kit is a hipster dream.

@MeFreeBee 4 года назад

I had both a tricycle and my first two wheeler, hand-me-downs from my brother made in the 1960s, with rod actuated front brakes. My mate also had his brother's old bike and it had the luxury of front and rear brakes. Even the rear one had a rather complicated set of rods rather than cables.