Thoroughly Modern...

unionman

Documentary series about objects the Edwardians either invented or advanced. One of the most important inventions of of all time, the improvements made by the Edwardians meant the bicycle allowed the city dweller to escape to the country, provided a truly democratised means of transport and is even credited with widening the gene pool.

"Thoroughly Modern... -The Bicycle" was on BBC four last night. Anyone see it?

I thought it was excellent. Very good potted history of the development of the bicycle, and how the drivetrain / diamond frame accelerated the possibilities of the bike.

Was surprised to learn that bicycles were affordable only to the very rich until the car became popular and lots of bikes came on to the secondhand market and adopted in large numbers by the working class.

One of the pre-war models, The Sunbeam, was adorned with gold leaf, and the chain was housed in an 'oil bath' so that it was permanently lubricated. It didn't explain how it worked, but a mighty fine looking bike all the same.

Some good interviews with club enthusiasts who collect and restore Edwardian era bikes and have organised spins in full period dress. Urban Edwardians were said to have 'discovered' the countryside with the bicycle, and played a key role in reviving the fortunes of rural pubs (no doubt having discovered the calorific benefits of beer on long spins).

It concluded with an interview with Pashley representative, who supply 30,000 bikes a year to Royal Mail, and the bikes themselves are recycled 'on a constant rotation'. Good footage from the Pashley factory in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The finale piece was a track race between different models of the era. The cyclists were in full lycra and shell helmets, and the result was less incongruous looking than you might imagine.

The concluding remark from the social historian; "Now that the age of the car is coming to an end, people are realising once again the possibilities of the bicycle. Long after the car is gone, the bicycle will remain."

A nice finishing touch to what I thought was an excellent half hour of telly. My inner bike geek was audibly purring through most of it.

Now on to Setanta, Sunday night, Shay Elliott...:D

Piercemeear

I didn't see it, but the "oilbath" thing sounded so odd I had to go search for it. Here's a great page about the Sunbeam:
http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Sunbeam.htm

Itsfixed

its at times like this i wish i had sky tv or NTL digital instead of the ntl analogue package i have. the digital is apparently cheaper, so must do something about it.

its also a pity you can't watch these things on BBC's iplayer website if you are in the ROI.

unionman

Itsfixed wrote: »

its at times like this i wish i had sky tv or NTL digital instead of the ntl analogue package i have. the digital is apparently cheaper, so must do something about it.

its also a pity you can't watch these things on BBC's iplayer website if you are in the ROI.

+1 on iPlayer.

These types of programmes eventually migrate to BBC2. Having said that, for picture quality digital is worth getting.

For me, BBC Four alone is worth the subscription, especially when they do stuff like this.

Ghost Rider

Agreed. There are some brilliant documentaries on BBC4 and some really good "themed" nights. This cycling looks great - I'll have to try and get hold of it.

At the risk of inviting everyone here to join me in a criminal conspiracy, a lot of recently screened BBC TV stuff can be downloaded using bit torrent software. One particularly good site for documentaries is www.docs4you.org.

unionman wrote: »

For me, BBC Four alone is worth the subscription, especially when they do stuff like this.