Monday 12 January 2009

Be like the Hovis boy !


Back in the 1970s, the TV in Britain often showed this advertisement for Hovis bread. It features a boy making a delivery on a traditional delivery bicycle.

These bikes are very practical and still in demand. However, it can be difficult to find such real butchers bikes in good condition these days. I can help out. I sell front racks for bicycles in several different styles which can be fitted to most bicycles.

There is a frame mounted rack like this:


And a handlebar mounted rack like this:


You can see full details of both styles here. I can of course make a bike basket to fit either style, or indeed to fit a genuine old delivery bike.

You may also be interested in a page of description of British delivery bicycles

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was great ,I looked at it Three times. It is just like back in the 1950ties when I was a Child Plenty of these Bikes around Dublin then. Delivering Meat from the Butchers, Bread, Laundry,Postman etc.
They are mostly used now as Advertisements Props outside Shops.
I have a Work Cycles Bike with one of those Racks (Voordrager)all I need is a Basket which I will get eventually. Very handy for carrying stuff,as the Bike seems to handle well with a load on the front it seems to balance the Weight better.

Anonymous said...

i have been toying with the idea of a front rack on my new roadster from india. The rod brakes seem to be on the way though.

David Hembrow said...

Abhishek, the handlebar mounting rack would probably work OK. It doesn't touch anything between the handlebars and the wheel nuts.

Anonymous said...

I think they remade this in the 80's I remember that version it took longer in the ascent- it made cycling on a fixie look pretty hard work to me.

Anonymous said...

I've got one of the Steco racks that fit to the hub and handlebars.I love it...but I found it requires a fairly tall, short-reach stem to sit properly.

Rob Ainsley said...

The boy actor in that Hovis ad, Carl Barlow, got the part because he was the only one of the shortlist who could ride a bike...
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20060502/ai_n16214536

Pics of same hill today
http://www.bike99.com/01.html