My brother in law sent me this 17 minute video from 1945 showing the making of the classic Raleigh steel bicycles in England. What’s amazing about industrial manufacturing that you see when watching videos like this and the Science channel show, How It’s Made, is how, despite the heavy use of machinery, and automation, everything is basically hand made.

How a Bicycle is Made (1945) from British Council Film on Vimeo.

Hand Made Bicycles

If you hadn’t gathered it already, I love bikes and riding bikes. I own a truely bespoke steel bicycle made by Wade Beauchamp in Bend Oregon. Another great bike builder is Sean Walling who makes Soulcraft Bikes in Petaluma, CA. Here’s a video by Muchael Evans showing the making of a Modern custom steel Soulcraft bike.

FROM STEEL: The Making of a Soulcraft from michael evans on Vimeo.

A lot of similarities and differences in the ways these bikes go together…

-Mike

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