Re: Packard Bikes
Posted by Leeedy On 2020/3/13 14:42:01
PACKARD BICYCLE FRONT SPRING SUSPENSION>>>>> If you read this 1936 bicycle accessory advertisement, a company in Cincinnati was selling a bicycle front suspension attachment they called "Packard Knee Action." Bicycle hobbyists today (even the ones who think they are "historians" or TV stars) are too young to remember, but up until the end of the 1960s, bicycle suspensions-like cars- were termed "knee-action." Thus the wording of this ad.
For whatever reason, a whole new generation of younger folks in the 1970s took to calling knee-action front suspensions, "springers"-wherever this came from. As in, "aw... that Schwinn Phantom bicycle ... or that Harley's got a springer fork." So from then on, the knee-action terminology died and was replaced in the general jargon by the term, "springer." (people today tend to just make up terms to mean whatever THEY want, irregardless of established terminology that existed previously... all of which is how "restored" now means a flashy paint job and blinding chrome instead of "returned to original"... and "all original" means whatever the person saying it chooses!).
Anyway, the add-on gadget in this ad claims it would work on any bicycle but this is hard to believe since the device moves the front wheel inches forward and has no stops to prevent contact with a bicycle fender during upward movement.
Also note that the ad talks about "1936 Packard smoothness"... with obvious hints here mixing Packard automobile and this bicycle suspension. Again, no genuine connection with Packard Motor Car Company, but you can see where they were going with this. Company called itself, "Packard Knee Action Company"
One more of the many times the Packard name was applied to bicycles in the USA in days of old. And the beat goes on...
Attach file:
(68.98 KB)
For whatever reason, a whole new generation of younger folks in the 1970s took to calling knee-action front suspensions, "springers"-wherever this came from. As in, "aw... that Schwinn Phantom bicycle ... or that Harley's got a springer fork." So from then on, the knee-action terminology died and was replaced in the general jargon by the term, "springer." (people today tend to just make up terms to mean whatever THEY want, irregardless of established terminology that existed previously... all of which is how "restored" now means a flashy paint job and blinding chrome instead of "returned to original"... and "all original" means whatever the person saying it chooses!).
Anyway, the add-on gadget in this ad claims it would work on any bicycle but this is hard to believe since the device moves the front wheel inches forward and has no stops to prevent contact with a bicycle fender during upward movement.
Also note that the ad talks about "1936 Packard smoothness"... with obvious hints here mixing Packard automobile and this bicycle suspension. Again, no genuine connection with Packard Motor Car Company, but you can see where they were going with this. Company called itself, "Packard Knee Action Company"
One more of the many times the Packard name was applied to bicycles in the USA in days of old. And the beat goes on...
Attach file:
(68.98 KB)This Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=219946