My “new” Swiss military bike from 1941! Apparently it was still being used on the military base for getting around. Everything is still working, including the lights. Amazing feeling to ride an 85 year old bike!
The is the Ordonnanzfahrrad Modell 05, which began production in 1905 and was made until 1989, when it was replaced by the MO-93 (Also a super cool Xbike). These are very common here in Switzerland, but I assume they are very rare elsewhere!
Has all the features that a good Xbike should have: leather saddle, swept handlebars, mudguards, and 650b wheels! Designed to be low maintenance and basically indestructible. I hope that I can keep this thing running and maybe one day I will own a 100 year old bike!
by simplejackbikes
8 Comments
Damn. I’m completely over the whole N+1 thing, but I’d clear space in my garage for a literal Swiss Army Bike haha.
Built to last for sure. Keep it alive and well because it’s ridable history now 😊
How’s the gearing on that thing?
Wow, why are the seat stays bolted to the seat tube? Let me guess, the whole rear triangle can be folded to ship the bike?
This is timelessly cool.
https://preview.redd.it/o0lokz4bo1qg1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=542356047fddef02891f6d2faf56aff9afa35fb4
You don’t have the OG, but you still have a cool bike.
Sweet ride. Heck, you can even turn an Xbike into a TT bike! This is a bad pic, but this is an ancient 3 speed bike that I found abandoned outside of Narita, Japan that I switched out with a much longer seatpost and then moved the cruiser bars into a kinda crazy TT position. It worked great, [pic here](https://i.imgur.com/0IXxCZy.jpeg). Keep riding!
I’d like to place a bet on how many years that thing has survived at the bottom of a canal or river only to be found and refurbished:
At least one year