Cycling 21 November, 1945

The end of the war saw normality resume... and with normality came new bikes

The readers of Cycling were no doubt breathing a collective sigh of relief as the end of the war signalled the end to years of pain, suffering, food shortages and more. But it seemed like they all had just one thing on their mind. When could they finally buy themselves a new bike?!

“Be patient a little longer,” the editorial team wrote on their points of view page. “Better bicycles are on the way. This is news that those who have been without new bicycles for six years will be delighted to know.”

Not only would there have been material shortages through the war, but many manufacturers had adapted their production lines to build weaponry and equipment needed for war, meaning bike production dropped off.

You only have to look at some of the Dunlop adverts that appeared on the cover during these years to get the idea. One issue in 1945 featured a temporary pontoon bridge on the cover with armoured vehicles driving over it. The pontoons were kept afloat with inflatables made by Dunlop.

The main feature this week was a run through the major manufacturers and what their production plans were. “The cycle manufacturers are turning over to peace-time production from a war effort of a magnitude second to no-other industry. A high proportion of their output is earmarked for the export trade and the supply of quality bicycles is therefore limited.”

The promise was that bikes were about to get much better. While bikes were made during the war, there was little innovation as focus was elsewhere.

Despite this promise of better machines to come, the improvements tended to be little more than a full range of all models (available in most cases in 1946) with the odd change to welding techniques and finishes on the frames. After six years of war, it probably sounded like a little bit of heaven. But then new bikes always do.