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Cycling Fashions and Fashionistas in Durban, South Africa in the 1950's & 1960's
With its sunny, subtropical climate of mild winters and hot, humid summers, the east coast South African city of Durban is ideally suited for both leisure and competitive cycling all year round and this originally Victorian colonial city has long had its cycling enthusiasts. But the local popularity of cycling has waxed and waned over the decades and local fashions in lightweight bikes, equipment and cycling paraphernalia have undergone frequent changes, never more so than in the second half of the 20th century.
This article concentrates on the Durban cycling scene as it existed in the 1950s and 1960s with an emphasis on the competitive cycling ‘subculture’ of the time, focusing particularly on the lightweight equipment then in use locally(1).
The site was created by Peter Underwood in 2006 as a resource for a few friends to share stories, memories and photos. Nobody imagined how the site would grow to become the definitive resource for classic British bicycles and their history. Peter and his wife Patricia’s stewardship of the site has been remarkable and highly valued by its large global readership. Management of the site was taken over by Chater-Lea in 2020 who undertook a comprehensive redesign and rebuild to enable future generations to continue to enjoy. Learn more here.
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Vol. 2, Issue 89 - September / October 2020
These editions of Lightweight News are rather light on lightweight news as so much is in abeyance these days. To provide some reading material I am selecting items from the website which I think you may have missed.
Vol. 2, Issue 88 – July / August 2020
Who could have imagined that in the Spring of this year that the whole world of cycling as we know, or knew it, would be turned so completely upside down along with all other aspects of life?
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