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What Is This Dial/Knob For?...

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HARPO

Cruisin' on my Bluebird
I've never owned a bike this old, so please forgive my ignorance asking what this knob/dial is for. It's on the bike I recently did a post of:

I can't see it being connected in any way to the neck...but maybe I'm wrong? 🙁

IMG_1965.jpeg
 
It's a fork lock- I wish modern commuter bikes had them! Tighten up the knob and the steerer is locked so you can lean the bike up against a wall. Germans used a tightening metal band around the steerer, I've seen some French bikes with a spring loaded bullet catch that pops into a hole in the steerer tube. Auf Deutsch, Bandfeststeller.
 
@Andrew Gorman Andrew, thank you!! I never would have thought of that being a possibility...and its been driving me nuts trying to figure it out. 🤪

Now I'm wondering why this didn't continue onto bikes as time went by. Cost?🤔

fred
 
Probably, and as time went on bikes were either kid's toys or "athletic equipment", not a way to get to work. It's a handy gadget! I've half halfheartedly been looking to find a way to build one but the springy steel and welding a loop on it is a bottleneck. The French Button catch might be an easier way. It took me a while to figure out what it did on my first pre-war German bike.
 
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