From: ccsdhd@sunlab1.bath.ac.uk (Dennis Davis)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.soc
Subject: Re: Swiss Army Bike
Date: 18 Nov 92 15:35:27 GMT
Organization: Bath University Computing Services, UK

In the referenced article, sp@u36.kwnet.on.ca (Sean P Goggin) writes:
>The Swiss Army will retire their old single gear bikes for their
>mountain troops over the coming two years.
>They will replace these aged wheels with a new bike, 10 speed,
>designed to carry 100 lbs. 
>What can the net.wisdom contribute to these sketchy pseudo facts ?

Well, the accumulated net.wisdom stored by us gnarled and wrinkled
net.oldsters has a long memory.  The military use of the bicycles was
briefly discussed in wreck.bicycles just over a year ago.  At the
time I posted the article reproduced below -- sometimes I wonder why
I keep this stuff -- it may give you a few more details.

The following article, which I've reproduced without permission,
appeared in yesterday's (22 October 1991) copy of the Independent.
The article was written by Frances Williams and had the title "New
Swiss mountain bike goes to war".

   "Forget the end of the Cold War, nuclear arms cuts and the
    reduction of conventional forces in Europe.  In Switzerland the
    big news is that the lads will soon have new bicycles, to
    replace the gearless black heavy model now conscripted into
    army service that dates from 1905.
    
    The Swiss militia army is thought to be the only one in the
    world to have bicycle detachments, currently 5000 strong.
    Foreigners may think the bicycle corps has as much future as
    the cavalry -- but the Swiss militia reckon that bikes are
    ideal for the sort of mountain guerrilla warfare against an
    invading force that is the foundation of army strategy.
    
    Over distances up to 20 miles they are the quickest, and
    quietest, way of transporting soldiers and their equipment, the
    army maintains.  Among the men the bicycle corps is one of the
    most prized assignments: there is competition to join and no
    one asks for a transfer, according to the Military Department.
    
    By law all Swiss males aged 20 and over must serve in the army,
    which can muster 625,000 men.  After basic training soldiers
    must take part in regular refresher exercises up to the age of
    42.
    
    A brochure put out by the Military Department to celebrate 100
    years of the Swiss bicycle corps points out that the present
    bike model 'has survived the emergence of aeroplanes, two world
    wars, computers and missile technology'.  So why change it now ?
    
    The main reason is cost.  Many parts for the bikes are simply
    not available on the market any more and have to be specially
    made.  The new bike, to be made by the Swiss firm Condor, is
    essentially a simplified version of the standard mountain
    bike.  It has 7--10 gears instead of 20 or more, and a stronger
    frame to support the rider and his 130 pounds of equipment,
    including a machine gun and ammunition.  The replacement, with
    a grey-green camouflage frame, weighs 11 pounds less than its
    predecessor but at 50 pounds it is considerably more rugged
    than even the stoutest mountain bike.
    
    Soldiers will start receiving the new bikes in 1993.  They will
    certainly make pedalling up and down the Alpine tracks easier.
    All the same, there is considerable nostalgia for the old
    workhorses.  The army plans to keep the 35,000 now in service
    for use by other regiments, and has hinted that it might sell
    some to Switzerland's army of private bike enthusiasts."

The article led to the following letter from Edward Hurworth of
Chislehurst, Kent.  To understand the point of the letter you must
realise that the majority of cows grazing in the Swiss fields will
normally have a cowbell round their neck.  Cycle touring in
Switzerland can be quite musical at times.

   "... The historic and strategic reasons offered are, I believe,
    implausible.
    
    The principal motivation must surely be the Swiss preoccupation
    with bells and the opportunity to let loose a few thousand more
    bells on the mountains.
    
    Stealth would still be achieved because an enemy would
    undoubtably mistake the approach of a platoon of armed
    militiamen for the peaceful restlessness of a herd of cows."

[The above letter implies that the tinkling noises would come from
 the bicycle bells of the fast approaching defence forces.]

Bicycles have been used as a military workhorse within living
memory.  In 1942 when the Japanese invaded Malaya during the Second
World War they landed on the coast and approached Singapore (which
was fortified) by land.  They used bicycles to move men towards
Singapore.  Each company of soldiers included an expert bicycle
repairer.  The Japanese were also able to use bicycles seized from
the local inhabitants.  Before the war Japan had been a major
exporter of bicycles.  There would have been no compatability
problems with the local machines.  None of this agonising about
whether a Regina CX-S chain will run on a Shimano Hyperglide
cluster.

Men on bicycles could easily avoid any bomb craters in the road,
ford rivers with missing bridges and, when the tyres burst, the
bicycles could be ridden on the wheel rims.  When the Japanese
arrived at Singapore they found all the big guns were pointing out
to the sea.  The British thought that an attack by land through the
heavy jungle was impossible and were expecting an amphibious
assault.  The Japanese attackers were outnumbered by the
defenders.  However the concentration of defences against an
expected attack from the sea meant it was not possible to defend
against an attack from the rear.

Folding bicycles were also used during the Second World War by
British commandos and paratroopers infiltrating behind enemy
lines.  Folding bikes could be easily loaded into the towed gliders
that sometimes landed troops.  Obviously such bicycle frames
weren't made of carbon fibre, titanium or other space age
materials.  Neither did they have carefully hand-cut and filigreed
lugwork.  This wasn't necessary in a utility item that might have a
limited life.  However I can attest to the durability of such
bicycles.  I've got one (unfortunately it's incomplete) of
indeterminate age quietly rusting away in the garage.  I've no
doubt it will cost more than the original purchase price of a fiver
to restore it.  One of these days...

I guess that most of the readers of this Newsgroup will live in
countries where the bicycle is regarded as a recreational item.
Hence the slightly jocular tone of the above newspaper article, the
supplementary letter and this article.  However this hasn't always
been the case.  Petrol shortages in America during the Second World
War led to an increased demand for bicycles.  This demand was so
sudden that in April 1942 all retail selling of bicycles was frozen
for three months.  After this time limited numbers were sold on
certificate to defence workers.

In wartime Britain the petrol shortages and restricted public
transport brought cycling back into political favour.  An advert
for Firestone bicycle tyres for that period included the
exhortation 'Cycle tyres are a munition of war.  Take care of
yours.  Keep them pumped hard.'  An advert for Palmer Cycle Tyres
emphasised similar care.  Other adverts from that period, eg for
Runwell bicycles, Norman bicycles and Elswick & Hopper cycles
indicated that cycles were scarce and spares were difficult to
obtain.  Caring for your bicycle was seen as part of the war
effort.  Even if the bicycle wasn't directly involved in the
military, it was seen as part of the underlying support structure.

It is probably an alien concept for most of the readers of this
article but the bicycle still plays a significant in the life and
economy of some countries, such as China.  Such bicycles won't have
'Colnago', 'Daccordi', 'Gios' or 'Rossin' etc emblazoned on the
frame and are different from such machines.  They are used as
workhorses and so have balloon tyres and relaxed geometry for a
softer ride over rough roads.  It is also a mistake to presume that
technological superiority will always totally prevail.  In recent
decades this assumption has been disproved a couple of times in
Indo-China.  Peasants with bicycles have endured the most powerful
military machine known to man.
-- 
Dennis Davis, BUCS, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
D.H.Davis@bath.ac.uk