Picture of the Day - Unusual Guns

The Heretic · Dec 3, 2020

AMT said:
I couldn't tell from the picture, but i was wondering that too.

I was also meaning the springs around the wheels would also give it a "squishy" ride.

A quick search and i found this. Appears that there is NO rubber?

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If there is one thing bicycle/motorcycle owners/riders will need if SHTF, it is tires and tubes (if their tires are not tubeless). Both wear out tires quickly and flats/etc. are a common issue.

tac · Dec 3, 2020

This is unusual where YOU are, but not here on mainland UK...

Spitpatch · Dec 3, 2020

AMT said:
I wonder what that would feel like riding on those tires? Bizarre, I bet......

In about April of 1945 they woulda felt like, "Hope these hold out till I get back to Berlin."

DeanMk · Dec 3, 2020

Ura-Ki said:
Could it be leather?
That first picture sure looks like it has something like tread on the outside of those springs!

It looks like flat metal links laid on their sides.
I bet the ride is better than you guys imagine.
Basically, the original "run-flat" tire.

Dean

DeanMk · Dec 3, 2020

Spitpatch said:
In about April of 1945 they woulda felt like, "Hope these hold out till I get back to Berlin."

I would think that, in April of '45, Berlin would be the LAST place any German citizen would want to be.

The Heretic · Dec 3, 2020

DeanMk said:
It looks like flat metal links laid on their sides.
I bet the ride is better than you guys imagine.
Basically, the original "run-flat" tire.

Dean

Ever ride a street bicycle with tires inflated to 90PSI?

DeanMk · Dec 3, 2020

Re: German bicycle with metal tires...

I just remembered that, on some of the later moon missions, we sent a motorized buggy up with the astronauts so they could venture farther away from the landing module.
Officially, it was known as the LRV (Lunar Roving Vehicle) or LSSM (Local Scientific Survey Module), but the news media tended to call them "Lunar Rover" or "Moon Buggy".

The tires for that thing were not made of rubber, but instead were interlaced spring steel wires (think of a coil spring stretched out straight) reinforced by narrow metal plates arranged in a chevron formation, that helped create a sort of "tread" for which the tires gripped with.
The idea was the tires would smooth out the ride as they could also act as a suspension system.
This simplified construction and lightened the vehicle.
The thing was only capable of 11 mph flat out and at those speeds, the idea worked well enough.

I remember reading a story on this vehicle and engineers puzzled over how the tires would be made for quite some time.
Although I do not recall any mention of the WWII German bicycle tires as being an influence, I know more than a few former Nazi scientists had a hand in the Apollo project, so it does cause one to take pause and wonder....

Spitpatch · Dec 3, 2020

DeanMk said:
I would think that, in April of '45, Berlin would be the LAST place any German citizen would want to be.

Point. Let's go with Stuttgart.

The Heretic · Dec 3, 2020

Bear in mind, this was a World War ONE bicycle, not WWII

DeanMk · Dec 3, 2020

Spitpatch said:
Point. Let's go with Stuttgart.

...better yet, cousin Fredrich's hunting cabin in the Alps! :s0001:

DeanMk · Dec 3, 2020

The Heretic said:
Bear in mind, this was a World War ONE bicycle, not WWII

HA! You're right!
Apologies for the oversight. :s0108:

...I still vote for cousin Fredrich's hunting cabin in the Alps, though...

...

rdb241 · Dec 3, 2020

The Heretic said:
WWI German War Bicycle

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I found and saved that same pic on Facebook. The pics below are 3D printed single shot rim fire magless hand guns found in Brazil. Interchangeable barrels for reloading.