Weapon wheel
The weapon wheel is the Austrian licensed version of an English "Swift" wheel from Coventry . It is a civilian product and not to be confused with a military bicycle.
The name arose because the manufacturer Oesterreichische Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft started producing bicycles for the civilian sector from the end of the 19th century in order to utilize their facilities in peacetime, using experience from weapons production .
From 1895 the name "Waffenrad" was used for these bicycles, which is registered as a brand name from August 13, 1896 and September 3, 1896 respectively.
From 1934 until the sale of the two-wheeler production from Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG to Piaggio in 1987, the weapon wheel was manufactured in the Puch works in Graz-Thondorf , then for some time by Piaggio in Italy. The simple and sturdy bike is now collectible and is still popular.
The logo provides a peace product with the reference to an arms factory
Newspaper advertisement from 1929
The chainring as an advertising medium
Steyr weapon wheel with auxiliary engine from Rex (1953)
Advertising poster in the Vösendorfer Bicycle Museum
The term “weapon wheel” also found its way into literature. For example, it was used by the Austrian author Thomas Bernhard . The Austrian author Alois Brandstetter devotes himself to the weapon wheel in a humorous way in his novel At the expense of the postman . The weapon wheel also appears in Alfred Komarek's novels . Group inspector Polt uses his beloved weapon wheel for a murder hunt, for example in Polt has to cry .
Since 2014, the two-wheeler company founded by Josef Faber in 1948 has been selling a Puch weapon with new e-bike technology but an old design under the Puch brand .
literature
- Walter Ulreich: The Steyr weapon wheel. Weishaupt Verlag, Gnas 1995, ISBN 3-900310-83-1 .
- Markus Mráz: On the recognition and dating of Steyr weapons wheels from 1918 to 1940. In: The bone shaker : magazine for lovers of historical bicycles and auxiliary engines. Volume 39, pp. 8-12. Maxime Verlag, Leipzig 2007, ISSN 1430-2543 .
Web links
- Wheel Museum: The Weapon Wheel ( Memento from May 16, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
- Collection of photos and information on weapon wheels
- Forum for collectors and drivers of historical bicycles
- schlot.at : Waffenrad catalogs 1909 (OEWG) and 1930 (Steyr-Werke)
Individual evidence
- ^ Walter Ulreich: The Steyr weapon wheel.
- ^ Alois Brandstetter: At the expense of the postman. ISBN 3-7017-0104-0 .
- ↑ Puch: The legendary weapon wheel is back. Der Standard , May 8, 2014.
- ↑ New weapon wheel - more than a tired retro imitation? State of Styria; accessed on July 29, 2018.
- ↑ The weapon wheel is back. Radio Styria , April 23, 2014.