The Brewer Sulky

[Danno]

Not too sure I can help Jim, Dad's first race bike was an fully timber "Egan type" that had seen a few lives before he got it in the mid/late 60's, his next was a second hand ( and only second hand) all Hickory timber round back sulky that "Flash Adios" had won a bucket load of country and City races with Bob Austin in the bike. I drove my first dozen or so winners in that cart and to this day reckon it is the best cart I'v sat in. I'm also pretty sure it was a Regal, you would probably know better than me.

The Freebairn wheel you mention were truly the bees knees weren't they? In loose or heavy going they made a massive difference to how horses got to the line.

The Brewer bike had a big reputation as you would know without my saying< I have no idea why, but I always thought the Brewer was made and sold in Victoria.

You have also enlightened me on Steel tube backs, always thought it was a Regal "advancement".

Hope you get plenty of answers on this forum, but bikes are not often discussed.


Cheers,

Dan

[Jim]

Not too sure I can help Jim, Dad's first race bike was an fully timber "Egan type" that had seen a few lives before he got it in the mid/late 60's, his next was a second hand ( and only second hand) all Hickory timber round back sulky that "Flash Adios" had won a bucket load of country and City races with Bob Austin in the bike. I drove my first dozen or so winners in that cart and to this day reckon it is the best cart I'v sat in. I'm also pretty sure it was a Regal, you would probably know better than me.

The Freebairn wheel you mention were truly the bees knees weren't they? In loose or heavy going they made a massive difference to how horses got to the line.

The Brewer bike had a big reputation as you would know without my saying< I have no idea why, but I always thought the Brewer was made and sold in Victoria.

You have also enlightened me on Steel tube backs, always thought it was a Regal "advancement".

Hope you get plenty of answers on this forum, but bikes are not often discussed.


Cheers,

Dan

Thanks Dan. Those all-hickory chassis bikes had a great reputation for comfort, primarily because Hickory is a very "springy" timber. I cannot recall if Flash Adios raced in one of our carts, but when you have made 15,500 carts it can be pretty hard remembering what horse was in what cart - outside of Inter Dominion winners, of course. Just FYI, the Brewer was made in a small workshop in Canterbury Road, Petersham. I remember visiting it once to get a seat for a repair we were doing at that time (late 1960s).

[Jim]

[The Freebairn wheel you mention were truly the bees knees weren't they? In loose or heavy going they made a massive difference to how horses got to the line.]

The advantages of the Freebairn Singles: Very light. Excellent hub. large tyre (44 mm) great for soft tracks which were best for horses. Tyres had the lowest hysteresis (deformation) losses of any tyre ever used in harness racing. So all up, the most energy-efficient harness racing wheels ever made. DISADVANTAGES: The 15g spokes were the lightest and weakest ever used in a harness racing wheel. Frequent spoke failures. The wooden rims were VERY fragile, a strike from a hoof would shatter them. The tyres were equally fragile, easily punctured, with the result that the flat tyre would often wind around the hub and lead to the catastrophic failure of the whole wheel. It was these disadvantages that caused R.J. Walsh & Son never to go that route. That said, nothing could match the Freebairn Singles for over-all efficiency.




Cheers,