• @ladicius@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15•4 months ago

    A fixie without brakes? With that weight on the handle bar? With the most awkward stance because of that huge metal column piercing the riders sternum?

    They really didn’t like their soldiers, didn’t they?

      • @vrighter@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        5•4 months ago

        this reminds me of gta vice city. I used to enable the cheat that allowed cars to fly. One problem: once the car was off the ground it lost traction and all power.

        solution: spawn a tank, turn the turret backwards, and use recoil as the airborne thrust.

      • @Buddahriffic@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1•4 months ago

        I’m curious if the pedals even had a sprocket on that thing so the wheels could spin without the pedals spinning. That would give it a means to slow down, though it wouldn’t be comfortable. You’d have to spread your legs to coast and it would take some skill to get your feet back on the pedals without banging up your legs.

        • merde alorsOPEnglish
          2•4 months ago

          may be

          but the pioneers of fitting the freewheel to the safety bicycle were Linley and Biggs Ltd who fitted a freewheel from the summer of 1894, in part to assist the operation of their 2-speed ‘Protean’ gear.

          By 1899 there was widespread adoption in UK bicycle manufacture of the freewheel, usually combined with the back-pedal brake, and conversions were offered to existing bicycles.

          In 1899 the same system in the USA was known as the “coaster brake”, which let riders brake by pedaling backwards and included the freewheel mechanism. At the turn of the century, bicycle manufacturers within Europe and America included the freewheel mechanism in a majority of their bicycles but now the freewheel was incorporated in the rear sprocket of a bicycle unlike Van Anden’s initial design.

        • @pc486@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1•4 months ago

          The recoil wouldn’t be that bad. Apparently the M1895 was loaded with 6mm Lee Navy at around 2,200J muzzle velocity and a cyclic fire of 450/min. That’s quite manageable. In comparison, the M249 is a shoulder mounted gun of 1,800J, 850/min. That’s 50% more recoil to manage without a bicycle frame to support the firearm.

            • @pc486@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
              2•4 months ago

              I don’t believe the machine gun is intended to be fired while on the move. You’d have to be grabbing that grip at your crotch, aiming without the sights, all the while peddling and steering. That’s quite the tall order. Even under ambush conditions you’d want to get out of the area ASAP, something a bicycle would do better at than on foot.

              My presumption is this is intended to be a fast and light machine gun placement. Speedy deployment and movement of machine gun nets without needing to carry all that weight, let along carrying a machine gun’s diet of ammunition, on your back is quite an advantage. Dismounting to get behind the gun isn’t a high bar nor particularly slow. I’m sure a soldier could be sending lead downrange in a matter of seconds. Essentially the same role as light infantry support vehicles today.

  • @resin85@lemmy.caEnglish
    5•4 months ago

    If you ever have the chance to visit the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam, during the educational talk they discuss why the Dutch army wasn’t able to resist the German tanks. They show this picture, and at least on our tour said it was ok to laugh.