Bicycles

Season 2Episode 460 minAug 16, 2016
Bicycles

Brompton's bicycle factory in West London is the largest in Britain, producing 150 of its distinctive folding bicycles every 24 hours.

In the fourth episode of Inside the Factory Gregg joins a multi-stage manual production line to make his very own bike. He'll learn how to put together 1200 individual parts. He'll also attempt to braze a bike frame together using extreme heat of a thousand degrees, a skill that takes years to master. He'll visit a leather saddle maker in Birmingham that's been making saddles for 150 years and discover how they use cowhide from UK and Ireland cows because the cold weather means they have thicker skins.

Meanwhile, Cherry Healey gets some tips from Cycling Team GB to help us all improve our pedal power. She also learns how to paint a bike frame fit for the British weather using an electro-static charge and a 180 degree hot oven. Cherry also investigates why cyclists and trucks are such a deadly combination: in London alone there have been 66 fatalities since 2011 and half of them were collisions with a truck.

And historian Ruth Goodman reveals that folding bikes date back to the 1870's, and how 70,000 folding 'parabikes' were manufactured during World War II, some of which played a role in the D-Day landings. She'll also find out how the invention of the safety bicycle in the late 1880's was used by Suffragettes to ride to rallies and spread the word in their fight for equality.

Bicycles has aired on Aug 16, 2016 at 8:00 PM
Previous EpisodeNext Episode

Trailer

We do not have any trailers for this episode

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch
Running

Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch

There are some places on earth where the land just seems different, and Blind Frog Ranch in eastern Utah is one of those places. Locals say the land is cursed. That it's trying to hold on to something. From Aztec treasure to caverns of gold and silver to lost Mormon mines, legends surround Duane Ollinger's 160-acre ranch in Utah's Uintah Basin. But Duane isn't concerned with the lore. After discovering a system of seven underground caves that run through his property, he is singularly focused on finding what's hidden in them - no matter what the cost.

Twisted Metal
Running

Twisted Metal

Twisted Metal is about a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a trigger-happy car thief, he faces savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.

Mountain Men
Running

Mountain Men

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live your life off the grid? Have you wished you could shed the complications of modern society and live in the wilderness, using only the things nature has provided? Meet Eustace Conway, Tom Oar and Marty Meierotto of the new History series Mountain Men, three men who have devoted their lives to survival in its simplest form. But how simple is it really for the Mountain Men?

From the rugged Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to the seven-month-long winters on the Yaak River in Montana to the frigid northern range of Alaska, the country is full of some very unforgiving terrain. Watch as these men face off against mudslides, falling trees, ravaging weather and even hungry animals, to make sure they obtain the food and supplies they will need to make it through the brutal winter months ahead.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Running

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

In Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, 15 questions need to be answered by the contestants to win the 1 million dollar prize.

MasterChef
Running

MasterChef

Three celebrated food experts put the latest group of contestants through a series of challenging elimination rounds and turn one home cook into a culinary master.

GenreFood