Where would everyday Indian Man be without his bicycle? Sturdy, reliable and with an eternally long life, the Hercules bicycle is as much a packhorse as it is a convenient mode of transport.
You won't find a working class man riding racers, BMXs or mountain bikes in India. For them, the bike is ridden out of necessity and very rarely as a pastime. In fact, I think I have only ever seen one person wearing Tour de France lycra sports clothing, pedalling a bike for fun. But then you would probably be taking your life into your own hands, if you chose to cycle as a hobby in this city!
"Cycle is a poor man’s transport, hobby of rich man
and medical activity for the old"
The Hercules Bicycle is so sturdy and reliable - that it is the workhorse of Mumbai's Dobi and Dabba Wallahs and all manner of delivery men. I love the way that it is also used - through a clever modification to the pedals - as a mobile knife sharpening station. In the city, it is the Lamborghini of the working classes - enabling their riders to zoom past the static traffic of Mumbai's choked up streets. In rural India, the trusty bicycle enables village dwellers to go from village to farm and from the fields to home.
I've been all over the country, and it seems that the standard bicycle model is roughly the same. It has an old fashioned (nay, 'classic') shape with an economy of design that has not changed in decades (much like India's favourite taxis - the Hindustan Ambassador or Premier Padmini). From my pictures, you will notice that these bicycles can carry huge weights - probably because of their reinforced stays and double crossbars. Due to the ubiquity of such cycles, roadside bicycle repairing is a 'profession' in itself and punchars can be easily seen to. Most of the bikes you see on the roads must have been repaired countless times, kept in families for decades or resold down the line on many occasions. You can probably pick one up for a few hundred rupees.
So what is the story behind the Hercules brand? (Hang on a minute whilst I get serious).
The Hercules Cycle & Motor Company
The Hercules Cycle and Motor Company Limited was a British bicycle manufacturer founded in 1910 by Edmund and Harry Crane in Birmingham. The name Hercules was chosen to signify 'durability and robustness'. At first, Harry assembled the bikes whilst Ted cycled around Birmingham for parts. They went from making 25 to 70 bicycles a week within six months and from there on in, expanded exponentially. By 1914, they were producing 10,000 bikes a week, occupying a 13 acre site in Aston.
The brothers exported a large proportion of their production and by the time Sir Malcolm Campbell was invited to see the three millionth bicycle roll off the line in 1933, over half was being sent overseas - earning them £6m and the congratulations of the King. By the end of the 1930s, Hercules had already produced more than six million bicycles and could claim to be the biggest manufacturer of cycles in the world.
