START MO-05 Armee MO-93 Aanhanger Bikerace Schlenker Bicycle manual Army plates

Model MO 93 (Frd 93)
most parts in Dutch, many parts in English und einige im Deutch
 





















Frank's Bike
Gewicht 23 kilo
Lengte 1820 mm
Breedte 620 mm
Hoogte 1040 mm
Afstand wielassen 1116,6 mm
Frame Reynolds 500
Wielen EDCO
Zitplaatsen 1 persoon
Achterwielaandrijving Ketting, Shimano 7 versnellingen
Remmen Twee hydraulische remmen Merk Magura.(Swiss made)
Bouwjaren 1993-1995
Aantal 5500
Producent Condor SA, Courfaivre
Uitrusting Halogeen Koplamp en dynamo aan linker vorkpoot.
Achterlicht met kenteken houder 
Koffer met ELDI gereedschap onder zadelpen
Documenten tas aan de stang.
Fietspomp met slang en kantelhandvat in de plastic koffer
Bagagedrager voor en achter
Leren zadel "Lepper" (Dieren-Holland)
Bel
Hit the picture for a big one

Pictures from the Swiss Army, hit the picture above for a bigger one 
   

Ben's fiets. Hij schreef een stukje in het Nederlands ( in Dutch) Hit the picture.

New pictures on 28-09-2004: Bat 9 >>> >>>>>
 
PROTOTYPE:
The Swiss bicyclcle Factory VILLIGER produced a prototype for the new militairy bicycle. Some parts and design details are used for the Condor bike.
Also the framebag is another design and did not make the productionline
No, a disk brake was not used on the final bike.

 
In aller Stille zur ewigen Ruhe
By Bruno Schmucki

Die Schweizer Armee soll zu einer schlagkräftigen Hightech-Truppe umfunktioniert werden. «Folkloristische» Elemente wie die Radfahrertruppen haben darin keinen Platz mehr. Im Frühling dieses Jahres hiess es für über tausend Velosoldaten zum letzten Mal «Abtreten!».
«Stell dir vor, es ist Krieg, und alle kommen mit dem Velo». Die leichte Abänderung des populären Brecht-Zitats macht drastisch klar, dass den uniformierten und bewaffneten Velofahrern jene Ernsthaftigkeit fehlt, auf der jede kriegerische Abschreckung basiert. Selbst die militärische Sprachregelung, die den Begriff «Velofahrer» konsequent ächtet und stets durch «Radfahrer» ersetzt, kann den gewünschten martialischen Eindruck nicht herstellen. Zu diesem Schluss scheint auch die Schweizer Regierung gekommen zu sein. So verkündete Verteidigungsminister Samuel Schmid am 27. Februar 2001 offiziell, dass die über 110-jährige Truppengattung im Rahmen der Umstrukturierungen zur Armee XXI kurzerhand abgeschafft werde. Die Betroffenen selber – die passionierten Radfahrersoldaten – nahmen den Entscheid eher gelassen entgegen. Der erwartete grosse Aufschrei blieb aus.
Martin Gubler beispielsweise, Kommandant des letzten Radfahrerregiments der Schweiz, erklärte im vergangenen Juni gegenüber der «SonntagsZeitung»: «Wir Radfahrer haben den Entscheid, der schon vor zwei Jahren fiel, mit sportlicher Haltung akzeptiert.» Da und dort beklagen sich zwar noch Einzelne in den Gästebüchern der einschlägigen Internetseiten über das schnelle Ende der mobilen Truppe. So der St. Galler Chris Neff auf der Homepage des Radfahrerregiments 6: «Meines Erachtens ist es eine Schande, die Radfahrer abzuschaffen. In Kriegsfällen würden wir sowieso nicht mit dem Rad zum effektiven Einsatz gelangen. Doch die Ausbildung als Radfahrer garantiert eher, dass die Soldaten ein körperlich höheres Leistungsniveau erreichen als Fusssoldaten. Ich bin echt enttäuscht, dass das stolze &Mac220;Aushängeschild&Mac221; der Schweizer Armee ins Alteisen geworfen wird.»
Doch in einem Land, wo 1972 über 400’000 BürgerInnen eine Petition für den Erhalt der Armeekavallerie unterschrieben haben, wo 1995 die Freunde der Armeebrieftauben – zwar erfolglos – eine «Volksinitiative für eine Schweizer Armee mit Tieren» lancierten und wo die Bauernlobby mit entsprechendem Druck dafür sorgte, dass es auch in der modernen Armee XXI Militärpferde-Truppen (den so genannten «Train») gibt, ist dieser Widerstand schwach. Fast ein bisschen lendenlahm für eine so sportliche Truppe.
Stille Leidensfähigkeit
Das grösste Potenzial der Radfahrertruppen scheint ohnehin deren stille Leidensfähigkeit zu sein. Denn der Dienst als Radfahrersoldat war verdammt hart. Bis in die neunziger Jahre hatte das Schweizer Militärvelo – das so genannte «Ordonnanzfahrrad 05» aus dem Jahre 1905 – keine Übersetzung und nur eine Rücktrittbremse hinten. Selbst nachdem vor zehn Jahren ein neues Velo mit sieben Gängen abgegeben wurde, waren Steigungen mit dem 24 Kilo schweren Vehikel und Gepäck von 15 Kilo eine Tortur.
Aber ein Radfahrersoldat kannte keine Müdigkeit. Durchhalten war Ehrensache. Radfahrerkommandant Gubler in der «SonntagsZeitung» zum Thema Schmerzen am Allerwertesten: «Jeder schwört auf eigene Mittelchen und Sälbeli. Viele tragen unter der Uniform gepolsterte Rennhosen. Spezielle Sättel sind nicht erlaubt. Das Hinterteil hat sich durch Training dem Sattel anzupassen.»
Der gestandene Radfahrer-Soldat und Berner IG- Velo-Sekretär Daniel Bachofner trauert seiner Fitness nach: «Ich war körperlich nie so fit wie nach der Rekrutenschule. Die haben mit uns ein eigentliches Trainingsprogramm veranstaltet.» Eine Bekannte erzählte mir allerdings unter dem Siegel der Verschwiegenheit, dass ihr Mann jeweils mit einem spitzen Nagel in der Brusttasche in den militärischen Wiederholungskurs eingerückt sei. Damit habe er sich und seinen Kameraden während langen Fahrten immer wieder eine willkommene Pause verschafft, weil sie einen defekten Veloschlauch flicken mussten …
Die Schweizer Armee kannte seit 1891 velofahrende Soldaten. Französische und italienische Generäle hatten bereits ein paar Jahre zuvor den militärischen Nutzen des flinken und lautlosen Zweirads für Meldefahrten entdeckt. Die neue Truppengattung stiess allerdings anfangs auf Skepsis und Ablehnung, vor allem bei der hochnäsigen Kavallerie. Und im Geschäftsbericht des Eidgenössischen Militärdepartements von 1895 findet sich die folgende Passage: «Die Radfahrer zeigten sich zum Teil als zu wenig discipliniert und in der Ausübung ihres Dienstes nicht zuverlässig genug.» Und als erklärender Zusatz: «Dank der Schnelligkeit ihrer Stahlrosse waren unsere Radfahrer meist sehr rasch den Blicken ihrer Obersten entschwunden und hatten sich in den Wirtshäusern eingenistet, aus denen sie nicht so leicht wieder herauszubringen waren.»
Ersatz für die teuren Pferde
Ein weiteres Problem war die Uniformierung der Radler. Denn statt robuster Wollstoffe war leichtere und bequeme Kleidung gefragt. Als Bewaffnung musste zudem eine Pistole genügen. Die Hauptaufgabe der Truppe bestand darin, Verbindungen zwischen einzelnen Kommandostellen zu garantieren. Im Jahr 1910 verfügte der Bundesrat in einer Verordnung, dass dem Fahrrad innerhalb der Armee noch mehr Beachtung geschenkt werde: «Auf ebenen Strecken und bergab gewährt es für die Bewegung Vorteile in Bezug auf Leistung und Billigkeit, die durch kein anderes Beförderungsmittel zu erreichen sind.» Dank dem Fahrrad sollte zudem die Zahl der in Unterhalt und Pflege ungleich teureren Kavalleriepferde möglichst niedrig gehalten werden. Zur Generalmobilmachung beim Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkriegs (August 1914) rückten dann die 14 Radfahrerkompanien bereits als «kämpfende» Truppe ein. Die Radfahrersoldaten wurden wie die Füsiliere mit einem langen Karabinergewehr ausgerüstet. Allerdings wurde die Kampfstärke der Radfahrer empfindlich durch eine ganz heimtückische Materialknappheit während der beiden grossen Kriege geschwächt: den Mangel an Gummi für Pneus und Schläuche. So mussten die Truppen oft statt mit dem Velo zu Fuss ins Feld geschickt werden, um die raren Gummi-Ressourcen zu schonen.
Höhepunkt und Niedergang
Der Bestand der Radfahrertruppen wuchs in den folgenden Jahren immer stärker an. Um 1925 zählte die Schweizer Armee 6315 Radfahrersoldaten in 26 Kompanien. Ab 1926 wurden die Rekruten systematisch auf dem «Radfahrer-Waffenplatz» in der Velostadt Winterthur ausgebildet. Vor dem Zweiten Weltkrieg betrug der Sollbestand dann 9000 Mann. Die zunehmende Mechanisierung der Armee führte allerdings dazu, dass die Radfahrertruppen mit Motorradfahrern verstärkt wurden, die auf ihren Gefährten die schweren Maschinengewehre mitführten.
Nach 1945 wird die Zahl der Radfahrersoldaten angesichts der Motorisierung der Einheiten immer weiter reduziert. Die Truppengattung übersteht trotzdem noch verschiedene Armeereformen. International sind die velofahrenden Soldaten der Schweizer Armee schon längst zum militärischen Kuriosum geworden, was die hiesigen Militärs allerdings lange mit Stolz erfüllt hat. «Es ist eine typisch schweizerische Truppe, denn aus fast allen andern Armeen sind die Radfahrer wieder verschwunden. Das ist ein Grund mehr, ihr 100-jähriges Bestehen zu feiern», stellt der Waffenchef der mechanisierten und leichten Truppen, Divisionär Keller, in einem Vorwort zu einer Jubiläumspublikation fest.
Jetzt sind die letzten Radfahrersoldaten doch abgetreten, haben noch einmal in Achtungsstellung die geschundenen Arschbacken zusammengekniffen und sind radelnd in Viererkolonnen an militärischer Prominenz vorbeidefiliert. Die Truppengattung hat das 21. Jahrhundert nicht überlebt. So schlimm findet das eigentlich niemand. n
www.rdfrgt6.ch (Homepage des Ehemaligenvereins des Radfahrerregiments 6)
Literatur:
Robert Gubler: Schweizerische Miltärradfahrer, 1891–1993, Zürich 1993.
Rolf Leiser u.a.: Hundert Jahre Radfahrer-Truppe, 1891–1991, Bern 1991

 

End of the road for Swiss cycle regiment

By FIONA FLECK GENEVA Monday 30 April 2001

The famous green-camouflaged Swiss army bicycles, like the knives, are the stuff of legend. Introduced in 1891 despite opposition from the cavalry, the bikes became an integral part of the Swiss defence force. The modern seven-gear mountain bikes, which Swiss Cycle Regiment recruits call their "metal mules", carry up to 160 kilograms of equipment, including bazookas, mortars, grenades and ammunition. The bikes can reach downhill speeds of almost 65kmh. The regiment's role in a conflict is to fortify a flank and guard the valleys from Lake Geneva to Lake Constance. The main advantage of the cyclists is that they can be deployed rapidly. Soldiers in other countries might regard them as something of a joke, but the Swiss are fiercely proud of their combat cycling tradition. Even so, officers and recruits admit that their bikes have no place in a modern high-tech army. "I've served 700 days on my bike, but you have to be realistic. An army costs money and we can't hang on to the bikes just for the sake of tradition," Captain Matthias Zavratnik, 28, said. He is "deeply saddened" that the regiment will soon be gone. There was a public outcry when Switzerland phased out the mounted cavalry in the 1970s and its carrier pigeon service in the 1990s. But the end of the cycle regiment of 3000, scheduled for 2003, is seen as the cruellest aspect of a sweeping modernisation of the armed forces. It is believed to be the world's last combat cycle regiment. Captain Daniel Setz, one of Switzerland's few career soldiers, lamented that the cyclists had to go, but said: "I must provide my men with maximum protection. A platoon of cyclists could be decimated by a modern fragmentation bomb and would stand no chance against snipers." A 2800-member transport horse unit is also marked to go as army numbers are cut from 360,000 to 100,000. 


 
  By Andrea Gerlin INQUIRER STAFF WRITERSCHWARZSEE, Switzerland

Swiss army to retire bike brigade by 2003
- The Swiss soldiers wheeled around a glacial lake, with bazookas and machine guns strapped on the backs of their bikes, and braked to a halt for inspection. A few of the soldiers had equipment belts unbuckled or helmets askew. But on the seven-gear mountain bikes, everything was in spit-and-polish order. There was little mud on the heavy, olive-drab steel frames. Weapons were on the rear racks, and 25-pound packs were strapped to the front. This is the Swiss army's bicycle school, training ground for the last bike soldiers in the world. But soon, even these will be history, gone the way of the Swiss army's cavalry and carrier pigeons. As Switzerland reduces its military spending, its defense ministry has branded the 3,000 cycling soldiers an anachronism in a modern world of high-tech weaponry and decided to phase them out by the end of 2003. Not everyone is happy about the loss of the bicycle regiments, whose existence dates to 1891, when they began carrying messages between units. The school's commandant, Col. Jean-Pierre Leuenberger, and his 100 latest recruits have grudgingly accepted their approaching elimination but not the defense ministry's logic. The Swiss army cyclists say they can cover distances of up to 30 miles over rugged terrain more quickly and quietly than vehicles. The bikers take their military roles - flanking tanks alongside infantry and guarding the border - very seriously. "The cyclists are discreet and easy to camouflage," said Leuenberger, one of the country's few permanent military officers and an 18-year army cycling veteran. "They can go on the street and in the forests with the same ease. If there is combat between a Sherman tank and a cyclist, well, the cyclist has a bazooka, and the first shot wins." Much of this is theoretical, of course. Switzerland is famously neutral, and its military has never fought in a modern war. The landlocked country requires all able-bodied adult males to enlist in 15 weeks of basic training once they reach age 20 and to serve several additional weeks every other year until age 40. The requirements are expected to be reduced as the military shrinks. In 110 years, the bicycle brigades have earned a reputation almost as legendary as the red Swiss army pocketknife or St. Bernard mountain-rescue dogs. Their popularity is unsurprising in a nation where many children grow up cycling long distances over mountains and where nearly every town has a club of serious enthusiasts. Joining a cycle regiment is also seen as a way for robust young conscripts to avoid the otherwise dull routines of mandatory military service. Aspiring candidates must prove themselves in a national fitness test, which includes running two six-minute miles, jumping and climbing. Competition is stiff. More than 2,000 soldiers vie for the 200 places available in the twice-yearly training program, which is based in nearby Romont. The 1996 Olympic road race champion, Pascal Richard, and current Tour de France competitor Laurent Dufaux served their time in cycling regiments. "I'm a little bit sad," said Clemens Gisler, 19, who is preparing to enter the university at Lausanne. "I thought I could do the whole military service as a cyclist. Now it's ending." As he spoke, loud booms erupted from the alpine hillside a few hundred feet away, where his comrades fired automatic rifles and threw grenades at targets. The army's bicycle brigades are not entirely about cycling, and recruits are schooled in munitions by a non-cycling artillery instructor. Luke Bischofberger, who was on the Swiss junior cycling team and is following in his brother's tracks at the army cycling school, would prefer to cycle all day. His most memorable exercise was a recent 120-mile, 14-hour overnight ride that all 100 recruits attempted from Lac de Morat to the Thuner See near Interlaken. They began at 5 p.m. and halfway along the route ran into rain and snow. Two soldiers had to be picked up off the pavement after falling asleep at their handlebars; only half of the troop reached the finish line. The soldiers ride for hours on hard leather seats, pedaling 50-pound bicycles with up to 130 pounds of gear. Forget Lycra shorts; these cyclists wear full camouflage fatigues and combat boots and sling assault rifles across their backs. All that weight makes for less-than-stable steering. Even with hydraulic brakes, careening down a mountainside at speeds up to 35 m.p.h. can feel more like riding an out-of-control rickshaw than a fighting machine. In between military stints, the soldiers take their bicycles home and are encouraged to ride them regularly. Safety features include front and rear lights and a black bell suitable for a tricycle. A Swiss firm, Condor, makes the bicycles to the army's specifications at a cost of about $1,500 each. The latest cuts will be sweeping, reducing the military to 120,000 troops from its current level of 400,000, as the army puts much of its storied past behind it. Even the last mules and horses will be decommissioned, as carrier pigeons were in 1994. Capt. Daniel Seitz, the artillery instructor, said the potential "human cost" of continuing to use the cyclists in increasingly precise conditions of modern warfare would outstrip any savings. "If you engage the bicycling troops in Kosovo, there are snipers," he said. "What will they do? The cyclists have no protection."

 
Armeefahrrad, Haflinger, Pinzgauer an der Gant in Thun

Die Radfahrertruppe hat das neue Armeefahrrad 93, bei den anderen Truppen wird das alte Armeefahrrad nicht ersetzt. Die alten Modelle werden aber vereinheitlicht, um deren Bewirtschaftung effizienter und billiger zu machen. Durch diese Massnahmen und bei einer kleineren Reservehaltung sind 11´000 alte Fahrräder auszumustern.

Die auf die Armee 95 abgestimmte Motorisierung beschränkt die Armee-Fahrzeug-flotte auf eine für die Ausbildung minimal notwendige Zahl. Seit 1992 wurden bereits 9´000 alte Fahrzeuge wie Jeeps, Unimog S, Haflinger, Motorräder, Lastwagen 2DM und Steyr wie auch Anhänger verkauft - der Grossteil davon an der alljährlichen Versteigerung in Thun. Die weitere Liquidation von 3´700 Lastwagen, Unimog S und Pinzgauer steht in den nächsten Jahren an.

 

Wenger Mountain Bike Knife

Today's high- tech bikes require an extradinary amount of care and maintenance. The Wenger mountain Bike Knife is specifically designed to handle any equipment problem from a simple cable clamp or chain link to the most serious technical difficulty. Detachable tools allow you to make adjustments and repairs on your bike with no hassles. And, like all Wenger Genuine Swiss Army Knife models offer a wide range of basic tools and functions whose proven efficiency is legendary. The Mountain Bike Knife is an instrument that no cyclist should be without. The "Small Mountain Bike" knife features 8 special tools including pen blade, phillips screwdriver, can opener, cap lifter, wrench, large blade, corkscrew, precision screwdriver and allen wrench. Comes along with a carry case. Is approximately 3 1/2" in length.

Swiss army abolishing bike soldiers, horses in effort to modernize

By CLARE NULLIS, Associated Press ROMONT, Switzerland 9 April 2001 

 
A proud and unique part of the Alpine nation's sturdy defenses, the Swiss army bicycle brigade is set to follow the mounted cavalry and carrier pigeon service into history. The abolition of the world's last remaining combat cyclist regiment along with a 2,800-strong transport horse unit - is part of sweeping Defense Ministry reforms to modernize and rationalize Switzerland's militia army. "There's no more room for the cyclists. They're not protected enough," bemoans Col. Jean-Pierre Leuenberger, one of the commanders of the 3,000 men. "Can you imagine a Swiss cyclist unit in the Gulf War?" ,"At the professional level, I accept that we have to modernize our army to keep up with our neighbors. But sentimentally, I'm sorry," Leuenberger said, watching his recruits slice through torrential rain up a dauntingly steep hill. The cyclists were introduced in 1891 against considerable opposition from the cavalry. They eventually became a backbone of the Swiss defense force because they were swifter and more discreet than infantry and motorized units. 

The Swiss army bike - just like the knife - also became the stuff of legend, with the single-gear model used from 1905 until 1993 now a collectors' item. The current seven-gear model has attachments for machine guns, bazookas, grenade launchers and basic army kits, and can carry up to 330 pounds, including the rider. The bike weighs 48 pounds. It can travel 37 mph downhill, as demonstrated by the recruits who whiz through the central Swiss countryside, oblivious to slippery roads. Leuenberger spent two decades with the bike brigade and now heads a training school that provides 15 weeks of basic drilling for about 250 recruits each year. "They come in as civilians and they leave as real cyclists," Leuenberger declared with satisfaction. Many Swiss resent military conscription, but the cyclists show a special spirit. The regiment is oversubscribed because it is perfect training for potential world class athletes: 1996 Olympic road race champion Pascal Richard passed through the ranks. 

Defense Minister Samuel Schmid admits the reforms are a blow to traditionalists but says priority must be given to sophisticated weaponry and communications technology. There has been only a muted reaction so far, in contrast to an uproar over the scrapping of the military carrier pigeon service in 1994 and the mounted cavalry in 1973. Reform plans are still in draft form, and must be debated by parliament later this year. If adopted, they will become law in 2003. Few within the army hope for a reprieve.  "We ask ourselves why the cyclists should go," said Julian Wolffray, a chemistry laboratory assistant. "We are quick and silent. And we don't need gas."
 
Swiss on the cycle warpath

by the BBC's Justin Webb

Balz Buetikofr is very big and very wet, the rain dripping from every corner of his huge frame. His black beret is sodden, his camouflage gear drenched, but Balz is a happy man.  We are on the edge of a wood in the hills outside Berne and Balz is putting new recruits through their paces. At his command, a dozen or so helmeted, camouflaged cyclists appear on similarly camouflaged bikes. They hurl themselves at bone crunching speed into the foliage and dive onto the ground. The bikes are laid on their side and an extraordinary array of weaponry is removed from their khaki panniers. Balz is used to people coming to laugh at his troops and leaving with the smiles wiped off their faces. Because in this terrain - hill tracks and thick forests - bikes actually do seem to make sense. The specially made machines are very strong and very heavy - it took all my effort to lift one - but they are extraordinarily manoeuvrable and the anti-tank weapons they carry can pack a punch. "We can be sitting in a room and if the call comes for action we can get to anything within 50 km before the tank boys have even got their vehicles ready," the proud commander tells me. But year after year, as they wait for this action, the same thing happens, and it is beginning to sap the strength of even the hardiest of them - nobody invades Switzerland. 

It is a pattern seen right across Swiss society, a dissatisfaction building up with neutrality and isolationism - both of which seemed wise in the past but do not meet the needs of modern life.The impetus comes particularly from the young professionals - diplomats who would like to join the United Nations, businesspeople who want easier access to the markets of the European Union. Switzerland is of course not a member of the UN or the EU at the moment. 

But it also comes from soldiers who want to practise their craft keeping the peace in the world's hotspots, not sit around at home peering over the mountains in mock fear of the threat they know does not exist. The soldiers - part of a militia army designed purely to defend Swiss doorsteps - feel particularly excluded from global opportunities and challenges. The constitution bans them from taking their weapons abroad. Even the young conscripts seem to hanker after a more demanding military role. I talked to a couple of them in their barracks in the shadow of the snow covered north face of the Eiger. They regard the bicycle regiment as an embarrassment. 

Yuma Weber is a 19 year old with an earring and Mediterranean tan, who describes himself as a professional party organiser based in Zurich. "How can the bicycle fit in with other modern armies?" he asks. "What could they contribute in Kosovo?" Yuma's views are not unusual - and actually many professional soldiers support him. I ask a colonel at the barracks what he thinks of the cyclists. He smiles, opens his mouth, and then closes it again. A few moments later he has composed his response in perfect English: "No Comment". But the man at the very top, Major General Urban Siegenthaler, chief of staff for military planning, then gives the game away. In his office in Berne he waxes lyrical about the commitment of the bicycle regiment - commitment that was second to none and must be harnessed. "But how? Well, we'll give them armoured vehicles. They will still be called the bicycle regiment, but they will no longer have bycycles." Already the military bureaucrats are doing their dirty work - laying out the metaphorical tin-tacks in the path of the plucky peddlers. Soon perhaps the Swiss will be in the UN and the EU and their bicycle troops will be reduced to ceremonial duties. It'll be a victory for modernity and for those young Swiss who want to be like the rest of us. 
Swiss army bikes could be derailed

By Clare Nullis, Associated Press writer 

ROMONT, Switzerland -- The Swiss army bicycle brigade, a proud and unique part of the Alpine nation's sturdy defenses, is set to follow the mounted cavalry and carrier pigeon service into history. The abolition of the world's last remaining combat cyclist regiment -- along with a 2,800-strong transport horse unit -- is part of sweeping Defense Ministry reforms to modernize and rationalize Switzerland's militia army. 

"There's no more room for the cyclists. They're not protected enough," bemoans Col. Jean-Pierre Leuenberger, one of the commanders of the 3,000 men. "Can you imagine a Swiss cyclist unit in the Gulf War?"  "At the professional level, I accept that we have to modernize our army to keep up with our neighbors. But sentimentally, I'm sorry," Leuenberger said, watching his recruits slice through torrential rain up a dauntingly steep hill. The cyclists were introduced in 1891 against considerable opposition from the cavalry. They eventually became a backbone of the Swiss defense force because they were swifter and more discreet than infantry and motorized units. 

The Swiss army bike -- just like the knife -- also became the stuff of legend, with the single-gear model used from 1905 until 1993 now a collectors' item. The current seven-gear model has attachments for machine guns, bazookas, grenade launchers and basic army kits, and can carry up to 330 pounds, including the rider. The bike weighs 48 pounds. It can travel 37 mph downhill, as demonstrated by the recruits who whiz through the central Swiss countryside, oblivious to slippery roads. Leuenberger spent two decades with the bike brigade and now heads a training school that provides 15 weeks of basic drilling for about 250 recruits each year. "They come in as civilians and they leave as real cyclists," Leuenberger declared with satisfaction. Many Swiss resent military conscription, but the cyclists show a special spirit. The regiment is oversubscribed because it is perfect training for potential world class athletes: 1996 Olympic road race champion Pascal Richard passed through the ranks. Defense Minister Samuel Schmid admits the reforms are a blow to traditionalists but says priority must be given to sophisticated weaponry and communications technology. There has been only a muted reaction so far, in contrast to an uproar over the scrapping of the military carrier pigeon service in 1994 and the mounted cavalry in 1973. Reform plans are still in draft form, and must be debated by parliament later this year. If adopted, they will become law in 2003.  Few within the army hope for a reprieve. "We ask ourselves why the cyclists should go," said Julian Wolffray, a chemistry laboratory assistant. "We are quick and silent. And we don't need gas."

Het verzamelen van alle gegevens op deze site hebben mij veel moeite, tijd en geld gekost. Als u iets van deze site wilt gebruiken is het de gewoonte om daar toestemming voor te vragen. Collecting this information took me a long time and a lot of energy. When you want to use some, please ask. Always place the name and link of the Condorclub Holland.This site is designed and made by  Ben van Helden copyright on all pages

 

NOT MO-93

  

Found on the internet, sold for $199, the real fake.
This is not a Swiss Army bike. Some people try to sell this on the internet and Ebay and make the suggestion that it is a "civilian" model. It is not. Look at the pictures and see for yourself, its a very bad copy. 		There was never a civilian model produced by Condor. No one else made the bike so all the others are fake. Just compare the pictures.