Original subtitles

♪ MTV ♪

Every year,

people in Britain cycle more than three billion miles,

and over half of us own a bicycle.

- We buy over 3 1/2 million of them every year.

[upbeat music]

- But what engineering skills does it take to build a bike

and get it on the road?

We've come to the UK's largest bicycle factory to find out.

[Gregg laughing]

I'm Gregg Wallace.

Wheels!

And I'll be joining this multi-stage

manual production line to make my own bike.

- There's just over 16 1/2 million

different combinations.

Don't be ridiculous.

Learning skills that take years to master.

- You're holding 1,000 degrees in your hand.

[Gregg groaning]

And trying to keep up

with their 24-hour production targets.

I'm sorry. I was chatting, I'm sorry.

Let's go, let's go!

I'm Cherry Healey.

I'll be learning the secrets of painting a bike

fit for the British weather.

You bake it in an oven!

- Historian Ruth Goodman investigates the role

bikes played in the D-day landings.

- This seems an enormously heavy machine to be wearing

whilst you jump out of a plane in a parachute.

- And how two wheels helped women fight for equality.

The bicycle really was, then,

a part of the sort of tools of the trade

in their political ambitions.

[upbeat music]

- A brand-new bicycle comes off this production line

every 3 1/2 minutes.

- Hey! - Ta-da!

And we're going to show you

the amazing engineering and craftsmanship

that goes into making every single one.

Welcome to "Inside the Factory."

- [bicycle wheel whirring] - [wrench cranking]

[conveyor belt whirring]

[machinery humming]

♪ ♪

[cereal clattering]

♪ ♪

- Welcome to the Brompton Bicycle factory in West London.

It's the largest bike factory in Britain.

- This is their classic folding bike

and it can be unfolded in as little as six seconds.

- Over 1,000 of these a week roll out of this factory,

ready to be shipped around the world.

Nearly got it. Ah!

- Do you need a tiny bit of help there?

Let's have a go.

♪ ♪

[laughs] Thank you, Cherry.

That's a clever design

but quite complicated to manufacture.

- They start off life like this, 1,200 individual parts.

Tonight, we're gonna show you

how a team of hundreds can turn this

into a working bicycle in less than 24 hours.

[upbeat music]

This is the largest company manufacturing bikes in the UK.

And they hand-build every frame.

All the raw steel they use comes from Spain

in six-meter lengths,

so first, it goes to a specialist company

in Leicester to be laser-sliced or machine-sawed.

[metal clanking]

♪ ♪

At the London bicycle factory,

the material intake section receives four tons

of made-to-measure parts every week.

That's enough for more than 150 folding bikes

every 24 hours of production.

And I'll be responsible for one of them.

The countdown from metal bits to my bicycle begins.

I'm going to need a lot of help,

starting with training manager, Barney Fox.

- Are you gonna give me my bits? - Absolutely.

First of all, I think we should start

with the main frame.

Two bits of tubing for you. Take one of those.

That's where your bottom bracket will go.

That's where your crank and chain set go.

Main frame tubing.

All right, couple of chainstays for you,

left and right.

So, you can take that as well. Gonna need a handlebar stem.

- Are you sure this actually makes a bike?

- You're also going to need a fork to be able to...

[metal clanging]

- Well. - Sorry, Barney.

There you are.

Keep hold of that. Where can I put that?

Then to finish off the main frame,

put in a seat tubing in there.

There's a little bit more than I thought there'd be.

Is it starting to look like a bike yet?

- Not at all. - [Barney laughs]

I feel like the Tin Man.

That's not a bike, surely!

[upbeat music]

33 separate pieces of metal

will form the skeleton of my bike

and every single part will be joined together

not by robots, but by artisans.

First out of my box of bits,

it's the biggest tube in the main frame.

It needs bending into its distinctive shape

and they do that with the original mold press,

designed more than 30 years ago.

♪ ♪

That machine is set to do this

at the right angle every time, is it?

Yes.

Where does this bit go? Up?

- Over here. - Like that?

It's shaped every folding bike that's left this factory,

using a pressure five times the weight of a white rhino.

And now, is this that bit?

No, it's not that bit.

If you turn it out, it will be this way.

So, that's...

- Yes. - That bit.

Just 15 minutes after the raw steel

arrived at the factory,

and I've now got all the parts of my frame ready.

Now it's time to start turning it into a bike.

Thank you.

[upbeat dance music]

The 33 steel parts of the frame

need joining together by brazing.

It's like soldering

but at an extreme heat of 1,000 degrees.

It's all done by hand.

There are 42 braziers

and the most experienced is Abdul el-Zahidi.

- Hello! - Hello, Gregg.

- He's worked here for 18 years.

What is your role here, Abdul?

- I train every single person in here

how to become brazier.

Right.

Training takes 18 months and, after qualifying,

each brazier is allowed to sign their own work.

They stamp their own initials?

- Every single brazier, he does have his own initial.

These bikes are going all over the world

and it's got one of your boys' initials on it?

Exactly.

- The wall of fame shows the pride in their work

and I'm hoping I can live up to the legacy

as Abdul's latest trainee.

- 'Cause a sleeve is extra protection.

You're holding 1,000 degree in your hand.

You're kidding me.

That's the melting point of bronze,

which forms an incredibly strong and solid bond

between the joints.

When was the last time you burnt yourself?

Maybe three months ago.

- Oh, no, Abdul! - Little touch with the--

it's only a little touch.

♪ ♪

- I'm right out of my comfort zone.

- Ah-ha. - Very safe, very safe.

Nothing to worry. Like a pen in your hand.

Right, what we're going to do, the wire in this hand

and I'll show you how simple and easy

and you're going to love it.

- [metal clinking] - Oh, yeah.

- Don't worry. Like everyone.

I'm not at all nervous.

♪ ♪

- Slowly. Excellent. Keep going with the torch.

Excellent, that's the one.

So, you're wishing to become a master brazier?

Well, I tell you what,

I would be tired at the end of the day

because this is quite precise work.

Very good, go.

- If that's melting metal together,

that would make a terrible mess of my fingers.

Now I've practiced, Abdul's letting me braze

one of the joints on the bike I'm building,

under his watchful eye and, well, safe in his arms.

- 90-degree, like that.

So what we do,

we heat that little bit in a straight line,

little bit.

♪ My darling ♪

Into where it glows, soon it join together.

♪ For your touch ♪

I'm going to leave you to continue on your own.

- You can't leave me! - Well done. Very good.

♪ I need ♪

I'll break it.

♪ Your love ♪

♪ ♪

Not bad,

but nowhere near as good as these guys.

Can I take one of yours? Is that okay?

Abdul!

- Yes, mate? - I've finished.

Well done.

What do you think?

Wow, fantastic!

- Not bad, huh? - Professional. Very good.

- Actually-- - Is that the one you brazed?

No, actually. [laughing]

I thought that looked okay until I saw my friend's.

The more we practice,

the more you get better and better.

I don't deserve to be here,

but I made it to the wall of fame.

And luckily, Abdul's team is giving me a hand,

brazing the rest of my bike joints,

normally an intensive four-hour job.

There you go.

With a little bit of help from Abdul,

I've finished the parts of my bike frame

and now they're gonna go off and get painted.

[upbeat pop-rock music]

My bike frame leaves London to travel 150 miles

to a factory in Cardiff,

where they paint 1,000 folding bikes a week,

and Cherry's in charge of my paint job.

So when you order your bike,

you can choose from over 100 different color combinations

and every single bike comes through this one factory,

here in Cardiff, to be painted.

I suppose I'd better get cracking then.

[upbeat pop-rock music]

First, we're dipping the parts into a series of 11 giant baths,

and that's just to prepare the steel for painting.

Have a nice bath!

In the 2 1/2-hour process,

the frame gets an alkaline wash to clean it,

a coating of crystals to protect it from rust,

and it's dunked in a bath of base paint

with an electric charge to make it stick to the metal.

The manager here is David Morgan.

Do you have to do this with normal bikes?

It sounds extremely labor-intensive.

The importance of this, with a folding bike,

is that when you open the bike,

you're opening the bike to the elements, effectively.

So, if the inside of the bike isn't protected,

the inside of the bike will rust

and the bike will effectively rust from the inside out.

- Is that really the only way to get that protection?

- If you want a premium finish, yes.

- If only Gregg knew how much hard work

goes into just priming the frame.

You're not even painting it yet! - Nope.

[upbeat music]

Before we can start,

Gregg's bike frame is heated for 45 minutes

at 180 degrees to harden the primer.

At last, overalls on, I'm ready.

[Cherry grunts]

Showing me how to do a professional paint job

is managing director Steve Rosher.

Can I have a paintbrush?

No.

What you need is a powder coating gun.

A powder coating gun?

Surely if you put powder onto metal,

it will just blow off.

- Not if you use the proper equipment.

- The paint powder is electrostatically charged,

so it's attracted to every little bit

of the steel surface.

That looks painted to me.

That looks like a painted piece of metal.

Okay, but at the moment

it's held on just by static electricity,

so if you touch it--

- Whoa! - It comes away.

- What? - So, it's still a dry powder.

Wow! Amazing!

It just falls off.

Obviously, you can't send this bike

out for someone to ride

'cause it would come off in one rain shower.

- So we have to bake it in an oven.

You bake it in an oven?

But before that happens,

I need to get Gregg's frame painted.

Ta-da!

Well done.

Job looks good.

- Shall we put them in the oven? - Yes!

After baking for 15 minutes at 180 degrees,

the parts are ready.

- So, it goes off down to quality control now,

and then it's up to London, back to Gregg.

♪ ♪

- This bike has been primed, painted, and baked

and now I look like a Smurf!

Back at the factory,

and we're now 16 hours into building my bike.

I've got my hands on my frame again

and now it's looking fabulous.

[upbeat rock music]

My bike parts will pass through a 28-person production line.

The 12 most time-critical jobs on the main assembly

have just 3 1/2 minutes before the bike moves on.

♪ ♪

And the target board keeps everyone on track.

They build 153 bikes a day

and each one can be completely different.

There's just over 60 1/2 million different combinations.

- Don't be ridiculous. - Absolutely.

- How? Forgive me, but how?

- We can have lots of different colors,

different types of handlebars, different gear rangings,

you can have mudguards,

you don't have to have mudguards.

- Before I can get going with my bike,

I've got to find the beginning of the assembly line.

Someone's gotta help me.

I've gotta put a bike together, where do I start?

- Maybe over there. - Start over there?

- Very good. - I need help!

Are you the first bit? I'm Gregg.

I'm Rafal.

- In the main frame station one,

16 hours and eight minutes after

they were plain metal tubes,

Rafal Sekovski will start connecting them together.

What is this bit? What is it? Where does it go?

- On the front, front of the bike.

Here we're gonna put a handlebar and fork.

Oh, okay, okay.

- Yeah, like that. - Okay, okay, okay.

First, the chrome spacers go on.

Argh!

The front and main frame is attached with a hinge

to form one of the three key folding points of the bike.

Like that.

- Rafal attaches the quick-release clamp.

Done?

Next, in main frame two,

Carl O'Brien will fit the seat post.

Then place it through.

- Which is inserted upside down.

- If you wanna just flip the bike over?

- Oh, oh. Carl, you're a star.

Then we need to add

its all-important safety features.

But first, Cherry's investigating

what's being done

to make our roads safer for cyclists.

[upbeat music]

[sirens wailing]

- As an enthusiastic urban cyclist,

I generally feel safe,

but it is hard not to worry when you see flowers laid out

in tribute to cyclists who've died on the roads.

In London alone,

there have been 66 fatalities since 2011

and more than half of them were collisions with a truck.

To find out why cyclists and trucks

are such a deadly combination...

It's a pretty big lorry.

I'm getting behind the wheel of an HGV.

Whoa, that is so high!

With instructor Doug Johnson.

- Ready to fire it up? - Holy moly!

[upbeat rock music]

- So, you bring your clutch up gently, gently, gently.

Whoa!

Oh, my God, the weight of this thing.

Doug's going to show me the challenges

of keeping cyclists safe

from a lorry driver's perspective.

First, a left turn.

- Now, looking left and looking right,

we're gonna treat this like a junction, okay?

Bring it to a nice gentle stop.

Have a good look in your mirrors.

Is it clear?

I can see the lorry, I can see the cone.

If it's clear.

Yes, absolutely.

- Let's just get out and have a look

from the outside.

[tense pop-rock music]

Whoa!

- Oh, my God! - [group cheering]

How is that possible that all of you and the car...

I can't believe it.

Literally, you cannot see anything.

Yeah, yeah, it's scary.

This spot is so dangerous.

Since 2015, all lorries in London

over 3 1/2 tons must have special mirrors

to improve vision directly in front of the cab

and both sides of the driver.

[truck horn beeps]

I had absolutely no idea

that the blind spot was such a huge area

next to the lorry.

It just goes to show that when you're cycling,

you have to be so aware.

[upbeat music]

- At the factory, it's 16 hours and 15 minutes

since I collected the parts for my bike.

We've bent the steel, brazed the frame,

and Cherry's painted it blue.

We've put together its front frame,

main frame, and seat post.

The target board shows that

somehow, we're still on schedule.

Now, Gary Franklin...

I've got another one coming in.

Attaches the fork for the front wheel.

Station by station, bit by bit, this is looking like a bike.

- You need to tighten the top nut,

and then back off the bottom nut.

Just make sure that you can feel the ball bearings working.

- Then he fits the front brake, reflector, and mudguard.

If you don't do this right,

does it get rejected further down the line?

- Yeah, it'll go down on the computer system

and you have a talking-to.

- [drill whirring] - Whoa!

It's like being a proper mechanic, innit?

- Yeah. - Cheers, mate.

[upbeat music]

Overseeing the entire operation is the company CEO,

Will Butler-Adams.

It's not what I expected at all.

- Well, that's what I was gonna ask,

what did you expect?

Well, it's far more artisan.

- I expected-- - Machines, robots.

- 30-foot high, yeah, automatons.

What I didn't expect was two rows of people.

[upbeat music]

Tell me about the idea of a folding bike.

If you're gonna use a bike,

you need a bike that's convenient.

And if you live in a city,

dragging your big bike is a bit of a pain.

So, if you can have a bike, that like a Swiss Army Knife,

suddenly appears when you want it,

disappears when you don't want it,

it's handy.

Whilst modern folding bikes are made mostly for urban use,

that hasn't always been the case,

as historian Ruth Goodman is finding out.

[dramatic music]

Imagine the scene.

You are 8,000 feet above Northern France,

about to jump into enemy territory.

You've got your parachute and your pack,

and you've also been told to take

the airborne military folding bicycle.

[sighs] And it's not light.

♪ ♪

But it was long before the Second World War

that folding bikes went into military action,

and collector Colin Kirsch has the proof.

So, here's the World War I BSA folding bike.

- And these were used in action?

- Yes, they made large quantities of these.

The problem was,

soldiers didn't really want to spend the time

unfolding them to put them on their back.

It was one of those things

that was not necessarily used for its purpose.

- Right, so it seemed like a good idea back in the office.

- Exactly. - [Ruth laughs]

♪ ♪

Even so, by the end of the war, in 1918,

100,000 troops had used a bike in active service.

♪ ♪

[upbeat swing-jazz music]

They were used again by the military from 1939,

the start of World War II,

first, to helps save the lives of paratroopers,

getting them away from their drop zone

as quickly as possible.

♪ ♪

Colin, this seems an enormously big

and heavy machine to be wearing

whilst you jump out of a plane in a parachute.

- Oh, well, this was probably the lightest!

Really?

- Yes. - [Ruth laughing]

Yeah, it managed to get the design of this one

under 20 pounds in weight.

- It would give you mobility once you got on the ground,

if you were off trying to find specific targets.

- As long as you weren't under fire.

So, did they see much action?

- Yes, there were two major campaigns they were used.

They were used on D-Day in the landing craft

and they were used at Market Garden,

[majestic music]

- How does it go together then? It sort of--

Right. Let's...

You wouldn't want to do this under fire.

You wouldn't, would you?

♪ ♪

Fabulous design.

♪ ♪

Ready to jump on and ride away.

- 70,000 of the so-called parabikes were manufactured,

but British paratroopers weren't keen to ride them,

and at the end of the war, thousands were stockpiled

and then sold off as army surplus.

[groovy upbeat music]

It wasn't until the 1960s

that folding and packaway bikes came back into favor.

Now they were fashionable and,

thanks to the much smaller 16-inch wheels,

also practical.

The next big breakthrough was in 1971,

when Harry Bickerton

came up with a new, light, and compact design,

which set the standard for folding bikes.

Four years later, Andrew Ritchie

came up with his own invention, the Brompton.

♪ ♪

[metal clanking]

- Back at the factory, Will's filling me in

on how that invention was turned into a commercial product.

Andrew Ritchie came up with the idea in his flat,

overlooking the Brompton Oratory,

came up with the name,

and decided, "Perfect, I'm a genius,

"everyone's gonna want my design."

Gave it to Raleigh,

they looked at it and decided it was bonkers,

didn't want to do it.

And after everyone else turned it down,

he decided to do it himself.

[upbeat electronic music]

In the early '80s,

Andrew began making bikes on a small scale

from his home in west London.

But making a profit was tough

and when the banks refused him a loan,

it was almost the end of the road.

- One of his customers, who was so frustrated

that he couldn't buy any more of the bikes,

that came in with the 40 grand he needed in 1988,

and after 13 years of struggle, he got started.

- He got his bike fan-funded.

- Early fan-funding. - He did, didn't he?

[upbeat music]

This factory produces 46,000 bikes a year,

and to help them keep on target,

I need to get mine back on the assembly line.

It's just over 16 hours

and 18 minutes since I started

and now Hubert Stritzi attaches the rear section

to the main frame

for the second key folding point.

Put rear frame.

- [drill whirring] - Ah. I can do this.

[drill whirring]

Okay, and now use this spanner.

Look in your ear.

- It's okay? - Clear?

[both laughing]

- Next, we're going to give my bike its mudguard,

racks, and rear brakes.

♪ ♪

Helping me is Michelle Makelogi.

I'm gonna show you one side

and then you can tighten the other one.

- That's all right? - All right.

- So, you just go like this. - [drill whirring]

[drill whirring]

- That's it. - That's it, right?

[upbeat pop-rock music]

Next stop for my bike is fork two, and Noel Peters.

Noel.

- All the experienced workers like Noel

swap over their stations from day to day.

Noel, you seem very confident. Have you been here a while?

- Yeah, since May 2001. - Wow.

On his station today, Noel puts on the mud flaps

and attaches the derailleur cables

that will make the bike's gears change.

You're part-man, part-bicycle now, aren't you?

- [laughs] I think I'm robot now.

Complete robot!

[both laughing]

They use more than half a mile of cable a day.

- Can I do this? - I wasn't leaving you out.

- Get off, get off. Get off. - All right.

[laughs]

- [drill whirring] - [bolt clicks]

When you hear that click, that's done, yeah?

- That's it, yeah. That's what we've done.

Cable in, mudguard in.

Yes, that's the one.

- What do you think when you see someone

on the train with one of these?

- I say, "Wow, I had a hand in that.

"And a few others." That's me.

Hand-made by me. I feel proud.

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

Back on the production line,

and my bike is just over 16 1/2 hours

into its journey from parts to packaging.

It's now got forks, mudguards, and brakes,

but it's still missing

two of the most crucial components.

Do you make the wheels?

- I do. - I need two wheels.

I need a back wheel and a front wheel.

Yeah, sure.

- Behind the main assembly line, Rudi Yousef fits the inner tubes

and tires onto the wheel rims.

And, like the other time-critical stations,

he has just 3 1/2 minutes

or he'll hold up the whole production.

How many wheels do you do a day?

Over 300 wheels a day, yeah.

- These wheel rims are designed here

but made off-site.

They only have a 16-inch diameter,

10 inches smaller than a standard bike wheel.

Their reduced size makes them stronger

and helps the bike accelerate faster.

Rudi, stand aside.

Let me show you how you do wheels properly, son.

Yeah, you just lock it in.

First of all, I need to apply a protective tape

and get the inner tube and tire to fit snugly on top.

This is very, very fiddly.

To help protect these tires from punctures,

they're reinforced with Kevlar,

an ultra-strong material used in bulletproof vests.

Can I stand back and just let you do one?

No, no, no.

- 'Cause I need two wheels for my bike.

Now, with help from Rudi, I can inflate the tire.

It always puts the right amount of air in, does it?

- Oh, 'cause it's automatically set at 100 psi.

- So, other tires, on other bikes,

they normally have a lower psi.

You have 100, which is higher,

because you have a smaller wheel.

Yeah.

- And is that because, I suppose,

the wheel is doing more work?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- It's going round more often. - Yeah.

The expert in wheel engineering is design manager Paul Williams.

Is the wheel the trickiest bit on a folding bike?

- It's one of the parts that needs to be best built,

lasts longest,

because it's gonna see a lot of wear,

constant braking, constant acceleration.

Regular cycling commuters

can travel more than 1,300 miles in a year,

so it's essential their bikes are robust

and lightweight.

- That might be down to this nut being two grams lighter.

How many bits on the bike?

- 1,200-odd,

and if we can take a little bit out of each of those,

then we will add up to something quite considerable.

- It's a constant challenge for the design team

to balance the bike's weight, durability, and cost.

- If you make something stronger,

it's often got more material in, so it's not as light.

If you make it lighter,

it normally means more exotic material.

It's hard to do that cheaply.

The company invests heavily

in researching the latest technologies

and they know a comfortable ride is also important.

Nowadays, we take it for granted,

but early bikes weren't designed with luxury in mind,

as Ruth Goodman has been finding out.

[upbeat funky music]

In the 19th century,

cycling was almost exclusively a male pursuit.

In 1817, the first popular two-wheeler

was thought to have been invented

in Germany.

It was named the dandy horse

because it was fashionable with wealthy young men.

More than 40 years later, the boneshaker,

with its iron-shod rims, wooden wheels,

and a very solid frame, also had pedals.

In the 1870s,

the penny-farthing was still for men only.

Bike historian Doug Pinkerton shows me why.

That is what we call forward dismount.

It looks really difficult to ride.

How on earth did women manage with the big skirts?

Ladies, at the time,

they weren't riding these machines.

It was the none-done thing to do.

In public places, you didn't even show

so much as an ankle,

so riding a bicycle of this design

was totally out of the question.

Totally impossible.

- So, ladies actually rode tricycles.

[gentle upbeat music]

- This ladies tricycle, from 1886,

has an ingenious lifting handlebar

to help ladies mount in bulky dresses.

Slide in, put the handlebars back.

Yep.

- Marvelous. Leg over in a decorous manner.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

Oh, my goodness!

This is not an easy bike to ride.

- No, very cumbersome, very slow.

- Fears that rigorous movement could ruin the feminine organs

of matrimonial necessity

meant Victorian women were discouraged from cycling.

It's sort of annoying,

in that the men have all this freedom on the bike

and you, as a woman, are gonna be trailing behind

because you've got to do it decorously.

- Yes, you really were almost a second-class citizen.

- You sacrifice so much with this upright posture.

Very much so.

- But things improved for women cyclists

in the late 1880s,

with the invention of the safety bike,

the direct ancestor of today's diamond-frame bike.

Equal-sized wheels and lighter, more responsive steering

made this a far easier ride.

This is the sort of period

when ladies were starting to use cycles.

So, for the first time,

men and women are on the same style of bicycle.

- Style of machine. - Exactly, yes.

- So, this, really, would give you,

particularly as a woman, a lot more freedom

than the earlier styles would have done.

- The new improved safety bicycle era, after 1885,

because of its design, certainly liberated women

to come and enjoy the sport of cycling.

[upbeat music]

- And one group who embraced this change

were the suffragettes.

According to research fellow Sheila Hanlon,

bicycles were vital to women gaining freedom and the vote.

So, why are we here in Hyde Park?

Hyde Park was the site

of a really important suffragettes' rally in 1913.

It wasn't just a rally,

it was actually a pilgrimage to get to the rally.

"Land's End to London."

If you look really closely in the front,

you'll see there's a line of cyclists.

They're upfront in the photograph

and that really reflects the central role

that they played in organizing the pilgrimage.

This postcard is a different route

and, again, the row of cyclists are right up at the front.

- Yes, they are. Whole load of them--

- There's quite a few of them. - Yeah.

And what they're doing

is they're taking pamphlets and handing them out,

they're holding meetings in village greens,

and they're really using their bicycles

as a way to get out there

and tell more people about the need

for the vote for women.

And then they all converge at the end,

in London, in the park where we are today.

- So, how many people ended up here?

- We think it was about 50,000 people,

which is a formidable crowd.

The bicycle, itself,

was part of the sort of tools of the trade

for independent-minded women to get out there

and be part of the political process.

- The bicycle really was a small cog

in a very big wheel for change

and I think it was essential to how women achieved the vote.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

[upbeat groovy music]

At the bike factory...

Wheels! Front wheel.

- Yes. - Rear wheel.

It's almost 16 1/2 hours

since I collected the raw steel parts.

I'm guessing it goes on that way.

And, as Amelia Maticevska and I

put on the wheels and handlebars,

it's really starting to look like the finished product.

Hey!

[upbeat music]

But it's still not fit to ride.

I need to tighten and align the brake pads.

You gotta strong arms! With Omar Ahmed Omar.

You happy?

- Not really. - What's wrong?

Because it's not straight.

- All right, you do it. Sorry, Omar, you do it.

I'm not very good at brakes.

Now I'm ready to fit the mechanism

that will make my bike move: the pedals, crank, and chain.

Ah! That's tight, mate.

For crying out loud!

You'll have shoulders like Schwarzenegger!

♪ ♪

It's incredible to think

these guys build 22 bikes an hour

but, according to the target board,

we've slipped behind,

and I'm pretty sure I'm the one causing the holdup.

I'm really sorry!

I'm sorry, I was chatting, I'm sorry.

- I didn't wanna say anything, but--

- That's what happens. Everyone stops.

- Do you think we move it on now?

Let's go, let's go!

I'm getting it. I'm getting it.

Into the next station.

- I've got you, I've got you, I've got you.

My next station is rear brake.

First, we set up the brake cables

and try and get my bike back on track.

What are you doing?

Come on, man, we've gotta move!

Let's go, let's go! We've got bikes to make!

♪ ♪

What do you think these are?

We've got another set of wheels going here.

I think that's because the bike folds up.

Yeah.

- And it's got to roll, rather than clank.

Unless you're gonna ride it upside down,

that's to fold it, right?

When the bike's packed down,

these extra little wheels let the cyclist pull it along.

Seeing how it folds up makes me realize

why pressing the steel into a curve was so important.

The reason that's curved is so a wheel fits under it

when it's folded.

- One of. Yes. - That's the reason.

But that gives it a unique look as well.

I'm so getting the hang of this bike lark!

[upbeat dance music]

There's lots of engineering

that goes into making a modern bicycle,

but that, to me, is nothing if it's not comfortable.

Now, when you order a bike from this factory,

you get a standard saddle

but if you really want luxury for your bottom,

you can get a hand-made one.

[upbeat pop-rock music]

Brooks, based in Birmingham,

has been making leather saddles for almost 150 years.

♪ ♪

The company was started in 1866 by John Boultbee Brooks,

who began with horse harnesses and saddles.

But when his own horse died,

he decided to switch to making bicycle saddles.

I've come to make a saddle.

- Is this where I start? - Yeah.

- Master cutter, Ricky Ravenhill,

needs to get as many as 11 of them

out of each cowhide.

You wanna try and cut one?

Crikey, really?

You get the knife

and as close to the edge as possible.

And then swing that round so it's in the middle

and then press those down and as soon as you feel

it's hit the pressure, release them.

[machine clunks]

That should be perfect.

- Almost all their leather comes from the UK and Ireland,

where the cold weather

means the cows have thicker skins,

up to nearly six millimeters,

which can support the weight of a body.

- Start of my saddle, right? - Voila, yeah.

Next, Gurdip Sangha softens the leather in water

for 20 to 40 minutes.

Bit like fishing, mate, innit?

It is, definitely.

That's it.

- After it's naturally air-dried for up to 12 hours,

it's molded to create the saddle shape.

- Mate, we're virtually there. - Yeah.

- We're virtually there. We've got a saddle.

♪ ♪

I let someone experienced slice off the excess leather.

And then my saddle is ready for curing in the oven.

If I don't come out in five minutes,

call my mum!

Nearly three hours later, and my leather seat

gets its rough edges sanded away.

♪ ♪

The seat will be fixed onto a frame

made from high-tensile steel rails,

with a backplate pressed from more high-quality steel.

By the time the frame is ready,

it's been double-coated in nickel and copper,

it's been lacquered and baked,

but it's not a saddle until it's been put together.

And that's the job of Eric Murray.

How do you do, sir?

I've gotta attach this to this.

Can you show me how to do this?

I will, sir.

- First up, Eric makes holes in the leather.

Are you pressing a button to make the holes?

- Can I do it? - You can now, sir.

Stand back, son, stand back.

- Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

What is it about saddles?

- It's your hands, innit? You're working with your hands.

- You can't imagine yourself behind a desk with a tie on?

Oh, no, no, no. No way!

I'm sorry, cock, no.

I couldn't do that, cocker, no way!

Them people deserve medals

because I couldn't sit there fiddling a computer.

- Next, Eric has to chamfer or trim off the leather

to create a smooth beveled edge.

Eric the chamferer.

Eric the chamferer and all.

That's highly skilled.

If you get that wrong, at that stage,

you've ruined a whole saddle.

- How many do you spoil? - I don't.

You've just gotta be just that little bit careful.

- And that gives a smoother finish.

That's a bet.

Saves chafing.

That's it, exactly.

- Next, he puts a noseplate in the front of my saddle,

inserts the backplate and rails,

and finishes the rivets by hand.

It's then tensioned and aligned.

The whole saddle-making process can take up to 36 hours.

What has that just done, Eric?

That's pulled it one way and pushed it back the other?

That's it, yeah.

It's into there now.

- One inspection, yeah, to make sure it's all right,

and I'm taking this to the bike factory.

Good luck to you.

And I hope it lasts you for years and years, my friend.

[upbeat music]

More than 100 leather saddles arrive at the factory every week

and mine is coming straight into the final assembly station.

My bike has brakes, wheels, handlebars, and a chain

and it's almost ready for the road.

Can you fit this one cause I actually made this one?

- Okay. Yes, sir. - I think you can have a go.

It's been 17 hours since I started this journey

and of the 1,200 parts that make up this bike,

I am about to tighten the very last screw.

[upbeat funky music]

- This is a Halfbike. There's no seat.

You pedal standing up.

But this is one of thousands of new bike designs.

I wonder if it'll catch on.

The Halfbike was designed and built in Bulgaria,

thanks to a crowdfunding website.

The internet has opened the way

to all sorts of weird and wonderful new bikes.

There are trikes, like the Outrider Horizon,

or how about the folding YikeBike?

Or maybe the recumbent Ratracer?

But not every new bike design looks revolutionary.

The new generation of electric bikes

have compact batteries

and the efficient motor is disguised in the design.

Eddie Kehoe is an e-bike convert.

It looks like a domestic bike. What makes it electric?

When you press on the pedals,

it senses the effort you're putting in

and then it boosts that by a certain percentage,

which you can set, using the up and down arrows

here on your thumb control.

And then it blends the assistance

with what you're doing naturally on the bike,

so it feels very natural.

Okay, can I have a go?

You can.

Oh, wow!

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

Oh, my goodness me!

It's like you have superpowers.

It's brilliant. Bionic legs.

Oh, bionic legs!

- [crowd chattering] - [crowd laughing]

We're taking all of our bikes out onto the street

to see which one the cyclists of Cambridge prefer.

[upbeat rock music]

What will people make

of the 350-quid seatless Halfbike?

[screams]

♪ ♪

What did you think of it?

- It's good, a bit difficult at first

but, once you know how to do it, it's easy.

- I like the fact it doesn't take up that much space.

It's quite light.

- Would you swap a regular bike for this bike?

No.

But, today, it seems

that Eddie's two grand electric bike

is the clear favorite.

[crowd cheering]

It was like you get on it

and it just takes you, you just go.

Which is fun. [laughing]

I didn't wanna come off!

It's amazing, honestly!

- Yeah, it just felt so easy and comfortable to ride as well.

♪ ♪

- Well, they say you can't reinvent the wheel,

but I think today has proven

that there are a few really fun new developments in cycling

to keep an eye out for.

♪ ♪

- At the factory, my folding bike is now complete.

It's taken more than 16 1/2 hours

for the parts of this giant bike jigsaw puzzle to come together.

[bicycle clanking]

But before it can leave the factory,

there's one crucial stage it's still got to get through.

Feel a bit nervous if it's going through an inspection.

I've had a hand in putting every bit on.

Barney examines every inch.

- We've got the right handlebars,

we've got right gearing,

we've got the mudguards on there.

- Back and front. - I want you to go like that.

Do you think it's gonna fall apart

any time soon?

- No! - It's looking good.

- And finally, it's the moment of truth.

Will the bike I've helped braze,

bolt, and screw together actually fold?

- If you pull that up and pull the bike up.

- We undo this? - Yeah.

Yeah!

- That should just fall into place.

- Now this? - Yeah, saddle.

Happy?

- I'm just a folding bike genius.

- Okay. - Feel very proud of this.

That's it.

There.

But I don't get to keep this bike.

Along with the 46,000 bikes

that leave this factory every year,

it could be sent to one of seven cities in the UK,

from Edinburgh to Cambridge,

or exported to one of 43 countries

across the globe,

even to the world's big bike exporters,

like China and Taiwan.

♪ ♪

Following this bike from parts through to packaging

has been an incredible experience.

It's not what I expected.

What I expected to find was an enormous great factory

with loads of robots and machines

and steam coming up.

Actually, what it is is people, craftsmen,

putting these together by hand.

And all in under 24 hours.

Hey!

I don't know where this is going.

It could be going to Southend,

it could be going to South Australia.

I hope whoever receives it enjoys it

and I hope they appreciate the hard work

and craftsmanship that went into it.

I put a couple of nuts and bolts on this one myself.