I'm worried about you Guy...Two attempts at GBH from big bro and you say stress was unheard of ???
I'm in the Urban camp me, just had a load of old clunkers. There were a couple that I built myself from bits that I'd literally found on fly-tipped bikes and in those days BMX or MTB's were unheard of. I lived within spitting distance of some nice swoopy chalk hills and we kids used to build what we then called 'Trackers', stripped down to the minimum, no gears but a small front chainwheel, 'cowhorn' handle bars and if you were really flash the closest thing to 'bling' in those days were those stubby little aluminium mudguards that looked like curved Bounty trays (and were just as flimsy). They only used to have one brake as well...always the back brake for sliding the back end round.
When I was about 12, I once built one that had a frame meant for 20" wheels but with forks and rear end from a 26" wheel bike in it, so that I could fit the big wheels and get some more ground clearance cos the latest craze was riding over fallen tree trunks.
I proudly rode my new creation up the hills then rattled down at breakneck speed, only to have the whole rear end collapse and have me in a heap. The forks were OK, just a bolt on, but I guess I learned then that soldering the back end on with my Dad's primus blowtorch just wasn't a solid engineering solution - I'm surprised I made it out of the back yard
