VETERAN CAR GUIDE
VETERAN CYCLE & MOTORCYCLE GUIDE
In recent years , we ’ ve invited intrepid owners of veteran cycles and motorcycles to take part in the Run . Here are the marques you ’ re likely to see in 2022 …
CYCLES
Centaur The Centaur Bicycle Co . was founded by Thomas Townsend in Coventry but was left in the capable hands of Edmund Mushing and George Gilbert , who managed the company from 1876 . They manufactured bicycles and tricycles , and from the 1890s the focus of the firm was on reducing the weight of bicycles . During the bicycle boom the company was publicly floated as the New Centaur Cycle Co . Ltd . and maintained its reputation as a high-quality manufacturer – especially with its introduction of the X-frame model called ‘ the Featherweight ’, which was the top of its product range from 1900 and continued being made after the company was taken over by Humber Ltd . in 1910 . The 1901 example entered into the Run this year is owned by the Veteran-Cycle Club and recently restored as a rideable example .
Crypto The Crypto Cycle Co . of London entered the cycle trade in the early 1880s manufacturing a two-speed epicyclic gear for use in bicycles and tricycles , and in 1887 commenced making complete machines . In late 1893 , they introduced a small-wheeled front-driven machine that was given the ‘ Bantam ’ model name in February 1894 to indicate that it did not require a mounting step . The small wheel was geared up using an epicyclic train in the front hub . The model entered in this Run is a later model dating from 1896 . The company subsequently made a number of cars and motorcycles from 1904 , and in 1906 became the Crypto Car and Cycle Co .
Dursley Pedersen This distinctive machine was the invention of Mikael Pedersen and he patented it in 1894 . It used a woven suspended saddle on a triangulated frame made of thin tubes acting in compression . It was very light and strong , and was also found to be suitable for use in a motorcycle made in 1903 . Pedersen traded as the Pedersen Cycle Frame Co . Ltd . and other manufacturers such as Humber and Co . Ltd . made them under licence . In 1899 , with financial assistance from RA Lister and Co . Ltd . of Dursley in Gloucestershire , the Dursley-Pedersen Cycle Co . Ltd . was formed the following year . Although only about 8000 bicycles were made until just before the First World War , when production ceased , quite a large number survive and are very collectable , although original examples of the pre-1904 machines are rare . The model on this Run dates from 1901 .
Lea and Francis Initially formed as the Lea Cycle Co . in Coventry in 1895 , it became Lea and Francis Ltd . the following year , being a partnership of RH Lea and GI Francis . They targeted the high-price bicycle market during the 1890s boom and retained the highest reputation for bicycles produced during the Edwardian era up to 1914 . The machine entered into this Run for the second year running is an excellent example of the marque dating from 1901 .
1904 Kerry .
48 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run