VETERAN CAR GUIDE
An 1886 Peugeot sets off .
Peugeot Frères Already established as a business engaged in foundry work in 1810 , it became involved in bicycle manufacture from 1882 onwards . The company made good-quality bicycles for the home market and export and grew to be one of France ’ s major manufacturers of bicycles and , later , motorcars . This 1886 machine is making its second appearance on the Run , is very finely made and represents cycle manufacture at the peak of the high-wheel bicycle era .
Premier Premier bicycles were made by the firm of Hillman Herbert and Cooper from the 1870s . It became The Premier Cycle Company in 1891 and had great success , producing over 40,000 machines a year by 1897 . However , the downturn in bicycle prices led to the company struggling to maintain its market share and it was late compared to other Coventry bicycle manufacturers to diversify into the motor trade , which it finally did in 1907 with a motorcar and a motorcycle the following year . The Premier company pioneered manufacturing techniques that increased bicycle output and influenced other cycle companies particularly the Raleigh Cycle Co . Ltd . Entered on this year ’ s Run is an example of a Premier from 1903 .
Rudge Dan Rudge was a cycle-racing champion who set up in business as a cycle-maker in 1870 . His machines enjoyed a high reputation during the pioneering days of cycling as well as the era of the high bicycle . Dan Rudge died in 1880 and the machine that will be taking part in this year ’ s Run was made during the period following George Woodcock ’ s purchase of the business from Rudge ’ s widow .
Rudge-Whitworth Formed by an 1894 merger of the Whitworth Cycle Co . Ltd . and Dan Rudge and Co ., the company grew to be the largest manufacturer of bicycles during the decade up to 1914 . It eventually added motorcycle production in 1910 and marketed a cyclecar in 1912 . The company was the first major firm to cut its prices in 1897 , when it was clear that the demand for high-priced machines was falling and they introduced a 10-guinea model . To maintain its market share , the company employed some methods of manufacturing drawn from cycle makers in the USA , which gave its machines a distinctive appearance .
Singer Established by George Singer in Coventry in the early 1870s , Singer bicycles were high-quality machines as well as being innovative throughout the era of the high bicycle in the 1870s and 1880s . On the Run we have two examples from this period made in 1884 and 1886 respectively ; the latter entered for its second year running . The company ’ s reputation for quality was maintained when they turned to making ‘ safety ’ bicycles in the late 1870s and later to motorcycles from 1901 , then motorcars from 1905 .
Sunbeam Made by John Marston Ltd . of Wolverhampton , Sunbeam bicycles were targeted at the luxury end of the market . Sunbeamland , Marston ’ s factory , was claimed to be ‘ where no second-class bicycles were made ’. Sunbeam diversified into motorcars as early as 1899 and established a reputation for high quality in that field . The bicycle in this Run is the earliest known example of the marque , dating from 1893 , and was last on the Run in 2018 . The machine is a racing model and weighs 28 lbs ( 13kg ).
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