VETERAN CYCLE GUIDE
Columbia Manufactured by The Pope Manufacturing Co , the founder being Albert Pope who originally imported Singer bicycles from the UK , but in 1878 contracted the Weed Sewing Machine Co of Hartford , Connecticut to make machines he could market himself . Columbia bicycles were well made , and the Pope Manufacturing Co became the largest bicycle manufacturer in the USA by the 1890s . The company built a full range of machines beginning with high wheel machines and tricycles in the 1870s and 1880s and then introduced their safety bicycles . The machine entered is a nice example of a solid-tyred bicycle from 1892 by which time the pneumatic tyre was beginning to get a foothold in the tyre market .
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 frontdriven machine which was given the Bantam model name in Feb 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 1895 . The company later 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 which he patented in 1894 . It used a woven suspended saddle on a triangulated frame made of thin tubes acting in compression which was very light and strong and was also found to be suitable to be used 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 . 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 two models entered for this run date from 1901 .
Lea and Francis Initially formed as the Lea Cycle Co in Coventry in 1895 it became Lea and Francis Ltd in 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 is an excellent example of the marque dating from 1901 .
New Mail Manufactured by William Read and Son this maker was established in 1882 in Washington Street , Boston , Massachusetts , USA . The New Mail machines were well regarded and covered a range of styles and prices . Starting with the production of high wheel bicycles the company continued into the era of the safety bicycle one of which appears in this Run . It has solid tyres although production quickly shifted to producing pneumatic-tyred machines over the next few years .
Premier Premier bicycles were made by the firm of Hillman Herbert and Cooper from the 1870s and became The Premier Cycle Company in 1891 with 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 motor car and a motorcycle the following year . The Premier company pioneered manufacturing techniques which increased bicycle output and influenced other cycle companies particularly the Raleigh Cycle Co Ltd . Entered on this year ’ s Run for the second year running is an example of a pneumatic-tyred Premier from 1903 .
1903 Premier
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