VETERAN CYCLE GUIDE
Quadrant Cycle Co The company originated from Lloyd Brothers ’ ( Walter and Arthur Lloyd ) company set up in Birmingham in 1880 to make safety pins and curtain hooks , but which entered production of tricycles in 1883 registering the Quadrant name . The company moved on to producing bicycles and in 1897 became the Quadrant Cycle Co trading from Sheepcote Street in Birmingham . They introduced a chainless bicycle using a cross-roller gear in 1898 which continued in production well into the Edwardian period . The bicycle on this Run is a later safety bicycle form 1904 equipped with a conventional chain drive .
Raleigh The Raleigh Cycle Co Ltd entered the cycle trade in 1886 when the original machines were made by Angois Ellis and Woodhead in Raleigh Street , Nottingham . The company was purchased by Frank Bowden and from the early 1890s , under his guidance , became a major producer of bicycles particularly during the Edwardian period when it decided to focus on cycle production rather than diversify into the motor trade . The machine on the Run , courtesy of Brooklands Museum , dates from 1901 and is an example of their top of the range X frame model which continued in production until 1936 .
Rudge Dan Rudge was a cycle racing champion who set up a bicycle manufacturer in 1870 , which 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 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 a merger of the Whitworth Cycle Co Ltd and Dan Rudge and Co in 1894 the company grew to be the largest manufacturer of bicycles during the decade up to 1914 although 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 price machines was falling and they introduced a 10 guinea machine . 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 . On this Run we have an example of a pneumatic-tyred Rudge-Whitworth safety bicycle dating from 1899 .
1886 Singer
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 this Run we have two examples from this period ; a high wheeled bicycle made in 1884 and a solid-tyred ‘ safety ’ bicycle made in 1890 . 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 and motor cars from 1905 .
Swift Formed in 1896 from the pioneering cycle company , the Coventry Machinists Co Ltd , which had its roots in sewing machine production from 1859 and entered bicycle production in late 1868 . Swift was one of the largest bicycle manufacturers through the 1870s and 1880s . It was also a pioneer in the motor trade introducing a De Dion Bouton type tricycle to its range in 1898 , but later forming a separate company The Swift Motor Co in 1902 . Swift bicycles had a reputation for quality which gradually declined through the Edwardian period in favour of competitively priced machines . The two companies were merged into a single company Swift of Coventry Ltd in 1918 which ceased trading in 1932 . The 1904 example on this Run is a fine original example of the marque .
64 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run