VETERAN CYCLE GUIDE
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 third year running is an example of a pneumatic-tyred Premier from 1903 .
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 from 1904 , equipped with a conventional chain drive .
1884 Singer .
1903 Premier .
Rover Cycle Co Ltd The Rover Cycle Co Ltd was formed in 1896 from the business JK Starley and Co which had successfully marketed the safety bicycle design in 1886 which ‘ set the fashion to the world ’ and established the reputation of the business for high quality products and innovation , including diversifying into motorcycle and motor car . Although Starley died in 1901 , the company prospered under its new name of the Rover Company Ltd from 1905 onwards . The machine in the Run this year is a Ladies ’ Meteor model from 1901 .
Rudge-Whitworth Cycle Co Ltd 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 George Woodcock purchased the business from Rudge ’ s widow . The company was later merged with the Whitworth Cycle Co Ltd to form the Rudge- Whitworth Cycle Co Ltd , which later became the UK ’ s largest cycle manufacturer in the two decades prior to the First World War . The example on this Run dates from 1899 .
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 . The marque is wellrepresented in this year ’ s Run , with two Ordinaries ,
66 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run