VETERAN CYCLE GUIDE
of the Rover Company Ltd. from 1905 onwards. The machines on this year’ s Run are an early pneumatictyred bicycle from c1894 and a c1904 Rover Gents’ Roadster.
Rudge-Whitworth 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 in1880, 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 1898 and is in substantially original condition.
St George’ s Engineering Co. Originally known as Newton, Wilson and Co. the company later became St George’ s Foundry Co. and in 1884 St George’ s Engineering Co. It marketed machines at home and overseas, registering the New Rapid trademark in 1886. The example in this year’ s Run is a 54” Ordinary bicycle which dates from c1888 and was built for the export market.
Singer Established by George Singer in Coventry in the early 1870s, Singer bicycles were high-quality machines. They were also innovative throughout the era of the high bicycle in the 1870s and 1880s and later, following the development of the Safety bicycle. 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. On this Run we have three examples covering this period: an 1884 Singer Ordinary, an 1889 solidtyred bicycle and an 1890 Royal Roadster bicycle.
1884 Singer
Sparkbrook The company originated as the cycle manufacturing wing of the National Arms and Ammunition Co Ltd in Sparkbrook, Birmingham. The cycle manufacturing side of the business started in the early 1880s and was bought out of liquidation of the founding company in 1883 by the Coventry cycle firm of Hillman Herbert and Cooper and re-established in Coventry as the Sparkbrook Manufacturing Company Ltd. The company focused on cycle manufacturing and only turned its attention to motorcycles as late as 1912. The machine entered this year is a Gents’ Light Roadster dating from c1903.
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 machine on this Run is a 1904 Royal Sunbeam, which is taking part for the second time. It has an early example of the two-speed bottom bracket gear which was introduced in 1903.
Swift This was 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. This year we have on the Run a 1904 pneumatic-tyred Safety bicycle.
Western Wheel Works( Crescent Cycles) An American bicycle maker from Chicago, this began as the Western Toy Company, producing velocipedes from the pioneer years of the late 1860s, and continued on to make Ordinary bicycles through the 1870s and 1880s, progressing to Safety bicycles into the 1890s. The Company changed its name to the Western Wheel Works in 1891. One of its major innovations in cycle production was pioneering the use of steel stampings to make the main parts of a bicycle; a process derived from toy making. The machine in this Run is a Tandem bicycle from 1897.
68 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run