BICYCLE DETECTIVES IDENTIFICATION IMPOSSIBLE? – 1886-1900 is my favourite era of bicycle manufacture and I’ve spent many years learning about the various features introduced at this time. 1890-1898 was the ‘bicycle boom’ era. So many British companies made bicycles that if a survivor has no obvious identification, it’s usually impossible to find its maker. Most …
BICYCLE DETECTIVES: IDENTIFICATION IMPOSSIBLE? – 1886-1900 is my favourite era of bicycle manufacture and I’ve spent many years learning about the various features introduced at this time. 1890-1898 was the ‘bicycle boom’ era. So many British companies made bicycles that if a survivor has no obvious identification, it’s usually impossible to find its maker. Most …
1890 Hillman Herbert & Cooper ‘CATFORD’ PREMIER ‘Model C’ Cross frame Safety aka The ‘Holbein No 1’ 22” Frame. 30″ Front Wheel. 28″ Rear Wheel Montague Holbein was the leading road racer in the early days of the sport. British cyclists dominated, and they took the first four places in the inaugural Bordeaux-Paris road race in 1891. Holbein …
1890 Iver Johnson ‘No 1’ Diamond Safety Manufactured by Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works Sold by John P Lovell Arms Co, Boston, Mass 30” Wheels. Frame No 995 1890 and 1891 Lovell Diamond safety bicycles had open steering heads, and the badge is on the top tube. 1892 models were similar except for the integral steering using ball bearings, …
1895 Maywood Double Diamond Duplex tubing and open frame chainwheel design Cash Buyers’ Union 23.5” Frame. 28″ Wheels with solid tyres ‘Double diamond’ frames, also known as ‘open frames’ or duplex tubes, were in vogue in Britain around 1889 and 1890. Rudge made the best-selling model with this feature. The concept copied the design of tricycles, …
