Bsa Bicycles Serial Numbers
- BSA Number Data. VIN #s BSA Unit Twins, 19 Eng./Frame 1963 Eng./Frame. For the models produced after 1969 a new coding system (numbers) was introduced.
- The order was for 1,200 rifles per week. BSA recommenced manufacturing bicycles on their own behalf from 1908. BSA Cycles Ltd was set up in 1919 for the manufacture of both bicycles and motorcycles. BSA sold the bicycle business to Raleigh in 1957 after separating the bicycle and motorcycle business in 1953. Bicycle components.
BSA: Bicycles
From Graces Guide
Bsa motorcycle frame numbers and vin locations why has my victor gp got two frame numbers www b50 org bsa folding bicycle the classic and antique exchange help on potential purchase the community Whats people lookup in this blog.
Note: This is a sub-section of BSA
1880 The Birmingham Small Arms Company went into bicycle manufacture.
1881 The first bicycle manufactured in any quantity by the Birmingham Small Arms Co was the 'Otto' Safety Bicycle. This early type of bicycle had its wheels side-by-side, instead of one wheel behind the other as later became the standard.
When the designer, Edward Carl Fredrich Otto, was negotiating with BSA for the manufacture of the 'Otto,' being anxious to prove that his machine was correct in design and principle, he demonstrated his invention to the Directors by mounting the machine on the large table, riding it backwards and forwards, showing the method of balancing, and explaining the details of the somewhat complicated system of steering. He then mounted the machine in the Board Room, rode it down the stairs, and so out into the roadway.
This performance evidently satisfied the management, as the manufacture of the machine was then taken over and continued during the years 1880 to 1883. The first contract resulted in a loss to the Company; the second contract was to supply 200 'Ottos' at £13 each, with tyres. In all, a total of 953 machines were manufactured these were retailed by the Otto Bicycle Co, 118 Newgate Street, London, at £21.
In October, 1880, the B.S.A. Company resolved to commence the manufacture of bicycles and tricycles to their own specifications, and the first assortment of these (8 machines) were exhibited at the Stanley Show. One tricycle embodied a free-wheel (Vernum's patent).
In this period the Company made the 'Alpha' Ordinary Bicycle; also the 'Beta' and 'Delta' Tricycles.
In 1881, the manufacture of the 'Omnicycle' Tricycle, designed by T. Butler, was taken up by the Company. This machine was a rear-driven three-tracker, propelled by a reciprocal motion.
1881 May. The Company entered into a contract with Nahum Salamon, of 27 Holborn Viaduct (the first cycle trader on “The Viaduct' and trading as the Bicycle and Tricycle Supply Association) to supply 200 Omnicycle Tricycles, the invention of T. Butler of Wokingham. Another rear-driven three-tracker, the 'Devon' Tricycle, was manufactured in the following year for Maynard, Harris and Co. This machine possessed the advantage of a swing frame, which enabled the rider to use the whole of his strength whilst in an upright position, and was equipped with a 'ground brake'.
In 1882 the Company made 200 'Devon' tricycles (F. W. Jones's patent). The Devon was perhaps the first really successful tricycle; it had two big wheels driven by chains actuated from a cross crank-shaft with ratchet and pawl gears on each side — the first example of free-wheel driving — the outer wheel on a curve over-running the drive. A small steering wheel was in front, and a foot operated lever depressed a brake dragging on the surface of the road. James Starley's differential gear supplanted this system of driving. The company also made 65 machines for M. D. Rucker and Co of London, another three-tracker tricycle with rear drive, known as 'The Rucker'.
In February, 1882, the B.S.A. Co. installed its own plating plant. The same year saw the manufacture of a folding tricycle, the invention of Rev. R. C. Fletcher, of Tarleton, near Preston.
1883 Introduced the B.S.A. Compressible Tricycle, which the Company designed and manufactured in 1883. This was a three-track single driving machine, and by an ingenious adjustable lug the frame could be made to slide, so that the width of the machine was considerably reduced, enabling it to be wheeled through an ordinary doorway. This type, however, did not find much favour with the riding public of that day, and was before long withdrawn.
1884 the B.S.A. Front Steerer, a three-track tricycle with loop frame, and the B.S.A. Two-track Front Steerer were introduced.
In June, 1884, Harry Lawson had visited the B.S.A. factory with two rough models of his chain-driven 'safety' bicycle, but the directors declined his request that they should take up the manufacture of his machines; they agreed, however, to make two specimens to Lawson's order but these, when completed, remained on hand for some months because payment for them was not forthcoming. Arising out of Lawson's delay in taking delivery of his samples, the Company decided to design a 'safety' bicycle in the factory, using tricycle parts wherever possible to save expense. The result was the B.S.A. bicycle the steering reins of which were made from two 'Snider' rifle cleaning-rods! This model was patented on 21st November, 1884, No. 15342. It had 32 inch driving wheel and 20 inch steerer: over 1,500 of these were sold, the price being £9-9s. The steering was very erratic owing to the short wheel-base. This was the first bicycle which could be really regarded as the forerunner of the present safety machine; early in the following year this safety model was put upon the market by the Company.
In May, 1885, the Company took out a license from Thomas Clements to manufacture ball bearings under his patents, and engaged him as draughtsman
1885 August. Awarded a Bronze medal for their Safety bicycle at the 1885 International Inventions Exhibition.[1]
The output of B.S.A. safety bicycles and tricycles steadily increased during the next three years, but in 1887 the Government demand for rifles and ammunition was such that the Company temporarily discontinued making bicycles and tricycles; for six years nothing more was done beyond the production of a limited quantity of Kelsey's Duplex Safety Bicycle Crank Axle Bearings.
1893 The Government demand for rifles and ammunition lessened, so the Company once more was able to take up the manufacture of bicycles. George Ilston called at the factory to see his friend Mr. Clements about a billiards match at a social club and noticed that some of the shell-making plant was idle; he urged the management to take up the manufacture of bicycle parts.
Early in 1893 the Company commenced the manufacture of safety bicycle hubs, examples of which were exhibited at the Crystal Palace Show that same year.
In November, 1893, Mr. Ilston joined the company as traveller, selling B.S.A. hubs and other components. The trade price of B.S.A. hubs was 15/- per pair in 1 dozen lots; Brown Brothers, of London, contracted for 2,000 pairs.
1894 The manufacture of bottom brackets, cranks, and chain-wheels was initiated. Pedals were first made in September and ball-heads at about the same time. At the Crystal Palace Show of 1894, B.S.A. exhibited a complete set of B.S.A. Cycle Fittings.
From 1895 improvement followed improvement in the design of B.S.A. bicycle fittings; a narrower chain line was introduced by the B.S.A. Company, and at the same time the length of the B.S.A. crank was increased from 6in. to 6.5 in., both of which developments enabled the rider to apply greater power and attain higher speeds.
In 1896 the Small Heath Works were much extended to enable the Company to better deal with the rapidly growing demand for B.S.A. cycle components which, although they had only been on the market a very short time, had achieved a great reputation for the Company's good and accurate work. The Inspection Department for cycle fittings was organised on the system as used in the manufacture of military small arms, and the careful viewing and testing inaugurated in those early days, and still retained, has been responsible to a great degree in keeping up the very high standards of quality and interchangeability which have made B.S.A. products world-famous.
1896-7 Further improvements included the making of B.S.A. Block Chains, 1/4in. in width, for the manufacture of which a special plant, embodying the latest developments in cycle chain making machinery, had been added to the works. This season also saw the listing for the first time of B.S.A. Frames for ladies' and gents' machines. B.S.A. Handlebars were also manufactured at this time, and the famous B.S.A. Spanners, designed to fit all sizes of B.S.A. nuts, which had been carefully standardized, were first produced.
1898 Standardization was more fully recognised as being expedient and desirable, and the catalogue for 1898 makes mention of the fact that the standard patterns of the previous year would remain practically the same, as no alterations were deemed necessary. A plant for the production of brake-work was installed during 1898, and the B.S.A. Plunger Front Brake was first listed in that year; the brake-shoe being fitted with patent rubber brushes or solid rubber blocks as desired. A malleable iron foundry was added at this time, and also a plant for making steel balls.
In 1899, numerous improvements in detail were made with a view to securing ease of propulsion and the transmission of the maximum amount of power from the rider to the back wheel. To this end a new chain wheel was produced by the B.S.A. Company, with more than twenty teeth (hitherto the maximum); wheels for 0.5 in. pitch roller chains were made 3/16 in. wide, roller chains of the same size were produced, and at the same time the chain wheel was made detachable from the crank.
To ensure greater strength and longer service, the side plates of rat-trap pedals were also fitted with stays. The B.S.A. Cam Chain Adjustment was also introduced in the same year.
1900 saw the introduction of the B.S.A. Free Wheel Clutch and the B.S.A. Back-pedalling Rim Brake, both of which achieved instant popularity. The B.S.A. design for 1900 provided a somewhat longer wheel base on account of the demand for long cranks.
1901 A Front Pull-up Rim Brake was designed and BSA Mudguards and Stays were first made in the same year.
1902 Fittings supplied by the B.S.A. Company included sets for path racer, light roadster, full roadster, and ladies' machines. This year also saw the introduction of the standard pattern Spring Frame which was supplied to the trade complete. The B.S.A. Spring Frame was one of the most successful ever put on the market, and numbers are still in use after years of service. The B.S.A. Free Wheel Hub, made in 1902, was a combined hub and free wheel clutch so arranged that wheels could be built and the spokes easily inserted or removed without dismounting any portion of it. The B.S.A. Free Wheels, which fitted all B.S.A. Hubs, proved, however, the more popular, and the manufacture of the combined hub and free wheel was discontinued.
This year saw the introduction of the practice of slotting B.S.A. Fork Ends to obviate the necessity for springing the forks when removing a wheel. A new set of fittings for path racer machines was also introduced, featuring a sloping top bar, light in weight, and built for speed. It is noteworthy that, during the following years, many famous racing men made some of their finest records on these machines. On the race track both J. S. Benyon and A. E. Wills scored many successes on B.S.A. Bicycles. The first-named was probably the best short distance rider of his day, while the latter rider achieved some remarkable successes in long-distance motor-paced races on the Continent.
Amongst road racing cyclists, two representative B.S.A. riders were T. Peck and C. Moss. T. Peck was the first cyclist to ride from Land's End to John o' Groat's, 8,371 miles, under three days. Many extraordinary rides were accomplished by C. Moss, amongst them being the winning outright of the Bath Road 100 miles Cup, for fastest time three consecutive years, on the third occasion his record being well under 5 hours.
In 1902 the War Office adopted B.S.A. Fittings for Military Bicycles, and the majority of bicycles used by the War Office from that time onward were built of B.S.A. Fittings. No higher compliment could be paid to the Company than this adoption by the War Office of the products of the Cycle Department, after their many years' experience of the absolute reliability of the firm's rifles.
In 1904 the B.S.A. Company manufactured a Rear Rim Brake with Pull-up Lever. Up till then the use of rim brakes had been confined to the front wheel.
1905 A set of fittings for a motor bicycle was designed in 1905.
1907 Acquired Eadie Manufacturing Co
In 1908 it was decided to build complete cycles in the B.S.A. factory [2] to meet the somewhat altered conditions of trade. In announcing the new policy at the Annual Meeting the Chairman stated 'that the Company had decided to widen the policy in regard to the manufacture of complete bicycles'. Hitherto only cycle agents were supplied with complete machines bearing an agent's transfer. In view of the somewhat altered conditions of the trade, it was considered advisable to manufacture a complete B.S.A. The machine so offered to the public would be listed at a higher price than that at which bicycles built with B.S.A. Fittings had been sold by local agents and makers. The management believed that this would not only create a greater demand for B.S.A. productions, but that it would have a steadying effect on the cycle trade generally.
Such a policy must tend to place the B.S.A. Fittings on a higher plane, and to a great extent prevent bicycles built with B.S.A. Fittings being sold at ridiculously low prices, showing little or no margin of profit to the retailer[3]. Although the new policy was severely criticised, events have proved that it not only helped the trade generally, but was much appreciated by the public.
1919 Became private company: BSA Cycles Ltd
1944 BSA acquired Ariel Motors (J.S.)
c.1946 Acquired New Hudson and Sunbeam Cycle Co
1957 The subsidiary business BSA Bicycles Ltd was sold to Raleigh Industries. The sale appears to have included New Hudson Cycle Co and Sunbeam Cycle Co and Eadie Manufacturing Co as Raleigh appointed directors to all these companies[4]
1961 Manufacturers of ladies', men's and children's cycles
No. 45. B.S.A. spring frame. Invented by Dr. Mansell-Jones, 'Sunnyside,' Lodge Road, Croydon, Surrey, Patent No. 17987/1900. Weight 10 lbs. Presented by Harry Green.
Two earlier patents by the same inventor, Nos. 28892/1897 and 7141/1899, show a similar result achieved by a system of spring-controlled toggles, which allowed the ends of the seat-stays to rise and fall, and the rear end of the top tube to drop without affecting the position of the saddle. These variations were not marketed.
As shown, the machine was made and sold in large numbers by the Birmingham Small Arms Co Ltd., Small Heath, Birmingham, by whom it was first exhibited at the Stanley Show in November, 1900. The action of the springing device is self explanatory, and is plainly revealed by the photograph: hinge joints are inserted in the frame tubes at A, B, C, and D. Within the top tube, at E, and inside both seat-stays at F and G., are strong coil springs, so that as the smaller diameter tube slides within the member of larger diameter the springs are compressed and take up the shocks.
A drawback was that the distance between saddle and handlebar was not constant, but varied as the action of the concealed springs allowed the top-tube to change its length. It will be noted that no attempt is made to intercept vibration from the front wheel of the bicycle.
This identical frame was used by Harry Green when he beat the 50 miles road record in 1906, time 2 hrs. 6 mins. 46 secs., and the London to Brighton and back record, the same year, time 5 hrs. 20 mins. 22 secs. This being the only exhibit in the Collection representing the products of the B.S.A. Co., it must be made the excuse for a very brief reference to that extremely important Company. Without such reference not even an epitome of cycling history could pass the censor.
No. 57. (No image). The actual B.S.A. racing bicycle on which A. E. Wills beat the World's Record for one hour at Munich track, on 17th August, 1908, covering 61 miles 972 yards in one hour. Wills was the first cyclist to ride at a speed of a mile a minute for 60 minutes, and it should be noted that he rode from a standing start. He was paced by M. Bertin, on a high powered motor- bicycle, and used a gear of 14 4— which is still on the machine.
It is also worth noting that the machine still bears the leaden seal which was affixed to the frame the first time it was taken into Germany: when leaving that country Wills omitted to claim a refund of the Customs Deposit. This historic exhibit was presented by A. E. Wills.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑[1] Gazette Issue 25500 published on the 12 August 1885. Page 3 of 26
- ↑Bartleet's Bicycle Book
- ↑ BSA Brochure 1918
- ↑The Times, Jul 12, 1957
HOW OLD IS MY BICYCLE?
‘How old is my bicycle?’ is a question I get asked a lot, nearly as much as: ‘I have a bicycle that looks like one of yours; if I send you pictures please can you identify it for me?’
The answer, in short, is that I do not have time to tell you either. I’m not being callous about this. With an estimated 15,000 bicycle manufacturers, the odds are stacked against me recognizing yours; in any case, I do not claim to be an expert, just an assiduous recorder of information. To sift through information to try and find similar pictures to your unidentified bicycle would take me months, and I’m already doing similar research on my own bikes. Not only do I have a full-time job (I run my own business restoring and selling vintage vehicles) and am a hands-on parent of a young child, but I spend a minimum 30 hours every week building, updating and maintaining these free websites to help you do your own research. My hobby usually takes a backseat. Insomnia is my saving grace, otherwise there would be no time for any of this.
My purpose for creating these databases is simple. In the ‘old days’ (a time which seems to have ended in the past twenty five years or so), a youngster became an apprentice in a chosen field and learned its history from the older employees. Thus, for example, an apprentice mechanic was handed down an invaluable unwritten guide to repairing vehicles that could not be learned at college nor from books, because, as well as specific information about various models, it helped a youngster understand the way they were designed and built.
Similarly, to learn about vintage bicycles, we ask questions of our elders in the hobby. The key point here is that the elders who were around while our favourite vintage machines were still on the road are no longer with us, the last of them having passed on in the past thirty years or so. Now we must depend on those who gleaned that first-hand knowledge from them; these chaps were the ‘youngsters’ then, but now they’re getting older themselves, most in their seventies and eighties. They don’t usually use computers, so much of their knowledge is stored in their heads. By the time we learn from them, it’s second-generation information. My contemporaries and I are in a younger age group – forties to sixties – and we’re busy learning and recording what we can before it’s lost forever. We study 100-year-old magazines to see when certain new innovations were first reviewed (it helps us date bicycles with similar features), read correspondence of the time to try to understand contemporary views and opinions, research old catalogues, meet fellow enthusiasts, help each other with restorations, ride our old bikes as much as possible, and work with our elders to pick up tips and wisdom.
If you can help in any way by contributing to this research, please get in touch. My email is embedded in the picture below.
By recording and sharing this knowledge while it’s still as fresh as possible, our fabulous vintage hobbies will continue for centuries to come.
Clonedvd for mac free download. TO FIND OUT HOW OLD YOUR BIKE IS – JOIN THE VETERAN CYCLE CLUB!
Although we are in the so-called ‘Information Age’ and the internet provides a surplus of it – some of it accurate, much of it misleading – there is nowhere near enough information on vintage bicycles. This surprises many people. Sometimes, folks with no experience of the vintage hobby who may have recently unearthed an old bicycle contact me and demand that I immediately tell them what it is, how old it is and what it’s worth. I try to explain as politely as possible that such a service does not exist, and they are often abusive as a result. Usually they want me to identify it so they can sell it on ebay. Luckily, I remembered an old Sufi saying, ‘Only explain things to people in a language they understand.’ So now I answer that such a service, which will obviously increase the value of their unidentified machine, will cost them £50 + VAT. It’s still not a service I actually offer – but at least they are less abusive.
The question remains: ‘How old is my bicycle?’ Also, ‘I have a bicycle that looks like one of yours; if I send you pictures please can you identify it for me?’
The answer is simple. The Veteran Cycle Club (V-CC) has a system of ‘marque enthusiasts’ – volunteers who compile what information they can about particular manufacturers. By joining the V-CC you can access whatever information is available. If that doesn’t help, if it is interesting enough, you might be able to send pictures of it to the the V-CC magazine, or take it to vintage shows and ask exhibitors, or keep an eye on ebay to see if something similar ever comes up. Identifying an unknown bicycle is hard work. You may be lucky, but more than likely it will remain a mystery.
As I have stated before, the V-CC archives and Ray Miller’s Encyclopaedia are invaluable resources: these ongoing projects are becoming the world’s primary source of information on vintage bicycles. The V-CC’s system of marque specialists is unrivalled throughout the world. I recommend every vintage bicycle enthusiast to join the V-CC to access these (and many other) excellent facilities.
FRAME NUMBER DATING
Essential anatomy activation code free. Bicycles that can be dated with 100% accuracy are the exception. Marque enthusiasts use records of shop ledgers that recorded dates sold and frame numbers, and then calculate the ages of other bicycles by comparing them with known frame numbers. Sometimes the date sold does not reflect when a bicycle was actually manufactured (for example, Dursley Pedersens were very expensive, badly marketed and often took a long time to sell). Only certain manufacturers’ frame number sequencing is known. Many did not use chronoligical sequences.
Many manufacturers used ‘bought-in’ bikes at different times, ie made by a different company. This happened in particular in the 1890s when frame styles changed every few years. Frames made by top companies with the old designs were sold off through the trade, so smaller companies then sold bicycles using the old frames with different parts years after!
The records of the majority of the smaller companies no longer exist: you’d be surprised how fast the entire history of a company disappears once the factory closes. There were also a lot of ‘dodgy practices’ within the bicycle trade, with companies regularly liquidating and starting up again and spurious production claims often made for advertising purposes and to inflate a company’s worth. Few published their true production figures. It’s a nightmare trying to make sense of it a hundred years later.
A catalogue description is a good guide, though we rarely have a manufacturer’s catalogue for every year, so may not know for how many years a model was current. Also, though we now consider a catalogue description to be an accurate guide to a bicycle’s specification, despite the catalogue options listed a customer could choose any option whatsoever, even components sold by a competing company.
It’s possible to date Sturmey-Archer hubs, so if the rear hub is original to the bike that often helps.
Bear in mind that owners often updated their bicycles over the years; though we might like our bike to match its catalogue description, updated parts are also a valid part of its history and provenance.
Details of the following manufacturers have been published, so I hope this page can provide an easy reference point. I’ll add to it as I find more.
RALEIGH FRAME NUMBER DATING
MY NOTES:
1.The Raleigh Heron Head transfer was introduced in 1908. In the same year, mudguards received a forward extension.
2. Raleigh’s ‘R’ lamp bracket was superseded in September 1927 by the heron lamp bracket (see below). The company had been taking steps to make it harder for makers of cheap bicycles to copy Raleigh parts. The ‘R’ bracket was easy to copy, so they introduced this more complex lamp bracket instead.
Consult the list below to help remember when these companies were still ‘original’ before being taken over by Raleigh:
Humber 1932
Triumph 1932
Rudge-Whitworth 1943
Three Spires 1954
BSA , New Hudson, Sunbeam 1957
Phillips 1960
Hercules 1960
Norman 1960
Sun 1960
Carlton 1960
RUDGE-WHITWORTH FRAME NUMBER DATING
Production has been attributed as follows, with frame numbers as at 31 July each year:
1898, 70,000;
1900, 118,200;
1901, 140,754;
1902, 169,739;
1903, 210,950;
1904, 223,672;
1905, 272,991;
1906, 350,235;
1907, 427,114;
1908, 488,139;
1909, 538,390;
1910, 585,010;
1911, 626,400;
Serial Numbers Microsoft
1912, 663,066;
1913, 697,524;
1914, 726,731;
1915, 740,862;
1916, 745,621;
1917, 749,192;
1918, 751,213;
1919, 755,622.
Serial Numbers Nero
SUNBEAM FRAME NUMBER DATING
1909 = 96,739 (declared)
1910 = 101,700 (calculated)
1911 = 106,700 (calculated)
1912 = 111,642 (declared)
PREMIER FRAME NUMBER DATING
BEESTON HUMBER FRAME NUMBER DATING
ELSWICK HOPPER FRAME NUMBER DATING
SINGER
The following dated bicycle frame numbers from the Singer Car Club (not guaranteed):
1903 – 142069
1903 – 172676
1905 – 184483
1908 – 225451
1909 – 232178
TRIUMPH
I started to collate frame numbers from 1890s-1920 Triumph bicycles, and will update it as I go along. You can see it at the new Triumph Bicycle Museum
GERMAN NSU BICYCLES
(translated from German)
There’s no definite official information about part numbers and corresponding registration years. This data is approximate. With an accuracy of + / – one years, but they are assumed to be relatively safe.
1900 ~ 7000
1910 ~ 18,000
1925 ~ 550,000
1929 ~ 675,000
1930 ~ 685,000
1931 ~ 692,000
1932 ~ 700,000
1933 ~ 720,000
1934 ~ 770,000
1935 ~ 920,000
1936 ~ 1,000,000
1937 ~ 1.200.000
1938 ~ 1,300,000
1939 ~ 1,450,000
1940 ~ 1,550,000
1941 ~ 1,650,000
1942 ~ 1,700,000
1943 ~ 1,750,000
1944 ~ 1,800,000
1945 ~ 1,806,000
1946 Renumbered: Prewar numbers re-used. For example, 800,000 might be 1935 or 1956.
1947 ~ 55,000
1948 ~ 100,000
1949 ~ 175,000
1950 ~ 320,000
1951 ~ 420,000
1952 ~ 570,000
1953 ~ 650,000
1954 ~ 700,000
1955 ~ 750,000
1956 ~ 800,000
1957 ~ 900.000 to about 990.000
From 1957 / 990,000 Onwards: NSU used the same numbers as prewar again, so it’s confusing.
DATING FROM TORPEDO REAR HUBS
Bsa Bicycles Serial Numbers List
The best bet on post-1957 machines is to check the Torpedo rear wheel hubs. Since around 1920 they used a production stamp, with which they can be dated:
“36”, therefore stands for example for the production date in 1936; later, there were also some 1-digit numbers:
“5” or “55”, built in 1955
“6” or “56”, Built in 1956
“7”, built 1957
In 1958 there were also letters:
“A”, built in 1958
“B”, built in 1959
“C”, built in 1960
“D”, built in 1961
“E”, built in 1962
(Front hubs do not have date indicators)
STURMEY ARCHER DATING GUIDE
If you want further details of Sturmey Archer hubs, buy the superb book The Sturmey Archer Story by Tony Hadland, available through the V-CC.
THE INTRODUCTION OF CHROME: 1930
The cycle industry was an early adopter of the new chrome process, and chrome was first used on bicycles in 1928.
Maurice Selbach is believed to have been the first British manufacturer to have used it in 1928 (see extract from his 1929 catalogue, below)
Bsa Bicycles Serial Numbers Lookup Chart
Shelby was one of the first US manufacturers to use chrome; their 1928 ‘Lindy’ model had a mixture of chrome and nickel.
It was offered as an option in 1930 by various British manufacturers (see extract from 1930 Raleigh catalogue, below) and by BSA in 1931 (I don’t have a copy of the BSA 1930 catalogue to check). Catalogues were generally printed the year before the season indicated in a catalogue. By 1933 it had become widely used.
If you want to date a vintage bicycle and it has chrome parts, it is generally accepted that it would have been made from 1930 onwards, or updated if made earlier.
WHEEL RIM DIMENSIONS
Here’s a handy 1911 reference guide for the rim dimensions on 26″ and 28″ wheels, both wired-edge and beaded-edge.
I’ve also reproduced the following wheel and tyre guides on the tyre page, but it may be useful to have all this reference stuff on one page.
MODERN TYRE SIZES
Bicycle tyre sizes are so confusing! Vintage motorcycle tyres are logical, those for cycles are not. Here’s a chart to help…
Some time ago, I asked John and Sue Middleton why they sold their wonderful bicycle museum in Camelford, Cornwall. They explained they’d always been upset that they received little support from fellow enthusiasts or vintage cycle clubs. But the turning point was apparently an incident when a visitor parked his car right in front of the entrance, and a big argument ensued when John tried to get him to move it. The driver insisted he had the right to park wherever he liked. I suppose ‘the great British public’ is an animal best avoided if you don’t have a thick skin, because statistically you’re eventually going to meet every sort of person in such circumstances.
I belong to many vintage clubs, but I refuse to have anything to do with their politics. Hobbyists, by definition, are eccentric (myself included): put more than one in a room together and the outcome is unpredictable. I support clubs because they help our hobby. I have wonderful friends within the hobby. I keep the two separate. I actually do spend an inordinate amount of time answering emails and phonecalls regarding obscure anomalies of our cycling and motorcycle history (I’m also a Veteran Motorcycle Club marque specialist). The questions I respond to are generally tricky ones that can’t be easily answered by the V-CC, those from fellow enthusiasts who have a similar machine to one of my own, and folks who need help with stuff left to them from enthusiast dads who have passed away. But, like other volunteers, there’s only so much time in the day to dedicate to our hobbies, and as much as I love vintage vehicles, I also have a fabulous life outside the hobby that takes priority. Good luck researching your bicycle …and I hope you continue to enjoy these websites 🙂
Serial Numbers Cracks
NSU DATING thanks to – http://www.fahrrad.nsu24.de