1898 Humber Standard Ladies Tricycle 24 inch ‘Model G’
1898 Humber Standard Ladies Tricycle 24 inch ‘Model G’
I bought this Humber tricycle at an auction in 2008. It was completely dismantled. My friend Pat restored it for me, and I sold it in 2010.
In 1896 a Humber motorized tricycle was the only motorcycle to finish the London-Brighton Emancipation Day Run which celebrated the raising of the speed limit to 12 mph. In 1898, the Duke of York, later to be King George V, became the first royal to ride one.
The Humber Standard designation, visible on the front forks under the paint, means that it was built at the Coventry factory.
This Ladies Tricycle has a 24″ frame.
It’s fitted with an Abingdon No 3 rear axle.
You can see this particular machine in the 1898 catalogue page below (the Model F was the Gent’s Tricycle).
The Model B was Humber’s Lady’s bicycle of the same year.
ABINGDON REAR AXLE
The well-proven Abingdon axle was used by various tricycle manufacturers. According to the Tricycle Association:
“The first axle was patented by James Starley, in 1877 for his ‘Royal Salvo Tricycle’. His son, William, improved on this in 1892, and it is this differential that is used in the Abingdon axle. There should be a small brass badge on the ‘housing’ that states ‘Starley’s Patent No 1752 1892′. Later axles have the brass badge, but it just boldly states ‘Abingdon’.”
[Tricycle Association - http://www.tricycleassociation.org.uk/Home.html]
The axle is illustrated below in the 1910 Brown Brothers catalogue:
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