1900 Humber First Grade Free Wheel Lady’s Safety, No 23

1900 Humber First Grade Free Wheel Lady’s Safety, No 23

Featuring the Humber Back-Pedal Band Brake

Frame No 79357

 

 

 

 

In 1900, the final year of the nineteenth century and, with Queen Victoria’s death, the end of an era, bicycle brakes were still a novelty. The freewheel hub had only come onto the market three years before, making bicycles much easier for ordinary folks to ride. Front and rear brakes enabled riders to coast downhill without the dangers that had been prevalent throughout the 1890s. The back-pedal band brake, introduced in 1900, was a state-of-the-art device, and this Humber would have been the envy of other cyclists .

However, the cars and motorcycles that were in the development stage at the turn of the century required much more efficient braking systems. With just a few years brakes had evolved further, and the band brake became obsolete. With few vintage machines now fitted with one, it has become an item of curiosity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRIGHTON CYCLE & MOTOR COMPANY

9 MARINE PARADE, BRIGHTON

 

The Brighton Cycle & Motor Co exhibited at the 1897 Brighton Motor & Cycle Exhibition, which was held at the Brighton Aquarium, directly opposite these premises. No doubt this shop, pictured above in the same year, was established for that reason. The Company’s stand featured a motor-tricycle and motor-tandem, as well as ‘a Daimler motor-carriage, on which visitors were able to take frequent trips.’ I visited the site of Brighton Cycle & Motor Co though, as you can see below, little remains of its former glory. In fact, it became a hotel by 1901. It’s now one of Brighton’s top gay venues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BACK-PEDAL BAND BRAKE