No. 19. 54 inch ‘Invincible’ racing bicycle, made by the Surrey Machinist Co., Blackman Street, Borough, London, S.E., about 1886.
This is one of the lightest ‘ordinaries’ ever built, its actual weight being 22 lbs. Indeed the previous owner, A. J. Dicks, considered it too light for serious riding, and exchanged it with me for a heavier bicycle. The spoking system is worth noting: each length of wire makes two spokes, being threaded through the hub-flange with a Z bend: this was not good engineering, as, if one spoke broke, its companion was liable to become loose. Incidentally, an almost identical system was introduced more than 40 years later by another London maker, who claimed that it was not only an improvement on the usual system, but a “novelty”.
With this exhibit is a letter from Mr. J. S. Smith, proprietor of the Surrey Machinist Co., who writes:—
“I am pleased to have the opportunity of seeing one of my old ‘Invincible’ light racers, made by me in my works, at that time in Blackman Street, Borough. This model was one of the most successful record breakers of the period. The great H.L Cortis used a similar mount when he made the record of 20 miles in one hour, and most of the giants of cycling who followed him, including F.J Osmond, H.A Speechly, E.M Maves, J.S Whatton and many others, rode the ‘Invincible’ to victory!”
Mr. Smith himself was a tricyclist of some renown, winning an open 50 miles road handicap promoted by the Catford C.C. in August 1887: he received 75 minutes start from G.P Mills, and his time was 3 hours 30 minutes. The certificate awarded to him adorns the wall of the museum. Mills, on a bicycle, did 2 hours 54 minutes 14 seconds. With his wife, Mr. Smith made a famous tandem pair, and Mrs. Smith enjoys the unique distinction of being the only lady in the world to hold a medal for beating records; at the old Crystal Palace cinder track, in 1887, they beat world’s amateur records at 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 miles, (1 hour 20 minutes 6 seconds) and 1 hour.
Mrs. Smith assisted her husband in his cycle making business; she never raced on a single tricycle or bicycle, and never on a tandem except in partnership with Mr. Smith.
Cortis’s record, mentioned in Mr. Smith’s letter, was the epoch-marking feat of covering 20 miles 300 yards in 60 minutes, at the Crystal Palace track on 27th July, 1882. On 2nd August, 1882, at Surbiton track, he bettered this, covering 20 miles 325 yards in the hour. The “long Wanderer,” as Cortis was called by his friends — he was a member of the Wanderers Bicycle Club — was married next day, and on 21st August sailed for Australia, where (at Carcoa, N.S.W.) he died on 28th December, 1885, at the early age of 28.
