In May, 1885, racing cyclist Robert Cripps tried out Humber’s new and improved tricycle. ‘Handsome Bob’ immediately discovered its advantages from a speed point of view, and the tricycle soon became known as the ‘Humber Cripper.’
The tricycle featured here is more commonly illustrated with a top tube fitted above the curved front tube. This example is the first model, with open steering (ie hinged behind the steering tube). The 1886 cartoon above shows the same model, facing off against a Quadrant – these were the two top-selling upmarket tricycles of the day.
When I rode the Cripper, I got on from the front, stepping between the handlebar and rear wheel to climb onto the pedals and then up onto the saddle. I can see that this open frame design would have been very suitable for a female rider. However, the front curved tube would have subsequently been considered a weak point, hence in various later designs an extra support tube was added to strengthen it.
1887 Humber Cripper Tricycle
Front plunger brake with its connecting rod concealed in the head tube
40″ Rear Wheels & 22″ Front wheel with solid tyres
This tricycle is in very good all-round condition, having been restored mechanically many years years ago and dry-stored since. I purchased it from a museum. I’ve ridden the tricycle (see my video) and I’ve found it light to steer, stable and responsive. The rear axle is quite primitive, without a differential and with both wheels driven. As is usual with bicycles and tricycles that have this style of chain adjustment on the tube, you need to check the securing bolts are tight before and after a ride.
VIDEO: RIDING THE HUMBER CRIPPER
THE RISE & FALL OF THE CRIPPER
[by Roger Street in ‘The Boneshaker’ No 142]
CONCEALED FRONT BRAKE ROD
1886 PATENT
1889 HUMBER CATALOGUE EXTRACTS
The previous Humber Cripper tricycle I owned (sold to a Russian museum in 2021) had a frame number stamped in the location below, but I can’t see a frame number there on this tricycle.
BOWN PATENT BEARINGS
Thomas Humber made his own bearings, but it was established in a famous 1884 court case that the means of adjusting them infringed William Bown’s patent. So every time he used bearings he had to pay a license fee to Bown and display Bown’s name as patent holder.
