1890 Gormully & Jeffery ‘American Light Rambler’
Spring Frame Convertible
21″ Frame
Rear Wheel: 30″
Front Wheel: 27″
Gormully & Jeffery saddle
Gormully & Jeffery lamp
Location: Australia (the Farren Collection private museum)
includes free book ‘Bicycling Through Time’ (this bicycle is featured in it)
(Now sold)
The ‘Single Tube’ bicycle was the first design manufactured exclusively for women. There was no extra bracing to the frame, which allowed a female rider to mount and dismount from the side without any encumbrance. However, as female riders also preferred their bicycles to be of light weight, heavyweight tubing could not be used for ladies’ machines. Despite using wider diameter tubing to improve tube strength, the single tube design was inherently weak. Soon after its introduction, the majority of manufacturers added a strengthening strut to their single tube bicycles, and by 1891 the models in the G&J range had a small brace fitted above the bottom bracket.
The Rambler is particularly interesting because of some unique design features.
1. As well as the rear spring, it has a raked front fork which provides extra suspension.
2. The first safety bicycles (1884-1886) had a smaller front wheel than the rear; this is the only model built in 1890 that still incorporated that feature – its rear wheel is 30″ while its front is 27″.
3. It’s a Convertible. Though that word is more familiar these days to describe top-of-the-range cars with a roof that folds down, the first use of the word described a bicycle such as this – with a removable top tube that converts it from a gents model to a ladies. This feature was popular from 1888 to around 1890, and enabled manufacturers to save production costs by building just one style of frame. America’s cycle industry was in its infancy in this era, and most of the bicycles on the US market were imported from Britain, so they sold Convertibles beyond 1890 while Britons were already buying newer designs.
As well as unique styling, G&J’s build quality was superb – the company was one of the top three American cycle manufacturers, the others being Overman (who made Victor bicycles) and Colonel Pope’s Columbia. There was much rivalry between them and, (according to a book about Colonel Pope), espionage was often employed to try and discover their competitors’ latest design features. This Ranbler was one of the most expensive bicycles on the American market.
This delightful machine has been on display in the Farren Collection private museum (in Melbourne, Australia) for many years. Paul bought it in 1988 and restored it soon after. It’s still in excellent all round condition and is ready to ride.
SPRING FRAME
The hinged rear fork on the model range was designed to combat vibration, the company describing the bicycle as a ‘spring frame.’ The rear spring combined with the forward angle of front fork (below) provides this machine with a unique profile.
CONVERTIBLE (REMOVABLE TOP TUBE)
1891 GORMULLY & JEFFERY CATALOGUE EXTRACTS
G&J SADDLE
(New leather top by Paul Watson)
