1890 ‘Special Singer’ Safety

Singer was one of the world’s leading cycle manufacturers by the time the Safety Bicycle was introduced in 1886. The ‘Singer Safety’ went through many incarnations in its first few years, with updated versions being introduced as soon as the company was able to add further innovations. The company invested so much of their profit into developing their bicycles that sometimes as many as four editions of their catalogue were produced in the same year to enable them to introduce new innovations.

This model of the ‘Special Singer’ was introduced in 1890 for the 1891 season and was a state-of-the-art machine for its time. It was also such a well-built and popular model that it was still being sold in 1893 (see the 1893 Slade catalogue illustration below) despite the fact that many new models had been introduced in the interim years and it would have been considered outdated by then.

1890 ‘Special Singer’ Safety

30″ Equal Wheels

(Now sold)

This top-of-the-range Singer was professionally restored down to the last detail by one of the world’s leading vintage bicycle collectors and, until my purchase, was on display at one of the world’s top bicycle museums. It certainly fulfills the experience of seeing a bicycle in the condition it would have been in when it came out of the showroom nearly 130 years ago, and it rides superbly.

 

 

 

1891 SINGER CATALOGUE EXTRACTS

 

 

SINGER STEERING LOCK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1891 SINGER CATALOGUE EXTRACTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1893 SLADE & Co CATALOGUE EXTRACTS