1896 Simpson Chain D-I-Y Kit
65 Chain links (60 are usually needed)
Chainwheel
Rear sprocket
This is an opportunity for vintage cycle enthusiasts to obtain a Simpson Chain Set to fit to their own early bicycle.
With the exhibition of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec at the National Gallery in London this year, I felt inspired to fabricate some more Simpson Chainsets. As very few original Simpson chain sets have survived, it is only through the artist’s famous painting ‘La Chaine Simpson’ that most people know about it.
The Simpson rear sprocket has a wider diameter than usual, so it needs sufficient clearance at the rear dropouts: I’ve found that early BSA Fittings Machines offer the easiest installation (See my photos). If you have one of these, it is just a question of removing your own chainwheel and rear sprocket, replacing them with this set, and then adding your pedal cranks. The chain-side BSA crank fits to the chainwheel with five bolts.
If you do not have BSA pedals, I can supply the pedal cranks at extra cost.
Making these chain sets is very laborious and time-consuming, and it takes the engineer some time to set up each set of chain links, bending each side in a jig and using rivets to join them together. So a deposit of £500 is sufficient for you to place an order for your Simpson Chainset, and I’ll invoice you for the balance when each set is ready to dispatch. I anticipate at least a month’s lead time.
If you have engineering skills and equipment yourself – and the time to do it – I can offer the chain links with their holes drilled but not fitted up. You’ll need to make a jig for bending the links (See my photos) and join them together with three rivets (supplied). This way you would receive the kit more quickly and at a discount price.
1896 SIMPSON CYCLES CATALOGUE EXTRACTS
