1899 Beeston Humber Light Roadster with Detachable Joints (25" frame)

1899 Beeston Humber Freewheel Light Roadster

with Humber Patent Detachable Joints

25″ Frame

28″ Wheels

Duplex Front Fork

Duplex Chainstay

Bowden back brake

Frame No 74993

As one of the world’s top cycle manufacturers, Humber bicycles at the turn of the century offered a wide range of options. By spending £5 more than the top of the range ‘No 1’ featured here, a customer could opt for the ‘Beeston Humber Modele d’Or’ which allowed a customer to choose every option listed in the Humber catalogue. The machine featured here has many extra specifications:

Detachable frame (which can be unbolted and stored in a wicker basket).

Duplex front fork and duplex chainstay.

Front rim brake.

Bowden cable-operated rear rim brake.

Beeston Humbers fitted with multiple extras were actively promoted by Humber, as every machine thus sold became a first class mobile advertisement for the company.

There are only a few illustrations of Humber’s detachable frame, whose frame members could be removed and packed into a wicker basket. Humber claimed it was the ‘most important development in cycle construction since the pneumatic tyre’ and said they would offer it as an option on all their Beeston and Wolverhampton built safeties.

There was plenty of publicity around the company’s brazeless joints, which pushed tightly into place. The detachable option joins in identical fashion, though with retaining bolts. But it had a very short life. Bidwell was quite critical of the idea and and commented that water might get behind the retaining bolts. As it dismantled easily, Humber may have had export markets in mind, and they pointed out that it could be dismantled and stored more easily in winter, and if a frame member was damaged you could easily order a replacement. Folding bicycles had recently appeared on the market, so Humber may have wondered if this could be a cheaper option to compete with them. However, folding bicycles did not capture the public imagination.

Humber had been trying out various new ideas. They built a Humber Chainless, the Pedersen, the de Dion Bouton motor tricycle, an aluminum model with brazeless joints (and had also backed the Boudard gear and Simpson chain). But in 1898 the American cycle industry had started to fail and then the Hooley share scandal hit the British cycle industry. Various Humber companies crashed, and in 1900 Humber closed their cycle factory in Great Brick Kiln street, Wolverhampton.

I noticed that Vernon Pugh of Rudge-Whitworth also patented brazeless joints. Around this time, Rudge-Whitworth suddenly lowered the prices of their bicycles, adding to the problems their competitors already had in a poor market. Humber’s brazeless aluminium bicycle was discontinued as well as the Detachable, and there are only a few surviving examples.

This rare survivor is an old-time restoration. We removed the cotter pins that hold the tube joints in place to see if it could be easily dismantled. Though some of the inserts started to move, others were stuck. We did not want to force it, though they could be removed with perseverance. This very rare Humber is in excellent condition and ready to ride and display.