1899 Singer 'Model A' Ladies with Singer Inflator Handlebar

1899 Singer ‘Model A’ Ladies with Singer Inflator Handlebar

1899 Singer ‘Model A’ Ladies

with the Singer Inflator Handlebar

Morrow 2nd pattern coaster brake

Duplex chainstays

24″ Frame

28″ Front wheel / 26″ Rear wheel

‘Stanhope’ embossed saddle

(Now sold)

With Duplex chainstays and a Morrow coaster brake, this was a top-notch machine with a rare and unique Singer patent accessory …a handlebar with Singer inflator pump concealed within.

The bicycle has had an old-time restoration and repaint. The front wheel is 28″ and the rear is 26″ as was the fashion of the late 1890s. I think it originally had a 28″ rear and was fixed wheel, but I can see the logic of the upgrade to freewheel with coaster brake. It’s in excellent all round condition and ready to ride.

The ‘Inflator Bar’ came in two styles, flat or raised. It made its debut at the National Cycle Show in December, 1897, and was available on Singer bicycles for the 1898 season.

MORROW 2nd PATTERN COASTER BRAKE

As you can see from the explanation above, the 1902 Morrow coaster brake had a hinged arm and adjustable clamp. Note that the arm on the Morrow fixes to the chain side of the bicycle, whereas all the other coaster brakes fit to the opposite chain stay. It’s useful that the company upgraded the clamp as the previous type would not have fitted onto this duplex chainstay.

THE SINGER MOTORWHEEL

With a downturn in the cycle trade caused by over-production and also the Boer War affecting the exports on which Singer depended, the company turned to motor bicycles and motor tricycles which had become the latest fashion on the roads. Though it was not advertised for fitting to the Singer Motorwheel Tricycle, if you look closely at the photograph below, you can see that the one sold by Bonhams in 2017 is fitted with an identical Inflator Handlebar.