1900 High Frame Machine with Double Top Tube built entirely of BSA Fittings

1900 High Frame Machine with Double Top Tube built entirely of BSA Fittings

28.5″ Frame

28″ Wheels

1904 pattern Eadie coaster brake

The turn-of-the-century double top tube BSA Fittings Roadster is a rare beast. I’ve only seen one other (which I bought in 2012 and sold a few years ago). This example is in lovely original condition. It had an Eadie coaster brake added a few years after it was built. It’s ready to ride.

EVOLUTION OF DOUBLE TOP TUBE BICYCLES

BSA FITTINGS CHAINWHEEL CHART 1899-1908

Each ‘BSA Fittings’ bicycle is unique, though, due to the consistent standard of its components, its parts would be interchangeable with other ‘BSA Fittings’ machines.

As there are no records of machines built by the many small cycle companies who used BSA fittings, it is impossible to know the exact age of such a bicycle. However, we are able to date such a machine from its chainwheel.

This 1900 High Frame BSA Fittings Machine has the inch pitch second pattern chainwheel identified in the chart below as current between 1899 and 1903.

If you also examine the Eadie Fittings Double Top Tube bicycle in the photos above, you can see it has an inch pitch 8-bar version of the first pattern chainwheel, current for BSA Fittings machines pre-1899. From this we can see that the pre-1899 BSA Fittings chainwheel was actually an Eadie product.

Chainrings up to 1899 had no more than 20 teeth and straight arms.

From 1899 to 1903 the chainring was detachable and had `Y` arms (as on this bicycle).

From 1904 to 1907 the arms took the form of an `X`.

From 1908 the letters BSA were included.

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