1901 Sunbeam Gent’s ‘Design OK’
with Sunbeam patent back-pedal contracting Band brake
BSA three-speed gear
23″ Frame
28″ Beaded-edge wheels
Seabrook Revolving Double Dome Chime Bell
Brooks ‘Model B49’ Saddle
Frame No 46303
After the introduction of the freewheel in 1899, brakes became more important. Some cycle companies combined the freewheel with a band brake (they had already been used successfully on tricycles). Quadrant, Humber, Triumph, Eadie, Sparkbrook, Singer, Star, Osmond, Coventry Eagle, Rudge-Whitworth and Sunbeam offered a band brake between 1900 and 1903. But the fast development of front and rear rim brakes from 1900 onwards led to that design becoming the industry standard due to its simplicity, making band brakes obsolete (though Triumph was still offering it as an option after World War One).
There are not many surviving bicycles from the early 1900s with band brakes, and this 1901 Sunbeam with a rod-operated back-pedal band brake is one of the rarest. I assume it was only available for 1901 Sunbeams, as the following year’s catalogue offered a hand-operated band brake. An interesting detail is the pattern of the band brake which is a miniature version of the Sunbeam chainwheel.
Sunbeam’s ‘OK’ model was introduced in 1901 to provide a lower-priced alternative to the Golden Sunbeam. The ‘OK’ was the company’s cheapest offering at 10 guineas against 18 guineas for the top-of-the-range Golden. The machine was refurbished in the late 1900s, receiving a BSA 3-speed gear. It has recently been stripped and serviced and is ready to ride.
SUNBEAM PATENT BACK-PEDAL CONTRACTING BAND BRAKE
BSA THREE-SPEED GEAR
Images with thanks to SUNBEAM CYCLES: The Story from the Catalogues 1887-1957, by John Pinkerton & Derek Roberts; Pinkerton Press. Available through the V-CC
