1904 Imperial Rover
Eadie coaster rear brake
24″ Frame
28″ Wheels
Frame No 13788
The book ‘A History of Rover Cycles’ (published in 1998) provides the best help to calculate the age of Rovers. We know the company became The Rover Cycle Co Ltd in 1896 and it changed to The Rover Co Ltd on 25 October 1905. This was shown on Rover headbadges. Rod brakes were introduced in 1904, as on the machine featured here. The illustration below is from 1903.
Rovers are sought-after machines. This example is in good order and ready to ride, though it has a few minor issues regarding originality: the head clip is wrong, it’s missing its lamp bracket, the seat post is fixed in place (Rover seat posts are slightly narrower than usual and I don’t have a correct one that will fit lower into the seat tube), and the front hub is later. These are issues that a new owner can sort out easily enough.
I bought it around 9 years ago as I needed a Rover to ‘militarise’ for my book on the history of military bicycles. Most bicycles at the start of World War One were civilian single speed models to which the manufacturers added military fittings. Accordingly, I added rifle clips and a rifle and you can see it featured in my book further down this page. It’s not being sold with rifle clips.
From A HISTORY OF ROVER CYCLES
From BAD TEETH NO BAR: A HISTORY OF MILITARY BICYCLES by Colin Kirsch
ROVER MOTORCYCLES
Rover was a leading cycle manufacturer in the early years of the 20th century, and started motorcycle production in 1902. Between 1903 and 1924 they made over 10,000 motorcycles. The company temporarily stopped production of the Rover Motor-Bicycle in 1904 to focus on the introduction of their new Rover 8hp automobile.
1904: THE FIRST ROVER CAR
Bicycles had already achieved more or less their optimum design specifications by the beginning of the twentieth century. But cars, of course, were only just beginning. In 1904 the Rover Cycle Co brought out their first motor car.
Bicycles truly paved the way for the automobile. Road construction was already in full swing, and mass-production already employed by the cycle manufacturers who turned to car production. By the end of the decade the roads were full of cars, lorries and buses and cyclists had to fight road congestion.
‘In our reports of the trials of small motor cars recently held by the Automobile Club, reference was made to the vehicle which has been constructed by the Rover Cycle Company Limited, Coventry, from the designs of Mr E.W Lewis.
We are now enabled to place before our readers several illustrations showing the novel form of construction adopted…
…The engine is of the vertical single cylinder water-cooled pattern with mechanically-operated exhaust and inlet valves. The cylinder is 4 ½ in diameter by 5in stroke, and it is claimed that 8 brake horse power can be developed at a speed of 900 revolutions, while the engine is capable of acceleration up to 1500 revolutions.’
