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c1905 BSA Fittings Track Racer
Sloping top tube with 2″ drop
22″ Frame
26 x 1 1/4″ Wheels
Standover height 33″ to 31″
21″ top tube length
BSA Model D handlebar
BSA racing pedals
BSA saddle
Fixed wheel
I took this historic lightweight BSA racing machine for a quick spin around Preston Park Velodrome. It’s a serious track racer and I certainly didn’t do it justice.
BSA did not supply complete bicycles at this time, so these ‘fittings machines’ are impossible to date accurately. The ‘X pattern’ BSA chainwheel on this bicycle was used between 1940 and 1907 and the other parts are compatible with that timeframe. Older parts could have subsequently been used to build a bicycle, though styles changed after 1910.
Competitive machines such as this are hard to find these days, as many were damaged as a result of their racing careers. It would be nice to see it in use at Herne Hill or similar track meeting for vintage racers.
1905 BSA FITTINGS CATALOGUE EXTRACTS
BSA 3rd PATTERN CHAINWHEEL 1904-1907
1st PATTERN: Chainrings up to 1899 had no more than 20 teeth and straight arms.
2nd PATTERN: From 1899 to 1903 the chainring was detachable and had `Y` arms.
3rd PATTERN: From 1904 to 1907 the arms took the form of an `X`(as on this bicycle).
4th PATTERN: From 1908 the letters BSA were included.
(The 3rd & 4th pattern chainwheels were used up to the 1960s)
PRESTON PARK VELODROME, BRIGHTON
Preston Park Velodrome was the first to be built in Britain, and is the oldest functional velodrome in the world. The Velodrome was dug out, by hand, by the Army in 1877. The track was ready to start racing the following year and was used for annual competitions up to the start of the First World War.
When the track re-opened after the War, the track surface was made of cinders, meaning riders who had crashed had to be taken to the club house to have the cinders removed with hot water and a scrubbing brush. The tarmac surface was laid in 1936, with the first and last corners also being raised for safety reasons.
