c1907 BSA Gents’ Springframe Roadster
with Sloping Top tube (2″ drop)
Sturmey-Archer Tricoaster gear #630717
27″ Frame
26″ Wheels
(Now sold)
In the cycle industry at the turn of the 20th century innovation and invention was rife, and it was believed that improving suspension on bicycles would be an important factor in the development of the new-fangled motor bicycle. Before cars and motorcycles took over, proper roads were few and far between around the world, and the topic of strength in bicycles and comfort for riders was a regular topic in the cycling press.
In America, ‘cushion frames’ (cycles with shock absorbers on the rear fork) had just come onto the market. The British felt it was their patriotic duty to go one better, and the BSA Spring Frame was the result. It not only had two shock absorbers on the rear forks, but the whole frame was articulated, with two pivot points on the top tube, and one each at the bottom of the down tube and seat tube, above the bottom bracket.
The engineering was superb, and it was an immediate success. Not only was it light enough to compete adequately in timed road trials, but the construction was sturdy enough for long-distance riding on rough roads …as proven by Francis Birtles when he rode a BSA Spring Frame across Australia.
The BSA Spring Frame was imported in knock-down form into Australia and helped to launch the country’s motorcycle industry. The BSA Spring Frame was still being advertised by BSA in their 1907 fittings catalogue, though not as prominently as before. By 1909 it was no longer illustrated and, in 1910, by popular demand, BSA offered complete bicycles for sale. The era of the spring frame was over. However, BSA Fittings remained popular so were still supplied worldwide, and in Australia they were used for many more decades.
This example was repainted in the 1960s (green was a common BSA colour). It is ready to ride, though the flexible joints are a bit wobbly.
FRANCIS BIRTLES’ BSA SPRING FRAME BICYCLE
ASSEMBLED & BADGED by DAVIES-FRANKLIN CYCLE AGENCY, PERTH
On 26 December 1905, Birtles left Fremantle, Western Australia to cycle to Melbourne, an achievement which attracted widespread attention as it was the first west-to-east bicycle crossing of the country. His BSA Springframe Fittings Machine was badged as a Davies-Franklin, assembled at their cycle agency at 242-244 William St, Perth. Davies-Franklin of Ballarat, Victoria subsequently became Australia’s top cycle and motorcycle manufacturer, until the business was sold in 1913.
In 1907-08, after a short stretch as a lithographic artist, Birtles cycled to Sydney and then, via Brisbane, Normanton, Darwin, Alice Springs and Adelaide back to Sydney, where he based himself.
In 1909 he published the story of his feat, ‘Lonely Lands’, which he illustrated with his own photographs. That year he also set a new cycling record for the Fremantle to Sydney continental crossing. In 1910-11 rode around Australia. In 1911 he was accompanied from Sydney to Darwin by R. Primmer, cameraman for the Gaunt Company: the resulting film ‘Across Australia’ was released the following year. Birtles had continued on to Broome and Perth, then broke his previous records by riding from Fremantle to Sydney in thirty-one days. By 1912 he had cycled around Australia twice and had crossed the continent seven times.
