1911 Golden Sunbeam for Ladies (Green Enamel)

While later catalogues listed an option for the ‘Golden Sunbeam All-Green’ – the 1915 catalogue shows the company charged one guinea for the privilege – in 1910 and 1911 green was the standard colour for the Golden Sunbeam for Ladies. This example does not disappoint.

By the way, to compare prices in 1914 with those of a century later, an easy approximate guide is to multiply by 100.

The 1910 price for this bicycle was 14 guineas – £1414. Hardly a bicycle for commuting to work, then.

An extra guinea in 1915 for green paintwork on your new Sunbeam would have been the equivalent of £110 today.

With such high prices for bicycles before WW1, you can see why they were treasured by families of the original owners. This one suffered minor neglect: the three-speed gear was missing some parts, I had to replace the handlebar grips, saddle, pedals, brake rubbers, tyres, and cord on the skirtguard. This is normal. It has now been serviced and is ready to ride.