MAKERS: Components Ltd & Ariel Cycle Co

The business that became Components Ltd was established by R.F Hall in 1890. He had previously worked for BSA but had left when BSA stopped cycle component production in 1885 to focus on a large government arms contract. In 1894 he joined forces with Harvey du Cros and Charles Sangster to form the Cycle Components Mfg. Co, which, with the acquisition of leading tube maker Hudson & Co. and rim manufacturers Westwood Wheel Co. and Warwick & Sons, became a leading supplier to the cycle trade. In the same year, Harvey du Cros established the Pneumatic Tyre Co. with J. B. Dunlop in Ireland, to manufacture pneumatic bicycle tyres. A further acquisition was the Ariel Cycle Co. in 1897. The company name changed to Components Ltd in 1902, and they took over Rover’s cycle business in 1912.

It was the company’s ownership of the metal Westwood rim and pneumatic tyre patents that led the American cycle industry to use wooden rims and tubeless tyres