Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Rare as hens teeth too
it's lovely.
it's lovely.
Pre-WW2 BSA, something of a diamond in the rough I believe
- Thread starter Mark Manley
- Start date
GregoryB
Retro Newbie
Hi Mark,
Another piece of info I came across. It doesn't prove one way or another what company originally made your bike but strongly points to a Birmingham connection.
I was going to suggest that you continue research and try to find old issues of the magazine Cycling and the trade journal Bicycling News which might help. Especially anything around Oct-Nov '33 and the same months in '34 that cover the annual International Earls Court Cycle and Motorcycle Show. Because the Super-eeze DeLight and Opperman models would have been the top-of-the-line bikes showcased by BSA at these annual exhibits.
And from the few magazine copies I've seen (mostly postwar), they often have ads, illustrations and pictures that in the case of BSA, are often different than what BSA used in their print catalogues. Also, the magazine Cycling would frequently feature road test reviews of bicycles by the mysteriously named author "Nimrod." You just might find an article that proves beyond doubt the maker of your bike.
But then I looked through the Nov. 1938 copy of Bicycling News I had got some time ago for its coverage of the Earls Court show - the last show before the war and not held again until 1948. Check out the ad from Walton & Brown of Birmingham. I think the lugs on your bike frame could be the same as pictured in this ad.
BSA didn't make every part that went into their bikes. Yes, they made a lot of their own components and fittings. But they could just as easily have gone around the corner to Walton & Brown and bought a batch of their cutaway lugs to use in building a special model lightweight bike. It was probably cheaper to buy a batch of ready-made deluxe lugs than have their factory workmen spend time hand cutting new sets of lugs to use.
Or it's still possible that another company made your bike frame using Walton & Brown lugs. Either way, your bike was an elite prewar bike!
All the best,
Gregory
Another piece of info I came across. It doesn't prove one way or another what company originally made your bike but strongly points to a Birmingham connection.
I was going to suggest that you continue research and try to find old issues of the magazine Cycling and the trade journal Bicycling News which might help. Especially anything around Oct-Nov '33 and the same months in '34 that cover the annual International Earls Court Cycle and Motorcycle Show. Because the Super-eeze DeLight and Opperman models would have been the top-of-the-line bikes showcased by BSA at these annual exhibits.
And from the few magazine copies I've seen (mostly postwar), they often have ads, illustrations and pictures that in the case of BSA, are often different than what BSA used in their print catalogues. Also, the magazine Cycling would frequently feature road test reviews of bicycles by the mysteriously named author "Nimrod." You just might find an article that proves beyond doubt the maker of your bike.
But then I looked through the Nov. 1938 copy of Bicycling News I had got some time ago for its coverage of the Earls Court show - the last show before the war and not held again until 1948. Check out the ad from Walton & Brown of Birmingham. I think the lugs on your bike frame could be the same as pictured in this ad.
BSA didn't make every part that went into their bikes. Yes, they made a lot of their own components and fittings. But they could just as easily have gone around the corner to Walton & Brown and bought a batch of their cutaway lugs to use in building a special model lightweight bike. It was probably cheaper to buy a batch of ready-made deluxe lugs than have their factory workmen spend time hand cutting new sets of lugs to use.
Or it's still possible that another company made your bike frame using Walton & Brown lugs. Either way, your bike was an elite prewar bike!
All the best,
Gregory
