Rover 'safety' bicycle

Until the introduction of this type of bicycle, with its diamond-shaped frame and similar-diameter front and rear wheels, cycling was a comparatively risky sport which appealed mainly to the enthusiast.

During the 1870s, when cycling first became popular, the standard bicycle was the ordinary or penny-farthing. These bicycles had direct, pedal-driven, large front wheels. The rider sat high and was at risk in an accident. They were also unstable and difficult to mount and dismount. By contrast, the diamond-frame bicycle with chain drive to the rear wheel placed the rider much closer to the ground and changed the experience of riding so dramatically that it became known as the 'safety bicycle'.

The Rover safety bicycle was designed by J K Starley of Coventry and was first exhibited in London in early 1885. His design made the bicycle a universal mode of transport and established a basic form that has changed remarkably little since then. By the early 1890s the ordinary bicycle was obsolete.

Cycle-making became concentrated in Birmingham, Coventry and Nottingham, where mass-production techniques had already been applied to the manufacture of textile and sewing machines, clocks, watches and handguns. Output soared and, at the outbreak of the First World War, Britain was a world leader in cycle exports. Many of the cycle companies also went on to become noted motor vehicle manufacturers.

Credit: Rover Cycle Co. Ltd
Object: 1901-6