From Pedals to Pistons

As current holders of the RAC Historic Award for Restoration, we are car people with a long history, and many fabulous connections, within this industry. We know, and love, pre-war cars, and have had PreWar Car’s website pop up as our first read of the day for many years now.

An early cyclist

Our delight at the introduction of a dedicated bicycle area is not purely because we’re also bicycle people, but because we see the two worlds as inextricably entwined - bicycles started everything.

We all know that so many of the marques we admire began life as bicycle makers, Peugeot, Morris, Triumph, Hillman, Darracq, Puch -  to name a handful. We know the components of bicycles that transferred to motorcars; the spoked wheel, pneumatic tyres, differentials, even the development of the tubular frame made its way over to car design, but it’s far more than the sum of all the parts that forges the link  – bicycles may have been the expensive toys of the ruling classes to begin with, but they allowed an ideological shift that saw the start of truly independent and accessible personal transport.

Before the bicycle was around to be pulled out of the shed and pedaled along the lane, breeze rushing in your ears and all the possibilities of the day lying ahead at the twist of your handlebars, the traveller had to rely on either the horse, and every part of equine management from saddles to stables, or the railways and that entire hard and locked infrastructure; fast yet, clearly, limited. 

The bicycle meant personal freedom - truly solo travel.

Just as a famous fellow Sussex-based cycling enthusiast, of an era past, once penned:

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark – just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.”

Whilst we whole-heartedly agree with Sir Arthur Conan Doyles’ advice above, we ask you too, to remember that as we whizz along in our motorcars, on the road networks of today, we should do well to remember that there once was a time when the bicycle pioneers pushed the literal pedals of power to enable so much of what we take for granted.