The Riley Cycle Co. Ltd
The Riley Cycle Co. Ltd. was formed in 1896 by
William Riley out of Bonnick & Co. Ltd which he had purchased in
1890 when he could see the decline in his weaving business.
I thought no Bonnick/Riley bicycles existed and
people who know much more about the subject than me seem to confirm this,
although some pictures from catalogues exist, but now I have been sent, from Sweden, pictures of an 1892 Bonnick "Path Racer" in unrestored condition and still with the original Michelin tyres and from England the owner Richard Odell a 1903 Royal Riley gentleman's bicycle Riley that was present at one of the Coventry Riley Register annual shows.
There is also a 1902 Riley in Melbourne, Australia owned by The Farren collection, the pictures below are from their book "Bicycling Through Time". The book is available on line with this information from a seller - "The Farren collection have around 85 percent of the pre-1900 bicycles in
Australia - all under one roof in a Melbourne warehouse-cum-museum.
Thirty years of hunting them down and collecting has resulted in one of
the most impressive early bike collections in the world. It includes 160
pre-1900 bicycles, including hobby horses, boneshakers and Penny
Farthings, as well as early 20th-century models. The
collection charts the development of the bicycle, which foreshadows the
invention of the motor car in many surprising ways. It also shows wider
social change and the role the bicycle has played in female
emancipation, war and its progression from plaything of the wealthy to
utilitarian mode of transport of the masses."
Pictured below the 1892 Bonnick "Path Racer" that was found in a barn in Sweden, pictures from the owner Håkan Wikström.
Pictured below the 1903 Royal Riley Gentleman's bicycle owned by Richard Odell in England.
Pictured below the 1902 Riley, pictures credited to the owner of the "Farren Collection" in Australia with front suspension and "Antivibrator" saddle.
Below - picture from and credited to the October-November 2020 issue of the "Gazette", the NSW Riley club of Australia newsletter (all issues are available to view here, well worth a visit for all sorts of Riley related pages - https://sites.google.com/view/the-riley-cars-online-library/home , page title Gazette archive).
As can be seen this "tandem" is 2 bicycles cleverly joined together and although it has a Riley sticker it may be a red herring.
Below - A late Riley cycle
Below - "Antivibrator"saddle
Pictured below, a map of Coventry showing in the box the locaton of the 2 Bonnick premises, 52 (No.1 works and offices) and 53 (No.2 works).
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