In a message dated 7/15/2001 9:19:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
rlwhitetr3b@hotmail.com writes:
> A friend found a 3 speed lady's bicycle while cleaning
> out his mother's garage. I have not seen it, but he
> says it has badges like my TR3B. Did the car company
> make bicycles? Were they made by the motor cycle company
> or was/is there a third Triumph company?
>
The answer to the above is no...and yes! Triumph founder Siegfried Bettman
began with bicycles, then motorized them, and then started building cars in
1923. The bicycle division was the first to be sold off, in the early 1930s
(Raleigh owns the Triumph bicycle name, along with just about every other
classic English bike name). The motorcycle side was sold off a couple years
later. So it all started out being the same company.
Tell me more (off-list if you like) about the bicycle. I have two now: my
sister's old blue one, bought new around 1965 and seen at the VTR Conventions
in Winona (1998) and Portland, Maine (1999); and a black boy's model that
needs some restoration. (My own dear old, decrepit Rollfast, circa 1964,
likely will be the "parts bike" for the Triumph restoration!)
--Andy
Andrew Mace, President and 10/Herald/Vitesse (Sports 6) Vehicle Consultant
The Vintage Triumph Register <www.vtr.org>
p.s. Like so many things British, it's easy to get a pretty good idea of how
old the bicycle is via the date code on the Sturmey Archer hub (month/year
code such as 9 65 or similar).
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