1913 Gentlemen’s 24″ Royal Sunbeam

1913 Gentlemen’s 24″ Royal Sunbeam

3 Speed Hub Gears

Frame Number  116942

Ready to Jump on and Ride…

This 1913 Gents Royal has recently been restored and is ready to ride.

The paintwork is original, unrestored, with its box lining still showing.

The only transfer remaining is the Sunbeam logo on the chaincase.

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SUMMARY:

The Sunbeam has been fully serviced and rides well.

It has new tyres and inner tubes.

The paintwork is original, with much of the box lining intact on the frame and mudguards.

The original mudguards, wheels and chaincase are good. There has been a repair on the rear mudguard.

It has a 3-speed gear in the rear hub, so you won’t have to fiddle around inside the chaincase to adjust the gears. The hub and gear-trigger are later than 1913, so were not originally supplied by Sunbeam.

Some parts are not original: the rear quarter quadrant on the chaincase was missing, so one has been made up. The rear brake ‘horseshoe’ was also missing, so a front brake from the same era has been used in its place. It works fine.

Handlebar grips and pedals are not original.

I’ve taken close-up photos below of these parts.

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MADEIRA LIFT, BRIGHTON

Previously known as ‘The Old Lift’

This Victorian lift is one of Brighton’s best-kept secrets.

The lift and the shelter inaugurated in 1890 as the focal point of the Madeira Terrace Development. A unique example of Victorian engineering, the lift has continued to be an effective and convenient conveyance, especially for those unable to easily travel those steep steps down to the beach. Originally the lift was powered by water pressure but this was superseded by an electro-mechanical lifting mechanism introduced in 1930. Unfortunately it has a history of mechanical breakdowns! So I was surprised to see it working when I took these pictures of the Sunbeam.

I pressed the button and, lo and behold, the attendant came up in the lift and opened the door for me…

I can’t think of a better ‘vintage’ way to travel down to Brighton seafront.

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