BSA All-Weather Ladies Model c1912

c1912 BSA All Weather Ladies Model.

I bought this BSA Lady's machine a while back on a whim. I had done nothing with it since and it seemed like a good idea to pass it on, particularly as I was getting to the point that I was beginning to feel I couldn't move for old cycles. Very wonderfully the BSA went to a museum in Italy who plan to sympathetically renovate it, keeping the original finish. The museum is the Azzini collection in Soresina. There is no website but they do have a facebook feed - take a look: https://www.facebook.com/velobiciantiche

The BSA is from around 1912 and is rather a rare bird, being the All Weather Model which was offered with heavily valanced mudguards and an all painted finish. In the Edwardian period through to the twenties there was a vogue for All Weather cycles along the same lines as the 'Colonial Model' motorcycles - slightly sturdier machines based on a standard model with large mudguards, a heavier duty finish and less plating as the distinguishing features.

Sturmey Archer Tricoaster hub.

The BSA Lady's all weather was originally fitted with a back pedal 'coaster' brake. This particular example came with a rare Sturmey Archer Tricoaster three speed coaster hub and it looks like it was supplied that way from new.

The green finish appears to be original and, like the All Weather models, was a fashion of the period. Some of the green parts are overpainted on black. I wonder if bought in parts came to BSA in a black finish and were then overpainted or that the green finish was a special order and parts were taken off the production line and re-finished as required?

Powell and Hanmer reflector.

Lucas rack.

Front brake lever only. This model was fitted with a coaster
(back pedal) rear brake.

Front mudguard has suffered a bit but should still renovate
nicely and keep the original paint.

Pedals appear to be unused. A bicycle such as this in the
Edwardian era was an expensive thing and many were bought by
the wealthy as a fashion item. Early ladies cycles are
inextricably linked with the Suffragette movement.

Steering 'lock' on the head tube. The knurled nut tightens a
band around the steering tube on the forks to stop the
handlebars turning.. Rather than a security feature the
lock was for parking the bicycle to stop the handlebars
flapping around.