Military Phillips bicycle
 

I picked up a Phillips ( of Birmingham, England) bicycle years ago because of the excellent 26" War Grade tires that will fit my BSA folding airborne bicycles. It is a woman's' model and has three original decals. I think it must be from the WW2 period. Maybe the serial number is a clue to knowlegable bicycle collectors: M93334. It is a small frame, measuring 19" from crank to top of saddle stem socket. There has been some re-painting with glass black but I think much of the original paint was black although there is some brown paint around the rear fender decal.
Does anyone have more about military Phillips bicycles.?

More pic's
 

Phillips bicycle handle grip. Similar in design to BSA folding bicycle grip but Dover marked

Phillips bicycle

Hello Brian,

Great bike! (Please don't take it apart.) Here is some info on a Phillips Mark V with 26" wheels: https://bsamuseum.wordpress.com/1939...tary-roadster/. It has been questioned if this is a WW2 bicycle as those "in the know" state that wartime bicycle all had 28" wheels. Problem is that there is very little info about military bicycles. What I could find is that the Military Bicycle indeed had 28" wheels. In military contracts references to "trade pattern" roadsters can be found. The "Roadster" type bicycle was a sturdy old-fashioned style of bicycle popular in the countryside. These usually had 28 x 1-1/2" wheels with Westwood rims, long cranks and long wheelbases, and very shallow frame angles (68 degrees or less). Roadsters used "roller-lever" brakes operated by rods. They were built for durability above all else, and were intended to be able to cope with dirt roads, cobblestones and unpaved footpaths, with a bare minimum of maintenance. No serious attempt was made to save weight in their design or construction. Finish in "service colour", fit some military items like gun clips, luggage carrier and you have a bicycle for military service.

Woman's bicycles were intended for garrison type of duties only, hence no "service colour" was required, and also it may not need to comply to other military requirements, hence the 26" wheels? In the case of women's bicyles a regular trade pattern bike would fit the bill perfectly, just add no frills. So the fact that is has no chrome bits to me is an indication it was likely built under a military contract, with austerity and functionality over anything else. I have seen a Hercules bicycle with only the frame and mudguards in "service colour" (some kind of OD) - everything else is painted black: rims, handlebar, pedals, luggage carrier etc.

I really like military bicycles; I have an unrestored large size frame Hercules.

Regards,
Hanno

Hanno, Thank for the input. The link you posted is a wealth of information. This woman's bike of mine has a small frame: rides nicely but my 6' height makes it a bit awkward to ride. Maybe the 26" wheels suited the smaller frame. The War Grade tires screamed out that it is a WW2-era bicycle. The women's model would have been a lower production and hence not commonly seen today. I will be careful to determine the degree of original paint: no plans to "restore" it.
....Brian

Seems there were more bicycle manufacturers out there that ended up doing production runs for military bicycles than I ever realized. And from quite a few countries.

Would a dedicated thread for them be practical at this point in the forum?

David

Agree, that would/ could be the one linked above: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=20143