Whippet was a brand of

safety bicycle A safety bicycle (or simply a safety) is a type of bicycle that became very popular beginning in the late 1880s as an alternative to the penny-farthing ("ordinary") and is now the most common type of bicycle. Early bicycles of this style were know ...

designed by C. M. Linley and manufactured by Linley and Briggs in London. Examples exist from 1885 and 1888. They are notable for their use of springs to suspend the frame. An early external

derailleur Shimano 600 front derailleur (1980) A derailleur is a variable-ratio bicycle gearing system consisting of a chain, multiple sprockets of different sizes, and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another. Modern front and rear d ...

, that enabled two gear ratios and used a

freewheel Freewheel mechanism In mechanical or automotive engineering, a freewheel or overrunning clutch is a device in a transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driven shaft when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft. An ...

hub was introduced in the summer of 1894, and was available only on Whippet bicycles.

History

Charles Montague Linley (1853-1933) was a very creative engineer and the Whippet bicycles were known for their innovative ideas. Linley and Biggs were working together from the early 1880s, and are named on an 1884 patent on "Improvements in Velocipedes". In 1886 at the Stanley Cycling Show they exhibited a sprung frame tricycle called the Whippet, and this was to be the trade name by which they are best known, with the Linley & Biggs company being converted to the Whippet Cycling Syndicate Ltd in 1896. The sprung frame bicycle was useful when solid tyres were used, but the complexity was no longer required after the pneumatic tyre was introduced in 1888, although the inconvenience of punctures meant it took several years before all riders were won over. Further innovations came with gearing - they were the first safety bicycle manufacturer to fit the rear hub freewheel in 1894, a pawl type with roller bearings, and the 2-speed 'Protean' gear that they used it with developed by 1899 into an early form of

patented by Linley. They were also the first company to fit rim brakes, initially in slides but by 1899 they were hinged to allow for the slight irregularities that exist in all rims.Pioneer of Free Wheels for Safeties, Cycling, 26 Aug 1899, p31 By 1899 models named the "New Whippet" had four speed 'Protean' gear, free wheel and rim brakes. The Whippet Cycle Syndicate Ltd was wound up in 1902, and by 1907 Linley became works manager for the newly created Commercial Car Co (later known as

Commer Commer was a British manufacturer of commercial and military vehicles from 1905 until 1979. Commer vehicles included car-derived vans, light vans, medium to heavy commercial trucks, and buses. The company also designed and built some of its own ...

), and he patented many inventions relating to internal combustion engines, gears, etc over the next 30 years.

References

{{Reflist Vehicles introduced in 1885 Bicycles