As a Yorkshireman bred and born about eighteen miles away from Ellis-Briggs' Shipley bikeshop I used to call in very reguarly in the early and mid-50s..in the hey-day of ken Russell, Brian and Des Robinson, Ken Balmforth to name but a few who rode the E-B brand. In those days one of the popular meal-stops was was about twelve miles further on at Otley in Wharfedale...in those days a beautiful little market town, where we all used to meet up ..the BLRC racing boys, the CTC clubmen and girls, the Clarion riders, the NCU fast men..and the many unattached sporting cyclists...to eat, drink and generally ogle each others' bikes in the large courtyard of Ye Olde Bente Poker cafe. It was amazing the different brands and types of bikes that the different allegiances rode. I reckon I would browse with my nose pressed against the E-B shop window at least twice a month.
There were plenty of Briggs' about, mostly with Nervex or Ekla lugs and some such as the Superbe and International models with hand-fretted ones. All were well-built capable standard machines ie no funny designs
It wasn't until some forty years later that I learned that Ellis- Briggs did however have flights of fancy back in the day, with one particular short-lived model standing out - twin-curved seat tube short-wheelbased model. I have never seen one in the flesh but Mark Stevens the CR LIst's resident Gillott expert did find one lurking nor far from his home and captured some photos of the odd machine...very odd machine indeed. The Briggs' experts whom I contacted about this design, one of whom had actually owned one, told me that only six were made. Why am I not surprised? An SWB bike does not need both a curved seat tube AND double seat tubes after the Saxon style.
So we move on to Wyndham's Flyer model. This is as much as a discovery for me as the earlier double-curved seat tube model was! But I have a theory !
Ellis-Briggs' shop is on the NE side of the large city of Bradford. About a ten-minute ride into Bradford away, there was the shop of W R Baines, makers of the Flying Gate SWB..not too far from Baines the keen rider could find Whitaker and Mapplebeck's shop (later to become Pennine Cycles), close by was Geoff??? another frame-builder, another shop sold Saxons..and half-an-hour away there was Walter Grieves..building his unusual SWBs. Also within the immediate area several shops sold Jack Taylor curved seat tube models...and let's not forget the PARIS Galibier that was really making waves among the elite riders. That too was widely available.
Briggs' desperately needed a "funny" ie SWB frame design to compete with the other builders. Clearly the short-lived double curved seat tube design left much to be desired in terms of riding experience.
My take on the Flyer model is that it was Ellis-Briggs' answer to the competition. The design was certainly not new, as it had been used by SUN Cycles for their Manx TT model, from the late 40s and by R.O.Harrison, of London for their Shortwin model..although this also had twin D-section down tubes...but it was tested and rode well...
I would like to think that I am correct in my assumption that the Flyer superceded the ill-fated twin-curved-seat tube model in Briggs' catalogue..and I suspect that that earlier model was also called the Flyer....trading on the reputation of Carlton's very popular and successful frame of the same name.
What would such a frame be used for? Probably it would be a double-purpose bike..for general Club riding with mudguards, and saddle bag...and then..come Sunday morning, in stripped down form ie less guards and bag it would become the time-trial machine.. As Crumpy and I have pointed out before..we were lucky if we had more than one bike..and if we had they would be a dual purpose road machine and then a dual purpose road-track iron. Sprints would be carried on a pair of cranked Cyclo brackets fastened to the front wheel axle with the upper part of the wheels strapped to the bars with toe-straps. We simply rode everywhere..and stopped overnight in Youth Hostels, Clarion Club houses or B-and-Bs
Before Chapter Two - Ellis-Briggs Flyer - The Frame..I will take time out to phone a mate of mine who might just have more chapter and verse on this machine.
Norris Lockley
wallowing in nostalgia, Settle UK