When were cable operated brakes first used on mass produced bicycles?

[FrothNinja]

Hope this is the right forum for the question.
When were cable operated brakes first used on mass produced bicycles?
I've seen them on adverts for sportier mid 1930s models.

 

[Sharky]

Just googled some early Tour de France pictures and they seem to be cables by 1923, so probably being made well before then.

 

[raleighnut]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowden_cable

 

[Blue Hills]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowden_cable

Thanks for that - has the info that they are also used in some aircraft, so good enough for me on the bike I think. Have used hydraulics in the past but these days prefer cables.

 

[Cycleops]

From the net:
The invention of the Bowden cable has been popularly attributed to Sir Frank Bowden, founder and owner of the Raleigh Bicycle Company who, circa 1902, was reputed to have started replacing the rigid rods used for brakes with a flexible wound cable but no evidence for this exists.

Although rigid ' rod' brakes were still being used up until the sixties and possibly later.

 

[tyred]

From the net:
The invention of the Bowden cable has been popularly attributed to Sir Frank Bowden, founder and owner of the Raleigh Bicycle Company who, circa 1902, was reputed to have started replacing the rigid rods used for brakes with a flexible wound cable but no evidence for this exists.

Although rigid ' rod' brakes were still being used up until the sixties and possibly later.

I think that Raleigh had a rod-braked model listed in their catalogue as recently as 1985.

 

[raleighnut]

From the net:
The invention of the Bowden cable has been popularly attributed to Sir Frank Bowden, founder and owner of the Raleigh Bicycle Company who, circa 1902, was reputed to have started replacing the rigid rods used for brakes with a flexible wound cable but no evidence for this exists.

Although rigid ' rod' brakes were still being used up until the sixties and possibly later.

Yep falsely although Raleigh did aquire the patent from the inventer

The invention of the Bowden cable has been popularly attributed to Sir Frank Bowden, founder and owner of the Raleigh Bicycle Company who, circa 1902, was reputed to have started replacing the rigid rods used for brakes with a flexible wound cable but no evidence for this exists. The Bowden mechanism was invented by Irishman Ernest Monnington Bowden (1860 to April 3, 1904[2]) of 35 Bedford Place, London, W.C.[2] The first patent was granted in 1896 (English Patent 25,325 and U.S. Pat. No. 609,570),[3] and the invention was reported in the Automotor Journal of 1897 where Bowden's address was given as 9 Fopstone Rd, Earls Court.[4] The two Bowdens are not known to be closely related.[5

 

[Ming the Merciless]

From the net:
The invention of the Bowden cable has been popularly attributed to Sir Frank Bowden, founder and owner of the Raleigh Bicycle Company who, circa 1902, was reputed to have started replacing the rigid rods used for brakes with a flexible wound cable but no evidence for this exists.

Although rigid ' rod' brakes were still being used up until the sixties and possibly later.

I had a bike with solid tyres and rod brakes as kid in the 70s

 

[FrothNinja]

"The Bowden Mechanism was not developed in connection with a cycle brake as there is no record of the cable having been associated with the cycle industry until 1902, when George Larkin's invention was patented. During Larkin's employment with Bassett Motor Syndicate his duties included the assembly of motor cars and motor cycles, and a major difficulty was the assembly of the braking systems which at that time comprised steel rods, not easily adaptable to the contour of the chassis. He designed a flexible cable brake and approached S.J. Withers, Patent Agent, to have the design patented. Withers noticed the similarity of Larkin's idea to the Bowden Mechanism and introduced him to the Bowden Syndicate, who agreed to manufacture and market the invention with the proviso that it should be patented jointly in the names of the inventor and themselves." (National Archives, National Motor Museum, George Larkin Collection)
Thanks to clues above I now know the patent date for cable operated brakes. When they began to be used on mass produced bikes remains a mystery though I suspect it must be post WWI. It seems that most early mass produced rims did not have sufficient side wall for side pull brakes to produce enough friction/resistance to work efficiently so the rod brakes were a safer option in most cases.
The mystery remains....though 20s/30s seems likely.

 

[FrothNinja]

I had a bike with solid tyres and rod brakes as kid in the 70s

A hard ride I presume. The trike I had as a child had solid tyres. Incredible turning cycle and fast enough to evade a rampaging parent.

 

[iluvmybike]

I have an early 30s Humber with cable brakes rather than the rod brakes - but I also have a 1974 Raleigh which does have rod brakes

 

[Hover Fly]

Worth looking at the brakes on these bikes, all before WW1
https://www.be-celt.com/2020/11/11/...petit-breton-octave-lapize-et-francois-faber/

 

[FrothNinja]

On my 1936 Hercules (an FA I think), I suspect they are the originals, though the actual levers may be later.