# What's The History Of The Cardboard Grips On My Bsa



## Robertriley (Apr 6, 2016)

OK experts, what's the history of the cardboard grips on my BSA?


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## Rubber_Side_Down (Apr 10, 2016)

I don't know for sure. My theory is that it would allow an easy and cheap way to compensate for high tolerances in manfacturing the plastic grips.  It wouldn't  take long for someone reasonably skilled to fit a set.  And the cardboard would deform to match the likely uneven surface of the inside of the grips.  Just my theory though.


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## leo healy (Apr 29, 2016)

Hi Robertriley
  I would look at these as a very nice war time economy addition to your bike , due to oil based products in short demand , this was very common to use a natural fiber cardboard ,wood-pulp to  produce these grips.  on my ww2 german bikes i have on one of my bikes a set a wooden handlebar grips .plus many of the grips have cardboard coated celluloid handlebar grips ,so very much down to shortages of raw material .
   ps, the bike looks great , grips are a nice addition .


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## the freewheeler (Apr 29, 2016)

Chris...forgot to mention that I asked Jack if I could have these and he said yes. You're going to need to send them back to me. Thanks!


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## Robertriley (Apr 29, 2016)

There are in the mail, just wait out there by the mailbox


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## Wing Your Heel (May 7, 2016)

Celluloid grips on early British bicycles had cardboard inners such as these. Yours may simply have the outer grip removed, exposing the cardboard inner layer, though they look too long for that. There's a possibility that they were supplied like this as an economy measure, but as few of these paratrooper bicycles were actually used during the war, and there was a major shortage of supplies immediately after the war, i would suggest that they were added when the bike was either sold as army surplus (eg in 1945/1946 before proper civilian cycle manufacture had resumed) or if the bike was one of those donated by the British government to help France as part of the postwar Marshall Plan.


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## slingshot (Apr 15, 2018)

The card board was impregnated with glue. They were wet down warped around handle bar and then the grips were installed over them.


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