First Pattern BSA Paratrooper Bicycle Register

[Pedro96]

Hi all, this is my first post on The Cabe and thought it right I get me prioritised sorted so here it is... my twin tube BSA folding bicycle. Frame number 1479. Any comments advice etc would be greatly appreciated. In Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
Now on the look out for a single tube to ride around normandy next year for the 80th Anniversary so if anyone has one or knows of anyone with one for sale please let me know 😀

 

[Mercian]

Hello, @Pedro96 , and Welcome.

I come from quite close to you originally (Rugby, Warks), but live and work a little further away these days.

Oddly, this is the second new Twin Tube I've seen this week. Like buses, they are....

Anyway, R1479 is, as you know, the first frame pattern. The closest survivor I have listed to it is R1422, here: https://onlinebicyclemuseum.co.uk/1...e-earliest-recorded-survivor/?tax=tour&tid=36

It looks like yours has the early hinge style, cut from angle iron rather than cast. It is currently the latest one I have recorded with that feature. By R2485 the familiar cast style was being used.

I can't quite tell if the Tommy bar on the handlebar nut is welded on top of it, or goes through it. If you have the opprtunity, please would you let me know? This is about the changeover point for this early feature.

In all, it seems that about 9000 Twin Tube frames were made, the earlier ones having several variations.

You just caught me, I'm going to be mainly out of contact for the next two weeks, but I'll look in if I get the opportunity, so please ask further questions.

Best Regards,

Adrian

 

[Pedro96]

Hi Adrian,
I grew up a stones throw from Rugby just on the other side of the A5 so know the area well... small world!
If you were at the victory show a few weeks ago you may have seen it.
Mine has the straight through Tommy bar which isn't welded.
Thanks for the advice, really do appreciate it.
If only these bikes could talk ay?

Biggest query I have is the origional colour. I know that green pigment was scarse towards the end of the war, hence a lot of vehicles were painted brown. However the original colour of my twin tube seems to be a light brown (I think mine has been over painted in the past in a darker brown). This begs the question, if pigment was in short supply then why were the early twin tubes brown in colour and later single tubes green in colour?

Thanks again for the assistance.
Regards,

Pete

 

[Mercian]

Hi Pete @Pedro96

Thanks for the reply and additional photos.

I've done that show a few times (you can hear it from my Mum's house in Dunchurch), but not this year.

I do try to make it to the Stoneleigh militaria fair each year, if you go too, perhaps we'll get to say Hi. (-:

I'm travelling at the moment, and it'll be a couple of weeks before I can write a better reply (I will write,, though).

I have a slightly later twin tube with no paint at all on it, so thought originally to paint it brown. And this kicked off my research. I have now a list of over 350 parabikes by serial number, with varying levels of detail, and can track a lot of the detail changes through production.
As a thumbnail, it seems all twin tubes were the early 'british' green colour (I have over 40 listed). About 3000 of the early single tubes were also this colour. Then brown becomes predominant for the next 8000 or so, then the ret of the production in the later standardised allied green. There are paint codes for this, which I'll give later.

I have one of the brown bikes, and a couple of the mid and late production green bikes.

Best Regards,

Adrian

 

[Pedro96]

Hi Adrian,
I was at Stoneleigh earlier this year but will be at Malvern if you are going there. If so send me a private message, be good to put a face to the name.
No worries at all.
Ah right, that's very interesting, thanks for this.
Funnily enough, there was a small war memorial event on in Burbage today where veterans were encouraged to attend and share their stories and artifacts and there was a twin tube there! Small world ay? I wasn't there but my father was.
Thanks for the advice,
Pete

 

[Mercian]

Hi Pete, @Pedro96

These days it's just the Stoneleigh show for me. I was there this year, where I put a face to a name for another british guy with an American G519 bicycle.

I'll drop you a line next year on that.

A good number of Parabikes were exported to the USA postwar (looking at my list, a good third are there), so advertising for one on this site is a good idea. But importation costs are high. Same problem now for importing to the UK from europe.

I have had some success finding them in India, but there is always that added risk when obtaining something from a region you don't really know.

Best Regards,

Adrian

 

[Pedro96]

Hi Pete, @Pedro96

These days it's just the Stoneleigh show for me. I was there this year, where I put a face to a name for another british guy with an American G519 bicycle.

I'll drop you a line next year on that.

A good number of Parabikes were exported to the USA postwar (looking at my list, a good third are there), so advertising for one on this site is a good idea. But importation costs are high. Same problem now for importing to the UK from europe.

I have had some success finding them in India, but there is always that added risk when obtaining something from a region you don't really know.

Best Regards,

Adrian

Hi Adrian,
Yep I know him very well, he is the chairman of our local MVT group.
Thanks for this, I'm hoping something will come up eventually. I'll drop you a message to ask about importing these etc.
Fully agree with you on that point, I've seen a few but not fully confident.
Thanks,

Pete