1946 BSA Path Racer
Birmingham Small Arms path racer
Birmingham Small Arms is probably better known for the weapons and motorcycles that they produced, but they should get a lot of credit for their wide range of wonderful military and civilian bicycles.
For seventy-five years the BSA conglomerate took extraordinary care designing bicycles for every application. Bikes for paratroopers, bikes for children, components for racing bikes, motorized bicycles, three-speeds designed for utility, racing bikes designed for speed.
Bike parts too. BSA made hubs, cranksets, headsets, bottom brackets, handlebar stems and chainrings.
This BSA racing bike was built in the mid 1940s and is an amazing example of the craftsmanship this huge industrial concern took with each of their products. This one is considered a “Path Racer”, meaning that it would be equally at home on the velodrome as it would riding on the roads or dirt racing ovals.
Birmingham Small Arms badge
Wrights saddle with brace
Nickel plated bar and stem
Neat wire toe clips on the BSA pedals
BSA drivetrain, wooden rims
Nearly every part of this bike was built in-house. The frame, fork, handlebars, hubs, and crankset are all Birmingham Small Arms. Unlike, say, Colnago bikes putting a “Colnago” labeled handlebar on their bike that was actually made by Cinelli, BSA meant BSA.