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Here are some photos of my Cyclemaster and home-made sidecar, which I call "The Little Shrew". The Cyclemaster is a 1953 model, 32cc fitted to a lady's cycle with 26" wheels and an l8" frame approximately. The sidecar is built from plans drawn up by my father (Joe) and me in the winter of 1999. The body idea came from a cutting in Practical Mechanics around 1950. The chassis was constructed from cycle tube and flat bar; the wheel uses a Sturmey Archer hub-brake fitted to a 14" rim, this gave the machine a handbrake. The body was made from a wooden skeleton covered in aluminium and mounted to the chassis via two springs at the rear. The windows were cut from thick perspex and the hood was made from black leather and folds back to reveal a red interior.
The sidecar was mounted on the bike via a trian- gular piece of flat metal at the rear wheel and a swivel joint at the down tube approximately 2" from the fork tube. On the road the machine trundles along steadily with very little interference from the sidecar, probably because of the flexible mounts, but does take a few practice runs to perfect. The machine was duly finished around April 2000 and went to the Londonderry 'Big Show' (Classic Car Club Display) with approximately 35 to 40 bikes on display, 300+ cars, lorries, tanks and not forgetting tractors. The sidecar duly won "Most Unusual in Show". Since then it has taken pride of place with the rest of our collection (New Hudson, James Comet, Corgi, Suzuki M30, Honda 750 Fl and my modem Yamaha).
First published, June 2004