Originally Posted by
Sixty Fiver
Phillips bikes are often quite decent and although they may have been at the lower end of Raleigh's line-up they are still very good bikes.
Ah???? A '50's Phillips would not be made by Raleigh. It should be every bit as good as a Raleigh. Phillips it is my understanding was Raleigh's main competitor. When Raleigh took them over they turned it into a 3rd line bike, but before that they were top quality bicycles. If I remember correctly in the '50's almost all the British mass production bicycles were made by BSA, Phillips, and Raleigh; by 1970 raleigh had taken over the other two. If you go back before WWII there were hundreds of distinct makes.
I would like to point out the most university libraries have quite a lot on the history of bicycles for some reason or another, even the local Liberal Arts University here.