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I recently stumbled across a video clip which prompted recollection of a curious bicycle uility-cum-security handlebar that was marketed in the late 19th and early part of the twentieth century.

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The device was invented by one J. F. Sargeant of Bracknell and comprised a two-part handlebar containing inside it a selection of tools including a bicycle pump, oil-can, cleaning brush, and spanner.

It seems the handlebar was easily detached and solidly reattached with a single rotation of the left half. The removable half was also retained as proof of ownership when checking the bicycle aboard a train, both halves sharing a unique identifying number.

The patented design could be retrospectively fitted to most varieties of bicycle and a service was offered which would convert the customer’s existing handlebars including full nickel re-plating.

It was felt the bicycle was less likely to be stolen when left parked with incomplete or “dismembered” handlebars. If further security was felt necessary, Mr Sargeant had also developed a version which contained a Colt revolver, apparently tested successfully at the Military Tournament. An umbrella might have been more useful…!

From what I can determine, the handlebar was originally manufactured under license by Longhurst and Hitcham of Ascot but a trade advertisement from 1897 suggests a manufactory in Wokingham, nearby but on the opposite (west) side of Bracknell from Ascot…

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Now, we both know that the natural laws of the universe would normally ordain that the “patent improved”  handlebar part at the most inopportune moment, most likely while negotiating a potholed road under heavy traffic.

However, the video clip below would tend to suggest this is not an entirely unmanageable situation and this contraption of Sargeant’s may not have been the acme of theft deterrence the inventor would have led  us to believe…

r:B