Description
Clément –Gladiator ca. 1905 “Type D” 206 cc aiv frame# 207536 engine # 3246
Adolphe Clément was born in 1855.
He became an orphan at an early age. He was very interested in things mechanical and, as an apprentice at the village blacksmith’s, managed to build a simple bicycle out of wood for his own use.
At the age of 17 he left his village on this bicycle to seek his fortune in other parts of France.
In 1876 he started to take part in cycle races and set up a small cycle manufacture.
He decided to move to Paris and in 1880 he established a cycle business at the Rue Brunel under the brand name of “Clément”.
This business was successful and pretty soon he had 150 labourers working on the manufacture of his bicycles.
In 1889 he visited the cycle exhibition in London and witnessed a demonstration of the Dunlop pneumatic tyre.
One of his companions advised him to secure the manufacturing rights for France of this new invention.
Adolphe was rather hesitant, but finally agreed.
The Dunlop tyre became a huge success and were sold in fantastic numbers in France: Clément soon became a millionaire.
He formed a huge bicycle factory by combining the companies of Clément, Gladiator and Humber-France.
From 1895 on he started to focus on motorized vehicles: first tricycles, quadricycles and cars and in 1902 he entered the field of motorized bicycles with a small engine of 142 cc capacity.
This engine has an automatic inlet valve, an overhead exhaust valve and an external flywheel.
The cylindrical tank with petrol and oil compartments and hand operated oil pump is fixed behind the saddle and the batteries for the coil ignition are stored in a leather case that is strapped to the horizontal frame tube.
This small machine became very popular and quite a few were sold as complete machines fixed to a Clément or Gladiator cycle.
You could also order an engine with fittings and bolt this to any bicycle.
In Britain the Clément-Garrard was well known at the time.
This “Type D” has a somewhat bigger capacity than the first model of 1902.
The rear brake is activated by pedalling backwards.
This ca. 1905 Clement-driven Gladiator bicycle is in a well preserved, unrestored condition.
Some parts are remanufactured such as: exhaust, intake pipe, belt pulley, belt idler, oil and petrol pipes and some levers.