Freddie Grubb

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Frederick "Freddie" Henry Grubb (born May 27, 1887 in Wimbledon , † March 6, 1949 in Surrey ) was a British cyclist and bicycle maker.

Athletic career

Freddie Grubb was one of Britain's top cyclists in the period before World War I. Individual time trials on the road and track cycling were then - and still are - particularly popular there. Grubb was a vegetarian , strict teetotaler, and started for the Vegetarian Cycle and Athletic Club . In 1910 he set a British record in the 100-kilometer time trial on a track bike with a time of less than five hours. Harry Green had already set a record under five hours before him , but it had not been officially measured. The following year he set a 24-hour record with 351 miles. Another record - 5 hours, 9 minutes and 41 seconds for the route from London to Brighton - lasted for 14 years.

Also in 1912 Grubb started at the Olympic Games in Stockholm and won two silver medals, in road racing and in team driving. The road race was held as an individual time trial, and the three best times of four drivers from a team were added up in the team driving.

In 1914, Freddie Grubb turned professional and wanted to drive six-day races and set records on track and road. After a short time he was so disaffected that he wanted to become an amateur again, but the rules prevented him from changing his status again.

In the bicycle trade

Freddie Grubb's racing bike (ca.1957)

Grubb opened a bicycle shop in Brixton , south London, just before World War I broke out. That is why he first worked in an ammunition factory, but then joined the Royal Navy at his own request . Although he was no longer a vegetarian because of the food there, his club made him an honorary member.

After the war, Freddie Grubb reopened a bicycle shop, for which a club friend lent him the money. In 1919 he teamed up with Ching Allin to form Allin & Grubb to design and build their own brand. The roles of the two were divided: While Grubb is described as someone with an "unlovable character", but whose name was known, Allin was considered the more personable. However, the two men fell out over the question of which of the two had developed a new type of quick release system. Grubb then opened his own workshop under his own name, and later another one.

Freddie Grubb died in 1949. Grubb branded bicycles were manufactured until 1978.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Place of birth according to sports-reference.com Other sources speak of Kingston upon Thames .
  2. ^ The Bicycle July 15, 1942. p. 6
  3. ^ The Bicycle, July 15, 1942, p6
  4. ↑ Cycling , October 3, 1912, p. 371
  5. ↑ Mick Butler: The Allin / Grubb story on classiclightweights.co.uk (English)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Grubb, Freddie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Grubb, Frederick Henry (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Wimbledon
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 1949
Place of death Surrey