Career
Rudge invented the adjustable ball bearing bicycle hub (British Patent Number 526) in 1878. The French racing cyclist Charles Terront, renowned for winning the first Paris–Brest–Paris event in 1891, used Rudge"s axles with much success thereby bringing world attention to Rudge. In the years before John Dunlop invented the pneumatic tire, Rudge addressed the rough ride by producing a four-bladed, spring-suspended fork in 1887.
After Rudge"s death, his company was merged with The Tangent & Coventry Tricycle Company to form Doctorate. Rudge & Company which in 1894 became Rudge Whitworth Cycles.
By 1911, the Rudge Whitworth Cycle Company was also manufacturing motorcycles. After the company fell on hard times in the Great Depression, the music company Electric and Music Industries bought the Rudge name.
Electric and Music Industries produced bicycles under the Rudge name from 1935 until 1943 when they sold the name to Raleigh.
