Comiot Tricycle transformable circa 1900 Lot n° 33

Engine n°4269 Tricycle convertible into a quadricycle Dutch registration “To choose is to give up.” Mademoiselle Serpolette, the famous French pilot at the handlebar of a Comiot. Non contractual photo. South Australian bookshop archive. A machine from another time, our Comiot tricycle is a cross between a bicycle and a car. Like Phébus, Clément or Automoto, the Comiot brand is one of the manufacturers who offered tricycles for sale between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. Each tricycle had its own specificities, making it almost unique, but was always equipped with the De Dion engine. By the mid-1890s, Comiot was known as a supplier of parts for bicycles, notably through the exclusive sale of the Eadie and Perry brands. It was not until around 1897 that the first Comiot tricycles were marketed. A Comiot tricycle entered in the 1897 Paris-Trouville race had the luxury of finishing ahead of eight of the twelve De Dion Bouton tricycles entered! The De Dion Bouton single cylinder is complete with its original power supply. The Comiot can be distinguished from the De Dion tricycle by, among other things, its "quadritubular" fork, whereas it is in a triangular structure on the De Dion. The fork is made by Eadie, as are the hub, the chain and the commandes. Comiot tried various rear axle systems (not really convincing, which led to a public mea-culpa from its president) and finally returned to the De Dion system from 1900, with which our example is equipped. It is also at this time that the Eadie brand is thought to have taken control of Comiot The quadricycle was born out of the growing demand for passenger carrying capacity. Particularly ingenious, it was created by designing a detachable independent frame that could be attached to the tricycle frame in place of the single front wheel, creating a four-wheeled vehicle with a front seat. One of the points of interest of our Comiot is its equipment to transform it into a quadricycle. In fact, at the time, some manufacturers offered this transformation, which allowed you to enjoy the tricycle alone, or the quadricycle with two people! It should be noted that our friends from the Dutch administration were mistaken in identifying our Comiot as a Clément of 1899, it will be necessary to rectify this error. Our Comiot tricycle has the Dion Bouton engine n°4269, which, combined with the shape of its frame, allows it to be dated to the year 1900. This survivor from the early years of production was fully restored in 2004 (photo file available). It has not been driven much since then, its owner being more interested in mechanics than in driving! It is therefore to be restarted. This rare Comiot is waiting for its new owner to run the next London Brighton for which it is eligible!