The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1869-01-22

~ p"P"iai hChichcSS, tHe ulall -ueliie
d, multitude dropped the my site syn
Is bol, and vaulted into the saddle @
y the velOcipede. New York, Phila
,f delphia and Chicago are all infected
e New York, the Paris OF America
= is, in this instance, emulous Of he
o model. Divines. lawyers, preachs rs
'e and editors have mounted their iron
> steeds with the same vigorous enthu
a siasm they mount their favorite hob
/. bies. Beecher has left off worship
: ping himself and is doing penanee OF
= The veiocipede Dana Is praciicins
t. ioi an aeronaut in the same machine
: and Greeley is getting one ready fol
b Tie next lecture season. Reporters
{ are mounting them and gallopins
: around Gotham after items. Ben.
/ nett is fast becoming an expert in
this line OF horsemanship, with the
: idea OF escaping from from the horse
whippings which are threatened him
at every corner. And to finish the
J record, the ladies are entering the
lists in the pleasures and excitement
OF the new style OF horsemanship.-
VelOcipedcs are to he met in every
street and ill the parks, public and
privatc.
Philadelphia, stald and quakerish,
has adopted the vclocipede with but
little less enthusiasm than New York.
Forney is practIcing, and Sd are the
young swells and bIoods of tie town.
The ladies' here are also catching the
fever, and the broad thoroughfares
of the rectangular city bid fair to
rival New York i'll their exhibitions
of the new order of equestrianship.
Chicago, alert and awake, is not TO
be OutdOne in any thing, and veloci
pedes are becoming a matter OF every
day occurrence on our streets. Our
tradesmen and merchants are begin
ming TO lay them in for sale, and, as
the fever is catching, by the time the
season opens we will see them be
coming among our regular institu
tions. If they are TO prove success,
there is no city and surrounding
country better adapted to their use
than this; a city perfectly level, and
surrounding country perfectly fiat,
are elements for the use of this ma
chine best calculated 10 test its mer-
its.
Chicago, as is her wont, is not to
be beaten even in yelocipedes, and
comes 10 the rescue with machine
which differs from any other eXtant,
not only in its general appearance,
but in its motive power. This Chi
cago velocipede has three wheels, two
behind and one in front. The hind
wheels are considerably the largest,
being four feet and two inches in
diameter, while the front wheel is
only two feet and one-half. The
front wheel is for Il e purpose OIL
guiding the machine, and is connect
eel by II lever with the body, and
"eaching within convenient distance
of the seat, q straddle runs up from
the axle of the iroGt ur guiding wheel. !
about foot from the the, which is
surmounted by lamp. This veloc-
ipede is propelled by spring-power,
which works as follows: On the
axle of the hind wheels is fastened Il
pinion, which is operated upon by a
cog wheel, five times its size in diam
eter. Fastened to each side of this
large cog wheel is dog, which works
into "a rachel, upon the hub of which
ratchet is fastened the centre of the
springs. I he other end of the spring
is fastened to a rod OF iron, which
runs through the body of the veloci-
pe'ie. These springs are made of the
very best English spring steel, two
inches wide, one-teBth of an inch
thick, and nine feet long, and when
wound up their power is estimated at
over 5000 pounds each. Immedi-
ately outside OF the spring, and IN
the rachel hub, is fastened one of the
treadles. The large cog wheel and
ratchet work loose around the shaft
on which they are placed. The
treadles are two feet long, and reach
from the rachel shaft 10 within con
distance for the foot of
person occupy ing the seat. On the
end Of each tresdle is slipper 10 :
keep the foot from being showed for I
ward. BY an ingenious contrivance {
The wheels can be thrown out Of gear,
SO that the veloclpede, even under
full headway, can be turned around
Of fnnrtnnu fiat 1f
The seat has the appearance and
general characteristics of buggy
seat, and can carry two persons with l
ease. 1t was designed for the use OF {
ladies only, but can be used 10y any {
body. The grand feature OF this I
Chicago yelocipede is, that it is work \
ed by spring power, and that the
springs can be perpetually wound up I
by simply using the treadles alter s
nately. 1t only takes one-Iourth the t
power TO wind the springs that the Z
springs exert in unwinding. BY q
pressing upon the treadle with the &
loot the rachel is turned. on which Is !
placed the spring, which of course is '
wound. 1t differs from the {
Alton invention in this, that the {
springs are being continuously |
wound by the alternate treadles, and {
this can always be kept in motion; Y
while the Alton invention runs only |
a mile and then stops to he wound t
again. This Chicago invention has t
been tested and all who have seen it {
are sanguinc OF its success. The i
cost of one of these machines will be ,
about 500. I
Velocipedes are of various kinds.
Some have two, and others three, and
even four wheels; all have either
pedals or rests on which to place the
feet, and usually either brakes or
levers to regulate the speed.
THE TwO-wHEEL yELoCIPEDEs.
The two wheeled velocipedes, OIL I
The bicy ycles as they are styled, are G
intended for the male sex only, and
are by far the swiftest machines. (
They are usually of wrought iron,
and have pedals or reels attached to
the front and large wheel, and the
of which, by light move L
ment of the feet vgives the requisite
impulse TO the vehicle. The saddle
is poised upon a bar iron, suspended
a few inches above the top OF the
fore wheel The hands rest on a
h hapdle in front of the machine. which II
working on n pivot, serves as hal :