Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-07-29
THE BICYCLE.
A History Of the Carriage Since its Adop'
ton in This Country.
How II Game Out Victorious in All the
Law Suits Against II.

To the OF Editor the Shretis.
As the bicycle has not yet come into
practical use In this state, will sub
Join few judicial decisions for the In
struction and benefit Of those who re-
gard 1t toy OF nuisance. But first
It would be well TO allude briefly to the
history Of the vehicle.
It's first street use was In Paris.
France, on the Boulevard st. Martin,
by Pierre Lallement, in the year 1868.
Its first country road use was In An
sonia, Conn, by the same rider who
brought 1t to America In 1865. II was
taken to England In 1868, and from
Paris. IL IL in dispute who was the
first to take one to That country.
| In 1867, In Paris, the name bicycle
WINS given to the two.wheeled carriage. |
| Before that and for q short time |
after IL was called velocipede pedales
"A pedal velocipede; and in 1865 u
was given brake on the rear wheel,
and in that form called velocipede a
pedales q ct frein-pedal and brake
veloeipede. In that year, however,
the name bicycle mostly superseded
all others.
In general character or structure the
"veloci peden of those early years was
similar to the modern bicycle or the
"wheeln of to- day; but IL has been inn
proved by invention, by skill In man
ufacture, by experience In differentiat-
ing It's points for effective use, and by
the general advance In the mechanical
arts. 1T Is different now as the gun or
sewing machine of to-day are differ
ent from those OF sixteen or eighteen
years ago.
The position of the rider over the
front axle enables him to ride wheel
| In diameter twelve inches less than
his own height; 1t also gives him great
power on the pedals aud renders his
seat on the flexible yielding saddle
so comfortable that he feels
no fatigue until fifty or
sixty miles have been covered. The
forward wheel IL both the driving and
the guiding wheel, and the mounted
rider can drive, guide and preserve his
balance, or, In other words, entirely
and easily control the whole machine
by his weight and through his feet
alone. Equilibrium IL, in fact, main
tained by delicate system of lever
balances. The machine Is made to III
the rider, but the forewheel Except In
the "Starr and "Tandem") IL In all
cases large, both to roll easily over OBJ
stacles aud to enable the rider to be
nearly over the center of 1t. The sus-
pension or 'spidern wheel, the rubber
|, tire, the direct driving crank, the
large forewheel, with the riders center
Of gravity IA nearly as practicable
above the center of IL, and the saddle
;, spring make the slender "cyclen the
/. easiest aud best long-distance vehicle
/, of any that are propelled by animal
power
In England &. Waller made on "A
bicycle | ,iOi miles In six days OF
eighteen hours riding time each
r. day-@3i miles day. Karl
Kron, well-known journalist
and amateur bicycler, rode II distance
Of ,i22 miles, from Detroit, Mich, &c
Staunton, Va, In the fall of 1883, al
> the average rate of iorty-two miles u
:. day, on Columbia bicycle. HI:
distance ON one of those days. was over
one hundred miles. Mr.. w. f. SUIT
u ton, In October, 1888. rode 26Ol miles
A. on n bicycle, over English roads
n within the twenty-four hours. Tw,
n hundred and thirty-six miles on /
;" bicycle without dismount have beer
n. done on m English track. Il. II
n. Appleyard rode 100 miles In sever
Q, seconds on the Bath road, England
n and &. krauskoph made, with
Standard Columbia, 100 miles H. sever
a. hours ON the streets of Washington
ID. &.
m The best bicycle record for mile
m from dying start, Is that of 2:3l %
made nj the end OF a twenty mile race
and which compares still more favor
VIZ ably with the horse records. 1t Is no
10 ticeable from the table and from eX
-, perience that the speed of the bicycl,
w Is superior to all except the horse 70
rt distances less than twenty miles, AN,
for distances over twenty miles tn
IA rider OF the graceful steel wheel" In
'' much the advantage over the rider o
driver of horse ~ 10 speed, distanc
:. and endurance, not only ON the tract,
~ but also on the road; and the create
the distance chosen or the longer tn
time, the more advantage IL found
,,s Probably the fastest time ever made b
bicycler was on Chestnut Hill driv,
IL Boston, Mass, by G.. II. FRANCIS. VIII
10. covered quarter of mile In 3Ss Ne,
III onds, rate of speed equal
All nearly 81 miles an hou,
doubt II the rapid transi
IN. achievements attained by blcyclisl
he have ever been equalled by anythiu
ell excepting the tireless railway LOGON,
nv tive, the pneumatic tube and the ic,
m. boat.
N.Y. In six years and half the numbe
nc of bicycles in the United States has II
creased from three to 80, 900. The nun
Der OF bicycle clubs has increased frol
one to 400. There are over 100000 OF III
!. machines In use in England, and /
that country the British mails are cal
~. ried on them daily.
A business house In Washingto
TX keeps three wheels y for the use of Il
>o employees while attending to thei
ali daily duties. and many other firms ar
rapidly following suit.
al, Albert :. Parsons president of III
Massachusetts, Bicycle club, writes
on am always glad TO say good wor
"a. for the bicycle for business purpose
III, for, although 1t IL intimated by SON
of my bicycling friends that am II,
- wanting In enthusiasm for the bicy c
-, as u means OF recreation, II
ae as IA practical business aid tn
In especially appreciate IL. II,
nh year have used tifty-sis
on INCH bicycle In going To and from M
~ business, and In doing all sorts
~ business errands, as satisfactorily an
I'm about as regularly rs most men us
20, their horses. or course using the b
az cycle for business | ride ON gre,
60 many days when one would not thin
Nv Of riding for pleasure, and ha,
ne ridden great deal In the whit,
..a months. On well.trodden snow III
bt Ia,