Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-12-17
THE BICYCLE IN ENGLAND.
Mr.. Harry ID. CoTey's Experience on
the Track and in the Workshop.

Few American bicycle riders have had the
opportunity of gaining as much information as
to the manufacture and use of BICYCLES in
England as Ar. Harry D. Corey. the we'll known
rider. little over two months ago he crossed
the Atlantic commissioned bya Boston manu-
featuring firm to study all the latest improve
ments in bicycles at the fountain head Since
his return last week he has given to the Boston
Herald a brief resume of his trip so far as it
would be of interest to bcyclists. The main
features of Mr.. Corey's sketch are as follows:
81 carefully examined all the principal tracks
in England. consider that of the Crystal Palace.
at London, to be the best. although the fastest
time has been made at Leicester The CRYSTAL
Palace track is round in shape. a third of mile
in circumference. measured twelve Inches from
the pole. and is from fifteen to twenty feet in
width. 1t is composed of closely packed and hard
rolled clnders. Through the courtesy of the
track-keeper | was allowed to try machine
upon It, and. from my experience, | was salts
fed that it is not as fast as our Springfield and
Hartford tracks. The next best track in nv
opinion Is the Belgrave Road. at Leicester
This is the track on which the wondersul per-
formances of the professionals Wood and How
ell. were accomplished. and the marvellous time
of two minutes fOrty-one seconds made in the
last mile Of twenty mile race. 1t is not ex-
actly round, being more like lemon fiattened
on one end. The circumference and the surface
THE track at Lilliebridge resembles the
Harvard college track ON Holmes field very
closely, but its surface is not nearly as good.
AT this track most of the London racing men
train. The track at Surbiton is not as good as
the other. it having four round corners but 1t
was formerly regarded as one of the fastest of
tracks The track at WOverhamptOn is very
much like the one at Leicester. | did not have
much time to examine it very closely. They do
not start in races in England by being pushed,
iu+ I'm E,,t h.. e.
stool or block. This method makes the mile
two or three seconds slower than the American
way. Taking all the tracks together. few if any
are equal to those at Hartford Cambridge and
Spring field.
II was told that there was something like
100000 riders OF cycles in England. / found
that the tricycle. was supplantIng the bicycle in
many respects. ard that the small safety bicy-
Giles We're being used in numerous cases in
preference to bicycles. The bicyclists consist
mostly of young men and the tricvcle riders of
ladies ard midde-aged gentlemen. The ma
chimes in England are lighter than those made
in this country. and my ordinary roadster that
| used for heavy riding. weighed but 81 pounds
This used on all kinds of roads and it was
considered by all The riders to be Of very re-
spectacle weight The average weight for a
5i-inch machine would run from "a to So pounds,
While many ride machines much lighter.
The greatest drawback experienced by Amer
lean riders is the machines used by them. 1t is
on 30-pound machine and compete success
iutlE with his English cousin on a 90 pound
racer II the riders are otherwise equally matched
Mount our American men on light racers of
reliable make, and give them proper training
and have not the slightest doubt that we can
equal, if not excel our English cousins great
deal more depends on the machine than | ever
dreamed Of. believe that on smooth track
the very lightest machine is the best and
fastest.
THE English manufacturers have got over
the idea that the machine must be built to Ger
tam weight to be strong. BY their SIX II in man
ufactur" and their attention to the mnutcst de-
tails IN construction, they are enabled to make
them very much lighter ana at the same time as
strong and as rigid. The roadster presented to
me by Mrssrs Rudge & CO.. which brought
home with me, weighs but 81 pounds. and 53lS
inch racer weighs hut u pounds. also brought
with me an ordinary double driver tricycle. of
new pattern. that weighs seventy-tive pounds
The bicycle business is still on the increase in
England. and Is concentrating into the hands of
the largest manufacturers. who rapidly eat
ing up the trade of the smaller ones. went
through the establishments OF all the makers of
note. and was thereby enabled to critically eX-
anime their work. Both bicycles and tricycles
are Invariably enameled, and it is rare to see a
niCheicd machine