The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-23
NEW THINGS NwHEELs.
Inventions Said TO Be Backed Up By
the Assistant Secretary of State.
From me Hartford Courant-

LuG Assistant secretary OF STATE.
From the Hartford Courant
They have reached the limit of weight
on the bicycle, and as man will not grow
any stronger, some new device must be
invented to get any greater speed out of
the wheel. That is the conclusion reach
ed by Victor Belanger, and he further
says that the demand. the imperative de-
mand, is for wheel that will beat the
horse. And l am ze man dat will show
zuch wheel, - said Mr.. Belangerin brok-
en- English to q reporter
M Belanger is the E'renchman who in
vented the unicycle, on which he was go
ing to beat the express train from WOr
cester into Boston, claiming for it a speed
of a mile a minute or less. On his failure
to show any practical test of his wheel,
Belanger dropped out of public attention.
he now comes to the surface again with
some more inventions, which he claims
will revolutiOnize bicycle manufacture.
BY invitation of Col Albert A Pope, he
was out at the mandatory yesterday
showing some Of his devices and draw
ingS of others which are not complete.
Belanger says that his hacker is none
other than Josiah Quincy, assistant sec
retary of state. He has million dollars
back of him, and doesn't ask odds of any
man. No less than half a dozen firms are
made so much money that he needn't
lift a hand the rest of his life.
His latest inventions are three in num-
Der, and are all applicable to the safety
bicycle. His great S-foOt unicycle, he &C
knowledges, is awkward and not fitted
for road riding. Still he will not admit
that it is a failure. He showed a model
of it yesterday, which is very different
from the accepted notion of what unicy
Gle should be. There was not one wheel,
but two, a very small wheel running in
front, to which was attached the steering
apparatus. There were also two small
wheels running in the large wheel, inside
of which the rider sits. Belanger says it
is improperly called a unicycle; the only
faults he sees in it are its tremendous
speed and its awlwardness.
"Give me re rear wheel of &c safety"
he says II want nosing more, and will
show you wheel that will beat re horse"
Belanger does not give technical des-
criptiOn of his improvements Just at pres
ent, but they are in brief as follows
In the first place, the teeth on the rear
sprOCket are not stationary, but each is
on an axis that allows tito ply back and
forth, but not TO exceed the angle in the
forward direction which the stationary
tooth would have. When power is ap-
piled to the chain on the old style wheel,
at least three teeth of the gear are acted
upon, creating considerable friction. On
Belanger's sprOcket the pull all comes on
one tooth at the top of the rim, the others
being loose in the chain, holding in each
case when IL the proper position. Belan-
ger claims that this improved Sprocket
viii reduce the time on mile 20 seconds
The sproclIet can be easily adjusted to an
ordinary wheel. and one is now being
made for Windle to ride. Belanger pre-
diets that he will astOnish the world this
year with a record lower than ever
dreamed of before.
The second invention on which Belan-
ger relies TO increase speed is a device
very similar to that used in his unicycle
two wheels running on cOgs within the
rear wheel. Without going into detailed
description Belanger claims that the re-
suit attained is like that of continuous
falling. Great ease is attained in propul-
sion and the weight need be but slightly
increased.
The third and last improvement is to
the crank. BY means of hinges he makes
the peda' fold and unfold; so that while
coming up and over the center the shaft
is a radius five inches long; when the
power is applied the shaft lengthens to
nine inches. The idea seems to be to at
tain the same result, in a different way,
as is accomplished by the elliptical
sprocketi
Bclanger expects to have his triple in
VentiOn adjusted to a wheel in about two
weeks, and he is then going to make the
trip from Springfield to Hartford, He
has no use for the cars, as he says his
wheel win be so easy running and swift
that long distance pedaling will no longer
be arduous labor, but comfortable
pleasure.
The Ames Manufacturing Company, of
ChicOpec, Mass, has his inventions in
charge, and he expects besides Windle to
get Nelson to show the wonderful speed
that is in his new wheel.