Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-30

TN o o U L h N n
Ntber, will be any re-
40 IL Vduction in the price of
J :: !: !: {: J: !:
EAA high-grade W e e 5
Y Turing 1902" asked a
- Star reporter of
W prominent b C Gle
6 dealer the other day.
NO" he replied, II
!: :: :: :: :: !: !: !:
| fS@fGGkNlNAn ticipating a reduc-
HitYsI1 lEFHls ton. In fact, every
! (lHfE,U NJ thing points to the
Nv IIr continuance of the
! ~ hundred-dollar price
| for the next two years at least. There will
| be abundance of machines of the $50. $50
| and $T5 grades, and for beginners and per-
sons of very limited means they really
| a Godsend but the thousands who ride the
year round want the best wheel they can get,
| for they test their mounts, and put them
| through course that is sometimes too much
| for even the best of makes"
But if the manufa cturers of the cheaper
| grades realize their anticipated SUCCESS, - q
| 800 machine will be crowded 60 tn. wall
and drop in price will be in- yitable"
THAT is not within me range of poss;-
hlity,' said the ds...ler, emphatically. 1.-The
nlsh-srade N. chimes cannot be crowded to
. "o ~ Last year the number of wheels
pu. 1n. by five or six of the representative
! gas climbed well up toward the half-mil-
=, non mark. Factories were kept running
! night and day. forces were doubled, addi-
| tons were built, and the trade were buster
than ever before in the history of the BIZ
! cycle. Were any of the wheels left on the
hands of the manufacturer? Not one.
| Double the number could have been disposed
| of had the makers possessed facilities for
| turning them out fast enough Some manu-
foo cold tlatr trn in 10
| lots, during the first few months of the year.
| And now that the 1896 models are coming
| out l find the prospects are equally bright
| The number of riders has doubled, or maybe
| treO.ed. and if the manufacturers can sell
| for a hundred dollars each all the wheels
they can turn out, why should they cut the
| price? Putting aside the net cost of a wheel
| whether it be s. or S30-iS a man going to
! sell for $50 al article for which he can as
easily get 500? The manufacturers will
| charge 500 for every wheel just as long as
the riding public will pay it, You can count
| on that.
| The Profit On Wheels.
isn't there tremendous profit on them
at that rate?" 1 asked.
| Perhaps there is and perhaps there isn't.
Suppose you demonstrate the thing for
| yourself. Consider the various items of
necessary expense to the manufacturer
| Take first the present guarantee on wheels
der such liberal terms. You are given a
! year in which to develop imperfections. If
| you come into the store six weeks after
purchasing with broken frame being
| hauled behind you you get a new one. i
| was riding easily, you say, and it just
and the road was very smooth. And so,
even though magnifying glass fails 20 re-
! veal any defect or slight flaw in the metal,
new frame must be forthcoming. The
| agent cannot refuse to supply it; that
would be a black eye for his company.
1.-THE Safe LoatL'
| Then, too, bicycles collapse sometimes,
| just as men who have lived too long, or
who are not strong enough to bear the bat
tie. Frames twist, forks break, spokes
snap asuader and rims shattered to
pieces. But in nine cases out of ten the
broken part is replaced without a word Do
you know what the factor of safety is in
a modern bicycle? 1t is just one and
quarter, which means that if any part be
strained more than % per cent over the
safe load that part is liable to give way
The demand for light wheels has caused
this reduction of the factor of safety to a
tgure far below that of any other class of
machinery manufactured today. Bridges
have a factor of twenty-five-that is to
say, they are so constructed as to sustain
a weight twenty-five times heavier than is
likely ever to be put upon them. In loco
motives and boilers it is from ten to fifteen.
But through the demands of the riders for
lightweight wheels, the manufacturers
| have been compelled to reduce the tubing
TO the thinness of a postal card, rims to
the 1ightness OF paper. and spokes to the
size OF broom straws. AXles and cranks are
made tubular, sprockets are stamped out of
sheet steel. bolts and nuts are followed out.
and every fraction of metal not absolutely
necessary to the strength of the machine
is cut away.
How Wheels Arc Ovcrtaxed.
Now, if you could sell your wheels to
careful riders only there would be no diff
Guilty. But Tom, Dick and Harry want
wheels, and Harry, for instance, is a rider
of recerd-breaking propensities, and not
very careful with his mac chine. He rides it
in road races, where collisions and falls are
frequent; he PUSHES away through sand and
mud, up steep hills and down long stony
grades. sometimes even riding curbstones
and bitches. Finally he gets in a sand
pocket, throws all his weight and power
into one tremendous effort, and twists the
frame as though 1t Were made of lead.
Plainly, the fault lies with the rider; he
oVertaXed the wheel. But who can prove
this? 1t went down under me- he saws
There must have been flaw somewhere
And the manufacturer. to save his reputa-
ton, hands out a new frame, and with it
goes IL per cent of the profit on that par
ticu1ar wheel. Riders seldom overtax
machine, according to their own ideas of
the matter. 1t is not the fault of the man
ufacturer. The wheel was built to stand
just much strain and no more.
Additional Expenses.
aside from the expenses for guarantees
labor, materials and new machinery, a
steady expenditure is required for adver-
Using. The wheel must at all hazards be
kept before the public eye A rival dis
tributes among wheelmen elaborate cata-
logues, calendars and souvenirs, and in
serts full-page advertisements in news
papers and magazines all over the.country
And if you want your wheel to stand in
the front line you must follow suit Ad-
vance agents, at splendid salaries, are sent
out every year with new styles to book
orders, and regular agents must have their
percentage. Elaborate displays have to be
maintained at all prominent cycle shows; a
costly team of racing men, with trainers
and attendants must be kept following the
circuit; patents are to be bought, royalties
paid on tires pedals and saddles an ex-