The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-17
NEWS OF TIE wHEELMEN.
PoINTs ON THE RELATION me-
TWEEN GEARING AND oRAHK
THhOK.

Ncntuty huhsfhnee Caras Too Long.
Earl Klsor Of Dayton, o., the young racing
man who Jumped from the local racing ranks in
the est last year TO a leading position in class
II on tho national circuit. Is preparing 20 race
again this year. Kiser has, with other lead.
ing amateur riders, Joined the professional
class, and will race abroad this rear. lie ia
preparing to sail for England on Wednesday
next. During his career on the track he has
competed in most Of the big races, and fire..
auently taken part In record trials.
In speaking Of the experience of riding be-
hind the trlplet and quadruplet machines In
trials against time, he Gays. ITO those who
think this record breaking is easy I can only
cay. Let them try They will find that there
are a thousand and one things that will pre-
vent success. The strain at times has told on
me in several ways. ! have felt IL in my
stomach; I have fell It in my legs at other
times. and TO tell of the experience OF hanging
like slue to that great monster In front OF you
would take q page.
T the men standing round the track IL
seems easy. and they often entertain the diea
that IL the pace is fast enough. tho man will
surely hang. In some cases this is 20, but
riders Of that calibre are few and far be.
tween. Frequently from ten 10 a dozen
trials have to be made for the mile record by
one man, but the papers have had nothing to
say about these; they have reported the sue
cess and left the rest untold. The mile record
OF l 40 1-5, where Hamilton placed it, Ia hard
to win away from the Denver man. and to
those who think this is not the case. IL is but
necessary to say, try and be convinced
'Tho limit of speed may have been nearly
reached. Some think that It is, but IL Is
probable that further cuts will be made In the
record marks during tho present season. and
that the redu ctions will continue next year.
Thara ara ,nnn. ,wI,a p.t,,1atA Nhat AIn rlt
max in record breaking will be reached in three
or four years"
The question of lowering the one.mile rec
ord made by Hamilton is worrying q number
Of the big racing men. While they concede
that the record is remarkably fast, they de-
cline to admit that 1t cannot be lowered this
year.
Some big pacing machines are being built
to aid racing wheelmen in lowering records
this year. A quintet has Just been built in
the West which is expected to be n material
aid in record breaking trials. This machine
which will be sent at once to John $. johnson,
the American professional who is now In
France. weighs only 1913 pounds. and to the
average rider seems marvellously light. Tests.
however. show that It is strong and firm.
The following IS a mechanical description
of the new ''qulnt:' 1.-THE wheel base is 10
inches. The frame is 22 inches high. and each
seat is e inches from centre to centre Of seat
Inches in diameter. The tires weigh al
pounds each. Each rider occupies the same
making MAKING the GI S mSehi ns G the a d slss' mr Mnesl: thus ss
constructed. Each handle bar and seat post is
ttIl anaI d. In the usual manner, With an add,
"A multiple gear Is used; That is. the first
two. and the nth sixteen, thus making tho
q separate adjusting Jugs, held fast By bprrs.
oilers are not used to take up the chain space.
The real seat oyerhangs the rear wheels. so that
a f11 use Il he as Isst 4idsr pace "a u T ;,,y , t5aysi closely
,, nThe frame n5aS t T. constructed nfas t. on ne bridge
from the head 70 the ends Of the rear forks.
1he frame Ia maced with upright tubes, thus
forming MA 2 succession of squares srouna each
with connections cut from solid Bar steel. The
amese pattern;'' that is. they are made OF twin
tubes separated on the centre and forged to:
the same diameter Of tubing. but Of sixteen
gauge Of thiek3ess; The forks ,re reinforced
double pattern. and is made of half-inoh steel.
The front axle lie of half-ineh stub steel. The
T IGSsS.sI s5s f q T5s r., sp9 xS:.I il A. A. f rfm. and nd
OF wood, and each one is strong enough to hold
the weight Of ten men; The crsnks are %
s se1rtlh, e lsi inches. s'i flish, 20 y f fneSs.: ~ r lh"s rear
Sy he rear rider" He transmits power to The
ff roan th %n large se0 spr weess F FTan TO the the 1 Tssr c Mheei
proper. The machine is ssared on both sides
alike; The fourth rider has four sprockets en-
The frame Of the machine was tested to
failed 70 spring, i,aa part q an inch. Twenty.
i've men have been placed on the frame with
The light weight Of the machine is not re-
Ing on such machines the danger lies solely In
loose. which rarely ever takes place.
Bicycle riders this year evince, remarkable
Up to this season persons who merely ride Tor
pastime have been content TO accept the or
dinsry gear anu attachment Furnished upon
matter Of serious study dmong riders. Racing
men nse high gearing becauss IL is known to be
Is constantly advised that a medium gear is
proper. but this year high gears are very com
While The bicyctfe is said to nave reached about
the acme. Of perfection, considerable expert
chHnaeable gears have been tried. but thew
have not yet caught the popular fancy. Wheel.
e.y and crnnE; throw %'s' saysi 'he question 0'
The relationship between gearing and
SSsafih t tn Arouse ~ one sSm Which srscn T1lli we eh imagine no.
reason of certain. experiments which one emf
pently clever cycle engineer has been making.
posedly important point in all our patterns.
but 10 was found that not one person in every
twenty who rode a safety ever altered his lev
eraGe In this way. The superior appearance of
the non variable crank at once caught the
racing mans taste. and. of course. the road
rider and the general public followed In his
wake. by u consensus of opinion. arrived at
in some untraceable manner, a six and a
quarter inch crank was fixed on as the correct
fraii. They were at liberty to vary their gear
At VIII. but fashion ordained that their cranks
quarter inches.
This dictun undoubtedly did us a good
turn. inasmuch as IL turned our cycle design
ers' attention toward producing the neat and
quickly interchangeable crank gear wheels
nov 80 general. Still even that boon does not
reconcile the absurdity Of the Drank fashion
with common. sense. II IS, we conceive, an al.
most self-evident fact that h rider with. say,
a 30-inch leg can use q longer crank than q
man To whom. nature has only conceded 30
~ c. H. .,axx - &c. --.AI = 4. nL