The evening bulletin. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1887-1905, 1896-07-18

success chiefly upon skilled labor. When
you skim along lightly and rapidly on
your wheel, you are apt to think that it
is the strength of the component parts
that enables you to do this. The strength
of the parts is one element; the putting
of them together is far more important
element, and one that requires the
greatest skill.
The price OF a wheel in every instance
represents the amount of skilled labOur
in its construction. The materials them
selves cost but little. Probably SIS or
$50 will represent the cost of material.
The rest is labor. So when you buy a
high grade wheel you buy the best that
intelligent artisanship can produce.
There are but few, or probably dozen,
high grade wheels made. The cheaper
grades are legion.
The various parts Of the bicycle must
be absolutely perfect and capable OF
standing exactly their proportion of the
whole strain. They must be adjusted
with the nicely of watch in order to get
the most out of them. There are 800
parts in a bicycle, counting each spoke
separately and the $50 and odd miniature
steel balls in the bearings. The rivets
of the chain, the links, nuts and bolts,
number 13S separate pieces. The old
saying OF chain being only as strong as
its weakest link holds good in bicycle.
The chain is naturally most important
feature, ranking in Importance with the
tire and the rims.
The frame and most OF the metal parts
OF bicycle of the high grade are made
of Swedish steel, on which OF course
Uncle Sam collects a good generous tariff.
There is an English steel which is also
good, but the Swedish has the call.
Both are made by secret process. This
steel is imported in the form of tubing,
and is cut into parts OF various lengths
which are brazed together to make the
frame. The brazing is all important to
the rigidity of the frame. Without
rigidity a wheel would never stand
cross.country riding. The brazing is
done at red heat, and the testing is
repeated again and again.
In a bicycle factory, spokes, rims,
sprockets, frames, &c, are all tested
before they are adjudged to be ready for
use. Each of these parts sustains strain
that has been figured out to nicely.
The testing machine can exert tension
or compression OF from a few ounces up
to one hundred thousand pounds. When
the full power is turned on the great jaws
can tear apart solid bar OF steel as easily
as child peels banana.
Each spoke has to stand so many
pounds, the frame must do the same, the
rim, the chain, the sprockets, hub, the
front fork, pedals, cranks, handlebar, and
even the ball bearings must show that
they are absolutely right. The coasting
ability OF bicycle depends upon the
"true" character of the bearings. To
show how finely they are measured, it
will only be necessary to say that in the
largest factories there is a machine which
makes all the parts true" down to one
four thousandth of an inch. =. This is get
ting bicycling down to fine point, but
the race for precedence among the big
makers is fierce, and seemingly out of
keeping with the general hilarity OF the
sport.
An interesting thing about high
grade bicycle is what is known in me-
chanics as the safety factor. Thus in the
great high pressure modern guns the
safety factor is twenty, or, in sother
words, the gun is made twenty times
stronger than the strain to be put upon
it. Ordinarily guns have safety factor
of ten, boilers OF six, bridges of five and
other mechanical products about four.
The bicycle of the old style weighed
sixty pounds; the high grade machine Of
to-day weighs under twenty-five pounds,
and the safety factor has been reduced
to only 1.25.
This extraordinary low safety factor is
in Difference to the demand for lightness,
which just now is being carried to an
extreme. Another year the tendency
will be to make fewer light machines.
The figure l.25 above meansSthat if any
part of the wheel is imperfect to the
extent OF one quarter of its calculated
strength, the machine may be crippled
suddenly and the rider may have a bad
fall.
1t is doubtful if more than one or two
manufacturers make entire wheel. Some
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