The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-07-22

YfUtAlCtS ny hlt VI ltS
patronage, without which there would be
no meets.
One OF the most common tricks is known
as "leaning." IL IL usually the result of
combination between two riders against
another who Il considered the probable
winner Tho slower of the two conspir-
ators makes it his business to lay along
side tho man whom it is desired 10 beat,
and when tho latter attempts to go 20 the
front on the last turn for the purpose Of
making the run down the homestretch To
the finish limo 10 lean far over toward him
SO that the momentum Of his rush will
have the effect of knocking him off his
wheel or at least of causing lSfh to swervc
so badly that before he can straighten him
self out and resume his clip the ally of
tho leancr is SO far ahead that there Is no
possibility of overtaking him. The allega-
tion has been repeatedly made this season
that two very intimate riders have been
Systematically working this game, and
that In that fact may be found the secret
Of the phenomenal success Of one of the
pair. In this particular case however, the
accusation appears TO have been unjust,
and it is even asserted that IL was trumped
up by the man who originated the leaning
himself, and afford him the opportunity
to reform whilo the feeling was strong
against the accused. At any rate the re-
suit Is apt to rebound to the benefit of cycle
racing, for it has been determined to break
up the practice without regard TO whom 1t
may hurt, and it Is exceedingly unlikely
that any OF the circuit chasers will have
the hardihood TO attempt thing which
fbav Ennky ,vi11 No raYnfo,OI caunpoly
To Prevent Upsets.
Any person who has attended a number
Of race meets Is almost certain TO have seen
one or more upsets resulting from the poor
Judgment OF rider who has allowed his
front wheel TO run into the hind wheel of
the man just ahead OF him. AS the dircc-
ton OF turning of one wheel is upward
while that of tho other Is downward some-
body must go down. And that they al
ways do, as also do nearly all the racers In
the rear The tangle of wheels and human
limbs which follows is very trying 10 tho
nerves of sensitive people in the audience,
especially the ladies, who form n large per-
centagc OF tho patrons OF cycle racing. Jt
is seldom that rider cmerges from one Of
these mix ups without some more or less
serious injury, and it Is therefore the desire
VI tildt rbllc Ut NtNlsCu IilhU
would lessen the danger In this respect.
Scores of plans have been adopted expert
msntally and abandoned after short ex-
pericncc, as most OF them increased rather
than diminished the danger The ingen-
ious French people have at last hit upon
something which bids fair to be accepted
IA tho final solution of the vexed question.
Each competitor mt some of the recent race
atNg glts.t A...
carrya contrlyancc on the rear of his bicy-
Gle which, while it adds u trifle 10 the
weight of the machine, has been hailed with
delight by competitors, us there is now no
danger Of accidents from what was before
the most prolific cause. AT the back of the
braces there Is spool which hangs indie
pendently from the wheel of the machine
to which it Is attached AS there Is no
point of contact with the whcol, IL does not
turn except I'm case of necessity, which
arises when the man behind fails TO gauge
his speed accurately and runs up 10 the
fellow ahead of him. Under ordinary cir
cumstanecs there would bo q spill, but
with tho French dovico the wheel simply
bears against tho spool on the mnchine in
front without doing tho slightest harm.
As, In addition TO this advantage, the rider
- a'ANshH n'iDilk iiN NDiiiItlltbT Nv lIlt
pushing along he gives him, no is apt 10 be
very careful not TO get too close 1t is TO
bc hoped that this simple dcvicc will be
given trial at some of the meets In this
country
About Cheap Wheels.
There has been great deal Of space In
many newspapers given up TO the discus
sion Of the question OF cheap bicycles.
Some writer's assert that most manufac.
turcrs can put their product ON the market
at a cost Of about $50 apiece, while others
declare just as positively that the profit ON
grst class bicycles sold at slO0 each is al
ready r.diculously small and thnt no fur.
ther reduction Is possible As usual I'm con-
troycrsies of this sort each side il right
httlo bit and wrong n great dcal. A retail
or can make more money on some whecls
at si0 each than he can ON others at Si00,
and that this Is 80 Is easily accounted for.
Largo manufacturers, aud even small ones
mp % tho present year, have boon selling
their product through the medium of
agents, % whom 40 was the practice to as-
sign certain exclusive territory These men,
owing to the comparatively limited demand
Tor any one make IN . email territory had 10
have enormous discounts In order 10 scratch
n living out 81 che business Herr 40 one
fcll swoop the selliug rrico to the maker
was reduced to ESQ or so.
This year q largo number of irrcsponsi-
bic men vert into tho business of building
wheels with the expectation of making
good machines and becoming wealthy rae
idly Thcy tried 10 got rOnd agents ard
fnilcd q do sn Many Of them followed