The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-15
BICYCLE NEWS &
AND COMMENT
Gossip on Many Subjects for the Wheel
and Wheelmen.
PROPER CARE OF THE BICYCLE

iiany Cyclists Fay Dearly for Their
Esgsraace..Repaisins a single.
TUBE Tire.sA New Fa;ug "a Handle
i:asssssasswd Ssaemes Of tas nae,
ing r;sR,.ovas 900 l.. =. VI, aacs
Meets in [a:F,
;Gaay cyclists sre having trouble
.nith tksis H;:ieslg besslse they do not
know now to :rc>s*;t cars fer ihem
Ssssae are gs:ST cisi;. Win badly
scratched whesis sas: aas fnGina fault
with the ma::sfs, 81 aRespRt of the
sssm:aSi;; pess eas:is:; PISS IN NEST
sesas it is the salt az the s:Cers tissHa=
ssiVes, who &c aet use proper ss;e IL,
..eS.sSE 1t is we'll not ia usa stie;i
ass: Ts "a clean a w.ieei but lEas:, eff
ii c;eSF Yatsr, being careful not to
ssfatci, ths enamel, When well wash-
So. iaIs a ehamois, wei il and wiring
dEi:, =4iPo the machine dry, treating the
nic:;ei parts the same way. wiping the
oily parts with a rag. This prevents
the ename from getting scratched
which is something to be avoided, as
when a wheel IL cleaned ,scra tches show
up much more plainly. To clean the
chain properly II Is best to remove 1t
from the wheel Roll it up and put In
q can. lay Two pieces Of wood across the
bottom Of the can SO the chain will not
touch the bottom. Put bcnziile enough
In the can to cover the chain and leave
il about twelve hours. This In the
easiest way to clean a chain properly.
Leaky tirc valves are often the result
of screwing the valve cap down too
tightly, which results in the MASKING
OF the rubber washer on the .plunger.T To
true a wheel, take piece OF chalk and
hold in the forks next to the rim, Turn
tho whcN over and wherever 1t IS out or
line the chalk will mark the place. Then
Use wrench to bring the wheel to the
Gssired place.
Tho foreign racing men use very high
scare. Michael rides with a s4-inch
gear Linton, 93-inch: Huret, 84-inch;
sl-iHch Chase, 96-.nch; and Barden S.
inch.
Every failure in the bicycle trade ap-
pears to have been followed by the or
sanizetion Of a new company for the
manufacture OF bicycles.
In repairing n single tube tire 1t Is
we'll to exercise a little care in estimat-
ing the size Of the plug patch. The tire
IL often condemned when the plug does
not hold. while In reality, the fault lies
in the inefficient material used A
plug with u blunt edge patch should In
ail cases be OF as ample area as the ap-
erture in the tire will permit OF insert
ing j common mistake Is the appiica.
ton OF u thick plug with no patch base,
which common sense should tell the
user will not answer the purpose A
single tube tire can be repaired both
easily and permanently provided proper
care IL used in the selection Of the ma
teriai.
A new wooden handle bar has been
invented, which has u metallic tube rum
ming through the center 1t is claimed
that this handle bar will take up even
more of the jar than the other wooden
handle bars that have been placed on
the market. Another feature about 1t
is the readiness with which it can be re-
stored to shape If sprung one way or
the other. A wooden handle bar that Is
bent and not broken generally is used
up for all time to come
So many applications for space have
already been received that the great
success Of both the eastern and western
National Cycle shows is already assur-
ed. The members OF the Cycle Board Of
trade are,in consequence, greatly
nj 6n in yyh lob,
dent Coleman handled the preliminar-
les.
"As the Racing Boad raises bar
rier." says a club man, ito prevent
what is considered unsportsmanlike ac-
tion on the part of racing men. the lat
ter invent ways and means to get
around the rules without violating
them. In a measure they have been sue
cessful. The one relating to the
double entry of the men Is readily over
oome. and has been by az least two
men. Both entered for a certain race
meet. and after the close Of the entries
sent requests to have their entry with
drawn. One decided that he was not in
the best of condition. His entry was
withdrawn. The next thing he did was
state. The second man wrote that he
could not ride and would like his entry
withdrawn. He entered for meet in
another state, where he posed as
scratch man against second-class
field and had a mortgage on all the first
prizes. These are only two ways of
getting around the rule and only two
instances where 1t was done But there
are others.
The L. A. w. issued sanctions for
more than 200 race meets on July 4th.
and 1t has been estimated that 1900
contestants figured in the meetings,
which were watched by probably 6Oo.-
900, persons At the various meets 1t is
estimated that there were 600 races for
amateurs and 1.4OO for professionals.
Averaging the prizes at $25 for first, $40
for second. and s. for third in the ANA
teur races. and $50 cash for first, SIS for
second. and s. for third. in the profess
sional events. it will be seen that the
amateurs carried off about s24, 900. and
that the pros" won about 10000.
Writes A. G. Batchelder in the New
York Journal: 1T is not generally
known that Alexander MacDonnell. the
Rochester rider, who holds SO many Of
the unpaced road records, and who has
just sailed for Australia made extern
sive use of the kola nut while negotiat-
ing fast times on public highways. Not
few Of the racing men have expert
mented with kola preparations. and
while the result has been temporarily
satisfactory. the ultimate effect has been
to make the rider become stale and un-