The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-10
BICYCLE NEWS
AND COMMENT
Peculiar Fascinating Methods o.
European Tracks.
AMERICAN RACERS IN FRANCE
Small Tracks Are a. Drawback at
First..Triplets Are Used Almost
Exclusively for Pacing..PeOple
Who Wait for the Prices Of Wheels
to Lower.

France for the first time to race are
surprised at the pacemaking methods
in vogue in that country. Banker
Wheeler and other American riders
aver that the pacemaking system in
that country Is perfect. The small
tracks are something Of q drawback to
the American rider at first. A we'll
known rider in speaking Of the pace
making customs in France. says:
There Is no country whore pacing Is
carried out upon such q scale as II is
in France. One firm alone has about
forty 'quads' and triplets that are used
exclusively for this purpose, ana a
whole army of pacenlakers who receive
81 or SO for each meeting, and 1t IL
really difficult to see how the makers
can support such heavy charge in ad-
dition to the big force paid by the
cracks. But the fact remains that sew
eral of the manufacturing companies
are doing it. and they would hardly con-
tinue the system If they did not find 1t
to their advantage. The one thing
aimed at now Is to get the maximum Of
speed out Of the pacing machines. and
until 1t is found possible to use electric
or petroleum bicycles. the only thing to
be done Is to increase the gear and the
power employed.
"From tandems there was q transit
tion to triplets, and then to 'quads. but
the attempt to use Quintuplets has not
been a success. Besides the fact that
they can only be used on the largest
tracks, they are very liable to tire
snt, 1ntx Of trnn ~
ience to the men paced. The prefer
! ence Is, therefore. pretty equally divid-
ed between 'quads' and triplets, and
then II Is a question whether the latter
are not better suited for the purpose.
To go further, 1t may be doubted
whether the triplets are superior to the
tandems. In theory IL. Of course, all
very we'll to put up four or five men
to push tremendously high gear, but
tandem crew can make circles around
such a machine. The difficulty lies in
getting men who work together prop
erly on the multicycles. and l am bound
to say that no maker has yet found
four or five men who can form a homo
genous crew and get the maximum
speed out of the machines. They should
work as much in harmony as the parts
Of the machine itself. Only very few
men are capable Of doing this in
France, and prominent among them are
the brothers Farman. who can beat any
multicycle In the country. But these
men are all classy riders. who can
make more ou: Of racing than pace
making, though they do occasionally
take a turn at helping their friends
along. and 1t Is generally recognized
that the man who happens to be behind
the brothers Farman has big ad-
vantage over others who may be paced
by half q dozen 'Quads.
There has been a cry that the number
| of fatalities that have befallen wheel
men has been largely on the increase
Pessimists who look upon the sport with
not kindly eyes do not appreciate that
every day sees hundreds Of recruits
added to the ranks. Men, women and
| children Of all sexes and natiOnalitieE
have taken to the wheel in a way that
has steadily augmented the member
| ship of the big order. Accidents must
necessarily be on the increase. There
| Is no way to prevent them, for accidents
| will happen among those wha follow
| any kind of pastime. 1t IL natural
| Scorchers are the most dreaded Of all
evils which terrify the wheeling ele.
ment. But decided steps have been
taken to abate the nuisance, and the
consequence will be that shortly the
dc ,,,tlI t,e % a,.fI
| and suppressed entirely.
Many people have waited for the time
when q 800 biycle will sell for $25. They
are waiting yet. They had better get a
| job in some hotel or hashery and stay
there, because they will be walters al
| long as they live and they might as well
| make money out Of It. 1t looks as Il
| the bicycle, that is the first-class ma
| chine, had reached the minimum pOin,
| in price. Every once in 4 while some
| crank will figure out how q bicycle IL
| made for $20 and worse than that. some
| newspaper that ought to know better
| will print what he says. Did you ever
| consider the constituents Of bicycle
| The frame Is of the best steel and work
manship So are all the metal parts
| The cork In the handles come from
Spain. The wood in the rims is Of spe.
cial growth. The rubber in the tires
comes from South America. The bear.
ings are closer and truer than anything
| save the works of a watch. Consider
the strain this delicate machine must
stand. The spokes are of the finest
piano wire. Think Of all the work nee.
essary on all the infinite parts. cones
| bearings, ETC., and then you will won.
der how you can buy such a machine
| for 500.
A new variety Of fool bicyclist
| springs up every day. says an out-of-
town cyling editor severly. The latest
addition to the ranks of the scorching
| loud-voiced, loud-sweatered iditos is
the woman who tries to knock the street
cars off the track. She is not an expert
| rider. Any one who knows how to
ride couldn't perform the feats that
this reckless individual does without
| suffering calamity. The custom Of this
new variety is to get on some quiet
street where she can "hit' up q grea,
pace. This street must lead out to
main street, or else her aim is defeated
She selects time when the crossing Is
crowded, street car Is passing, and
then, putting full steam and clang-
ing her bell. She goes slam bang
through the crowd. headed for the
street car. Just as everyone is wonder
ing when the funeral will be held she
- II. ~xx,I \