The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-17
BICYCLE VS.. EXPRESS.
A WHEEL TO SPEED AGAINST tn
EMPIRE LIMITED.

Most Daring Of All Achievements on the
Rubber Tires-six Riders and . Gear NJ
Ono Hundred and Fifty-three--How the
Riders VIII Breathe.
Is 1t really possible for the bicycle 10
beat a railroad train2 This would be the
highest achievement OF all for tho wheel,
u six strong lunged and muscular leg.
ged riders will next season endeavor to
accomplish it. They will be speedod
against the Empire State express on a new
sextet wheel which has boon built.
1t Is q big contract TO run away from
the fastest moving train on the earth.
Bicycle people, however, the practical
manufacturers no less than the general
wheel enthusiasts, believe that the rubber
heoled steed can be built 70 get over
ground more rapidly than any other ami
mate or inanimato thing that moves.
A highly important factor In this rnce
will be the track. This will DO built as
smooth and level as human ingenuity can
make it In order to give the riders equal
chances with the iron horse. The COM
pany of cycle manufacturers who have
built this wheel will be ready before the
LIST Of May. Then they will throw down
their gauntlet TO tho giant of the rails for
q half mile dash.
The bicycle that has been thus named is
said TO be the largest in the world. Its
length over all Is - feet, and its water
line, '1or wheel base, Is something under a
foot less. 1t weighs 1871 pounds, giving
each rider about 90 pounds in addition To
his own weight 10 propel. Tie wheels
rave only two inches more of diameter
than those of the average bicyole--that Is,
they ore 80 inches across. Tn tires are
said TO be the largest ever made. They
arc ga inches in diameter. And the gear,
wherein lies the secret of its phenomenal
velocity, has boon compounded to 1853.
Think of il, We bicyclers, geared ut 1881
This is the simple description that tells
the whole tale, at leas. TO experts. To the
Icy mind, however, these few figures fail
TO explain just why the machine Is re-
garded by many people who examined 1t
at tho late bicycle show as one of the great
mechanical marvels Of the age. What
gives 1t its extraordinary speed, when
mounted by expert riders, is its wonderful
gear. II is a compound gear, constructed
with four driving sprockets. The largest
sprocket, the one nearest to4he rear wheel,
has 2s teeth; the next largest has 23, the
third IA and the smallest driving sprocket
o teeth. TO calculate the gear you must
multiply the product OF the W large
sprockets by the diameter of the wheel.
Then you divide this by the product of the
two smaller sprockets, and you have as the
gear 1853.
When you are told that 1t is impossible
to construct any form Of vehicle propelled
by man power that will exceed the maxi
mum Of speed Of the sextet, you are natu-
rafl, lie,neol On n,oe,in, al. ~
the statement and to argue that II six men
can manipulate a machine that goes in
flnitely faster thar a wheel mounted by a
single rider, therefore an apparatus de-
signed for ten mon must be correspond
ingly more rapid than the sextet. The
inventor of the Empire express rival de-
clares that you are wrong and demon
strates its technicality.
He says that il is impossible to construct
a machine for more than six mon that will
not lose In velocity for each added saddle
or sprocket beyond six. He has tried it,
he says, and finds that any further exten.
sion of the length between the wheels
makes 1t absolutely unreliable. IL will
wabble, be declares, beyond any possibility
to prevent. To correct this wabbling re-
quires such an extreme speed that II Is
impossible TO get a gear high enough 10
effect tho necessary velocity. Therefore
the man who designed the bicycle built for
six believes he has struck the nail on the
head, and that IL is not in human nature
to outclass his machine.
The inventors of the sextet declare that
no expense has been spared in perfecting
the design of this wheel. They say that
tho pneumatic tires alone cost 5000, being
made with rubber walls three-quarters of
an inch thick, leaving an air chamber one
inch in diameter, made to withstand an
air pressure of $40 pounds to the squarc
inch.
The six riders will DO men OF even
weight, about I45 pounds. The track will
be about six miles Of a ~straightaway road,
parallel with tho route of tho New York
Central's ilior. There Is such a level
stretch a short distance west Of Albany,
and If the ground can DO secured tho track
will be laid out there.
Six straight miles at least ere necessary.
1t is estimated that 1t will require at least
two miles for tho sextet TO get properly
started, and that after the half milo has
been run against tho express train from
three and a half 60 four miles will have 60
DO gone over before the soxtet can be stop
ped.
Tho riders will be supplied with a pat
ent breathing apparatus attached tn an air
chamber, from which each mau, having
his Eose and mouth closed of against the
wind, will DO obliged to respire from start
to finish.
The inventor believes the sextet can
cover n mile In 35 seconds. If IL can, IL
will stand a fair chance of winning tho
race. New York World.