The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-01
BICYCLES ron 20 CENTS.
Curious Machines OF French Con-
Efrucfion-

From the New York Herald
A business has just been started in
Paris which may effect the price OF bicy-
cIes an over the world II undoubtedly
will if the claims made by the champions
OF the new undertaking prove true. Cheap
bicycles. so cheap that the mention 81 the
sum takes ones breath away. are 10 be
the product OF this new business or fac
tory.
Wooden bicycles were offered for sale in
Paris some time ago at the unheard OF
price OF % sous each. Henri de Parville.
scientific editor OF the Journal Des De
bats. was musing over this strange fact
when one day he received letter inform
ing him that a very useful bicycle could
be made for two sous, which are equiva-
lent to a couple Of cents Of American
money. A bicycle for a couple Of cents
Just think of it, A few days later Paul
Clerc. the writer of the letter showed NJ.
de ParVille his 2-cent bicycle. 1t was
simply composed of a couple Of pieces OF
wood taken from an old box and two
cents worth of iron.
1t was, in other words, a rough speci-
men of the primitive velOcipeie. as in
vented by the Baron de Drais IN ISIS. The
component parts of this machine were a
rough wooden framework and two wooden
WHEELS of equal size.
VI. Clerc 5 idea is 10 place on the market
machines fashioned after this Old model
but with al feasible and Inexpensive I'M
provements. The machines viii have nei-
Their pedals nor intricate mechanism Of any
kind. They VIII be composed simply of a
wooden framework, two wooden wheels
and a saddle. They Will be known, not as
bicycles, but as celerets.
1t is not expected that the celerets will
supersede the regular bicycles, but il is
considered certain that thousands who
cannot afford TO buy bicycles will buy
celerets. A frst-class bicycle costs a
hundred dollars or more; hrst-class
Ccleret can be bought Tor one or two dol
lars, and one Of an inferior grade can be
purchased as low as . cents. Nay. there
is no reason why handy man or boy
should not make a celeret for himself, in
which case the only outlay necessary
would be n couple Of cents for iron.
And In regard to the utility of the celc-
ret Baron de Drais said many years ago:
ION a good road my machine can travel
at the rate of two leagues, and even four
leagues, an hour, and when going down
hill its speed is greater than that of a
galloping horse" Perhaps the Baron
Dragged. The celeret may not go quite as
fast as he claims. Still II can be made
to go fast and with little effort The rider
is really walking, while In a sitting pos
ture, and is far less likely TO become
fatigued than if he We're running in the
ordinary manner. Progress is made by
touching the ground alternately with Che
right and left foot. The machine once
set in motion in this manner, goes along
steadily and the speed at times is so great
that the rider has no need TO propel him.
self with his feet
Put pneumatic tires and other modern
Improvements on a celeret, says NJ,
Clerc, "and there is no reason why It
should not go almost as fast as a bicycle.
He also says confidently that a man can
travel a long distance on "A celeret and feel
hardly the least fatigue at the end OF his
journey. He accounts for this fact on the
ground that none of the energy spent on
that the amount OF energy required to
travel a long journey Is much less than
might be expected.
NJ Clerc sees clearly that it will be no
easy task to make the celerets popular
When their prototypes, the draiEennes
were invented, at the beginning OF the
century, few persons who ventured TO
use them In France were unmercuully
caricatured. In England the machines be-
came more popular, but there, too, their
riders were ridiculed. We all know how
long ii has taken the modern bicycle TO
win its present high position. NJ, Clerc,
however, is confident Of success.
According to him." says the Journal
des Debats, thousands can derive benefit
from a machine like this, which costs al
most nothing, which travels fast as a
trottlng horse, and which can be ridden
by anyone without the slightest danger
OF falling off. How many young people
would use 1t for amusement and health
and also use IL for the purpose of learn
ing how to ride the regular bicyclel
Worhngmen could ride TO their business
on celerets, children could go TO schOoi
on them, peasants could ride TO market
on them, and even business men coulG
use them to save time. So light could
they be made that riders could easily
carry them under their arms, If neces-
sary."
Analysed thoroughly, then, NJ. Clefc's
idea is philanthropic. He wants to fur
nish workingmen and the poor generally
who cannot afford to buy bicycles, with
machines that for all practical purposes
will prove quite as serviceable to them
as any bicycles.