Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1897-07-21
BICYCLE FIGURES.
Some Interesting Facts Regarding
the Output of Crescent Bicycles in
1896 by the Western Wheel Works,
of Chicago, Ill,

Some Interesting Facts Regarding
the Output of Crescent Bicycles in
1896 by the Western Wheel Works,
of Chicago, Ill.
The idea of this article is to convey to
the reader 4 conception of the enormous
amount of raw material consumed during
a season in supplying the demand for
one of the most popular bicycles made.
The Western Wheel Works, Chicago,
makers OF the Crescent wheel, have the
largest, and without doubt the most COM
plete bicycle factory in the world, and
can turn out, when running to fullest
capacity, 725 finished Crescents in twelve
hours, or Il complete up to date bicycle
per minute.
The following figures are based on the
actual amount of the principal parts OF
material used by them during 1896 in the
manufacture of Crescent bicycles, dur
ing which season they made more high
grade bicycles than any other two fac-
tories N the country.
They used $50 miles of tubing, or
enough to nearly reach from chicago TO
st. Paul ii placed in a straight line. Inc
Spokes were made in their own factory,
and required 7SO miles of wire, or enough
to reach from Chicago to Lincoln, Neb. !;
SO miles of brass rod was required for
spoke nipples. If the spokes, spoke NIP
piles and tubing were placed IN straight
line they would reach from Chicago to
the Rocky Mountains at Denver. Inc
cranks, if placed end to end, would cover
a distance of % miles. They used 80
miles of steel for crank axles, wheel axies
and pedal aXles, and 10 miles OF steel Tor
seat posts. If the rims that were used IN
the manufacture of CreScents III 30 were
placed one upon the other they would
make pile 1880 feet high, 5000 feet
higher than Pixies Peak and about the
height of Mount Elias in Alaska, whose
summit has never yet been reached Dy
man. If placed in a straight line, side by
side, these rims would reach a distance
of 7215 miles, and if the tires were lifted
they would make line 771a miles longer.
The steel forgings used for the crank
hangers on the '96 wheels weighed, in
the rough, 113 $40 tons, and when fin
iShed, q $40 tons, showing complete
waste of 81 $40 tons in drilling and fin
fishing. 1t required 32,OS4 square feet of
sheet steel to make the Crescent hollow
tooth sprockets, and 21,S76 square feet
for the steel stampings of the head and
seat post clamps, or in all enough fiat
steel to cover an area of IA acres. There
were used 10 miles of cork grips 1O1s
miles of finished hubs, and % miles of
steel wire to pin frames together before
brazing. The finished chains. end to end.
would reach 20 miles, and the different
pieces of which they are composed would
reach 23712 miles, or in all 307R miles.
the distance from Chicago to Cincinnati.
lne bearings OF 1876 CreScentS required
13,997,oOO steel balls, which. if placed
in a straight line, side by side, would
reach a distance of 45a4 miles. To lace
the chain and dress guards on the ladies'
Crescents manufactured in 1896 required
4341o0 yards of cord. or 2461a miles,
enough to allow a small boy to stand on
the top of the Auditorium tower in Chi
cago and fly his kite where the people in
Des Moines. Iowa, could see it. To sup
ply Crcscent IS sold in 1896 required 1 ,6O6,-
742 bolts, and LASS. 075 nuts having an
aggregate weighttof % tons. Sixteen and
one--quarter miles of spring steel were
used in the manufacture of saddle springs,
and the saddle and tool bags together
used up 1I1.SS3 square feet or over
acres Of leather. The total weight of the
complete bicycles was 1882, 942 pounds.
or 1871 tons. To crate these bicycles
required 1.235.740 square feet of lumber
made up in pieces which would make
distance of ], 139 miles. or more than the
distance from New York to Chicago: r.
,7fS.66S separate and distinct pieces en-
tered into the construction of '96 Cres-
cents, and if all were placed in straight
line, end to end. they would reach from
New York to some distance in the Pacific
Ocean west of San Francisco.-Crescent
Bulletin, July l, 1897.