Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-11-25
PROBLEM is SOLVED.
Next Years Bicycle Is to Be Minus
Chain or SprOcket.

the advantages of their various blcy-
cles next spring it is almost certain
that the chainless machine VIII De
offered to supplant the styles now IN
use The new idea in wheels is per-
fected. if the stories of the past week
are to be relied upon. with the ahI
nouncement of this fact comes an
other which means much TO ohose
who wish to procure new Wheels'
That is the information that 0ne re-
cent cut in prices was not Owing W
general competition and the necessity
to meet. it with lower prices, out re-
allv a combination to relnstate 'he
high prices of several years ago.
1t is given out semi-officlally tlat
the wheel of 1898 will be listed at Sl1o
instead of SIS or 500, In the same
connection ii is as we'll to announce
that many of the leading manutacIul-
ers if not all. will be in the market
with the ctainless machine. The
secret Wa veil kept, but 1t Is no"
ont The chainless bicycle IS eA-
nected t. supplant any with chains
and sprockets when the mowers oloonI
in spring. This feature OF the Case
NAV also mean the biggest klnd Oh
foht. In fact, there are rumors that
the season will see the biggest Dlcg-
Gle war the world ever Wltnesseu
when the effort is made to hoist prices
IN 70 the figures abandoned some tour
IN. i've wears ago. This is the crumo
of comfort to the intending pur-
chaser.
Rut if all reports be true the new
wheel is really a mechanical triumph.
This is one feature of the SITUATION.
The others are the possibilities OF
war and the attempt OF the makers
to force prices up above the century
notch once more. But about the above
chainless wheel itself. 1t is not the
birth of one mind filled with invent
i've feryor. AS matter of fact there
! has been struggle over this proplelu
! for several years. The fraglllty Oh
| the chain and it's capacity for mlschlei
! have marked it for dismissal as soon
as anybody could find a substitute ol
equal utility minus the dangers. Thls
is what is claimed for the new device.
! The first suggestion in the mechan-
ism is the resemblance to the homely
principle of the egg beater. lndeeh'
| the housewife beats eggs by Uhe APP
n1ication of the same principle.
cursory glance at new Wheel HASH
ing nv would reveal nothing, for the
heveled gearing is incased in water
tight dust-proof castings, and the
wheel looks like any other wheel.
The pedals turn a beveled cog,
which in turn, acts on rod which
extends to the axle Of the rear wheel
This rod has at each end a beVeleo
COG. one fitting the cog on the axle Vi
the pedal and the other lifting Sill
liar beveled cog on the axle OF the
rear wheel. The pedals, therefore,
transmit the power by the turning ol
rhe rod in it's castings between TIE
o,earing of the pedals and the gearing
| of the rear axle.
There is nothing new in this prln-
ciple. which is that cOgs turning on
! the bevel or slantwise to oach other
will transmit power in more dlHer-
ent directions than skipper can Jack
a shin. Neither is it's application to
the bicycIe new for there was the
League wheel of 1898, that failed
made in Hartford, and "L'Acatene,
the wheel of France, on which Huret,
! the French rider, covered 564 miles,
SO wards in twenty-four hours and
broke the record The hopes of the
great bicycle combine are based on
/ a confidence of cutting this gearing
/ in a specially made steel with absolute
perfection of alignment
| The inventors who have striVen for
vears-literally hundreds Of strivers
to make perfect chainless bicycle
were actuated by the imperfections OF
the chain and sprocket. Not only is
the old system subject to the inter
ference of dust and dirt, but the joints
of the chain provide a multitude or
places subject to wear, and this wear
alters the "pitch." The failure of many
and most of the labors of these tire
less inventors was due to the i'm
perfection of the beveled toothing.
Thus, while all kinds of machinery is
driven by beveled gear the weight of
the cog wheels provides a solid base
of resistance that overcomes the i'm
Projections in the perfect fitting OF
one cog into another, whereas the
lighter bicycle mechanism depends
upon not weight, but absolute per-
lection of the parts. The rod trans
hitting the power from the pedals to
the rear axle if out of alignment, due
10 the instability Of the light bicycle
frame would wreck the machine
That's where the bicycle combine
came in. For two years beveled gear
patents have been bought up right
and left. 1t is said that the cost of
buying and plugging up every avenue
Of competition and the experiments
cost 100000 before a single wheel
could be shown to the bicycle world.
The work of obscure inventors was
combined, made into composite shape
and tried and tested; one failure
brought another experiment, until,
from failure to failure, a simple con-
trivance was born which the bicycle
after testing for a year, be
lieved to be perfect.
During this time hints oozed out
about the 1898 chainless wheel; then
came the sensational midsummer re-
1uction in prices which diverted at
Iention from the real story; until at