The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-10

die, improved handle bars and. above all,
Increased rigidity. are the targets aimed
at in the new wheel.
Many riders have complained In the past
that the perfect saddle had never been
invented, but the 81 cyclist should have
no difficulty in obtaining the peculiar kind
he yearns for. no matter how odd his ana
tomical construction may be. If rider
desires a convex or concave seat, he can
get it for the asking, along with fiat rolls,
cylindrical cushions or a seat that slides
Rawhide, rattan. rubber, leather, lacing,
aluminium, wood, celluloid and steel and
even woven wire enter into the compost
ton of the up-to-date saddle. Dura bility
and comfort, If not the lightness of racing
machine seats, are attained In every pat
tern.
There are saddles so adjusted as to sway
with the motion of the body when pedal
ing, and others again that rise and fail
with the heave of the cobbles. With one
of these new arrangements the biker can
ride naturally and gracefully.
The padded seat will be extensively
used, regardless of the problem of weight.
which has heretofore been the chief con-
sideratiOn. In reducing the weight to a
minimum the saddle was compelled TO
get down to weight the same as other
parts. until the wheelman found himself
sprinting along on a couple of leather
waters Now weight is a secondary con-
sideration with the average cyclist who
prefers the maximum of comfort to whiz-
zing flight.
Broader and shorter seats will be placed
upon the market, equipped with springs,
pads and compressed air In some of these
seats pure wool felt is used for upholster-
ing purposes, and others are stuffed with
hair. Another design which is expected
to become the rage has filling of spiral
springs and curled hair the object of the
springs being to prevent the hair from
packing solid.
Still another improvement Is the skeIe-
ton saddle, having laced seat of rattan
or rawhide, which is said to give extreme
comfort. The lacing Is softened with
layer of thick felt under the leather COW
ering. In the pneumatic line the newest
thing is a bifurcated air cushion fitted with
A valve. which allows the air to shift
from one compartment to the other with
the alternating pressure of the body.
Another novel designts the seat shaped
like the wings of a butterfly that moves
and sways with every motion of the rid
err and yet another is supplied with a pair
of spiral springs at the back. Others are
provided with side clamps, which obviate
the necessity of raising the seat post when
a change is desired.
Numerous changes have been made in
the internal mechanism. all tending to
improve the running qualities, promote
ease of adjustment and strengthen the
parts where one piece of tubing joins an
| other
There is no doubt that wooden handle
bars will be used in many of the 81 wheels
| but il will be a long time before the ones
| of steel are entirely superseded.
! The point Of superiority claimed for the
| wooden bar is, that on account of its
! Welding properties 1t causes less vibra-
! ton to be felt in the hands and arms OF
| the rider than the more rigid steel bar.
| Il can be made just as strong as the latter,
| and. of course there is not the trouble in
/ Keeping 1t polished, and there is, besides,
no danger Of rust. etc. With all these adj
MANAGES. however the niclSeled handle bar
will not disappear. Many prefer the rigid
ity of the metal and admire the appear
an1e it gives to the bicycle,
There will not be any material change
in the shapes of handle bars this season.
All the high grade wheels will have ad-
Unstable bars 50 that the rider can ma
/ She position that best suits him, and
then fix the bar in that position. There
will be fewer down-turncd handles, most
| riders realizing that a position OF the
! bar that ccmpeis one 10 etoop over IS not
! bv any means a comfortable one Inc
| width of the bars VIII be about seventeen
to nineteen inches.
There are, OF course, all sorts OF ouu
ana new shapes invented some with two
sets Of grips, but their utility mas YET 10