Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1897-02-26
CHEAP BICYCLES
A French Invention Which Sena
for q 0uaeten
d ts Hardly Up Co Our American Ma
ehise. However = "a ts TheuEht T.
May Areet the Price OF Bteycics
the Woria over.

the World over.
4 business las just been started 10
Paris which may affect the price Of bi.
cycles all over the world. IL undoubt.
eddy will. IL the claims made by the
champions of the new undertaking
prove true. Cheap bicycles. SO cheah
that the mention OF the sum takes ones
breath away, sre to be the product al
this new business or factory.
Wooden bicycles were offered for sails
In Paris some time ago at the unheard'
of price of 90 sous each. Henri dc Par
Vile, scientific editor of the Journal dcs
Debats. was musing over this strange
fact. when one day he received letter
informing him that a very useful bl.
cycle could be made for two sous, which
are equivalent to a couple OF cents Of
American money. A bicycle for @ couple
of cents! just think OF al A few
days later Paul Clerc. the writer OF the
letter. showed NJ. de Parville his two
cent bicycle. II was simply composed
of couple OF pieces OF wood taken from
an old box and two cents worth of iron.
II was, ia other words, a rough speci-
men of the primitive velocipede. as i'm
vented by Baron de Drars In 1913. The
component parts of this machine were
= rough wooden framework and two
wooden wheels OF equal size.
NJ. Clerc's idea is TO place on the mar
ket machines fashioned after this old
model. but with all feasible and mex
peusive Improvements. The mnohihca
will have neither pedals nor intricate
mechanism OF any kind. They viii be
composed simply OF a wooden frumci
work. two wooden wheels aud n saddle.
They will be known, not as bicycles,
but as celercts.
II Is not expected Tint the celeret@
will supersede the regular bicycles. but
u is considered certain that thousands
who cannot afford TO buy bicycles will
buy ceierets. 4 first-class bicycle costs
$ioo or more: a fitst-class reieret can be
bought for one dollar or two dollars,
and one OF an inferior grade can be ptir-
chased as low as rs cents. Nay. there is
no reason why handy man or boy
should not make a celeret for himself,
In which case the only outlay neccs-
sary would be a couple OF cents for iron.
And in regard to the utility of the
celeret Baron de Drais said many years
ago; ION q good road my machine can
travel at the rate of two leagues, aud
even four leagues, an hour. and when
going down hill ita speed is greater thnn
that of n gaIlppihP horse" Perhaps
the baron Dragged. The celert may not
go quite as fast us he clnims. Still. il
can be mnde TO go foSt, and with little
effort. The rider In really walking,
while In sitting pasture. and is far lcsa
likely TO become fatigued than II he
were running la the ordinary manncr.
Prcgress Is made by touching the
ground alternately with the right and
left foot. The machine. once set In IN ,
ton in this manner. goes along steadily.
and the speed at times is so great that
the rider has no need TO propel himself
with his feet.
Put pneumatic tires ond other mod
ern Improvements on a eeleret," saS $
NJ. Cierc, "nhd there r. no reason why
IL should not go hlfn0st "a fast as bi-
cycle"
He also shys eonfdShtiy that n rpnn
can travel a long distance on q ceicret
and feel hardly the ie6st fatigue at tho
end of his journey. He accounts for
this fact on the Rround that hone o. the
energy spent on propeiling the tnathihe
is wasted, anu that the amount Of en-.
ergy required 10 travel long jouruey
Is much less than might be expected.
NJ. Clerc sees clearly that II will be no
easy task TO make the celerets popular
When their prototypes. the draisennes
were invented. at the beginning Of the
century. the few persons who vefitured
to use them in France were unmerciful.
ly caricatured. In England the ma
chimes became more popular but there
too. theft riders were ridlcuicd. We all
know how long it has taken the modern
bicycle TO win its present high position
n. Clerc. h0y~rter. IL confident of sue
cess.
According td him." says the journal
des. Deba Is. "thousands cnn derive BEN.
fit from machine like this. which cost.
almost nothihg, which travels as fast a.
a trotting horse. and which can be rid
den by anyone without the siightest
danger of falling off. How many young
people would tlse IL for amusefnebt ant
health. and also for the purpose OF learn
ing how TO ride the regular bioycIe
Workingmer could ride to their bust
| HCSS OH SCicIStSt COQtQ 70 II
school on them. peasants could ride I.
market on them. and eveti business Iner
could use them to save time. SO ligh
could they be made that riders coul,
easily carry them under their affns. 3
necessary"
y Analysed thoroughly. then. M. Clefc'
idea Is philanthfopic. lie wants 10 fur
, -nish worlSingmen nd.the poor general
iy. who cannot afford to buy bicycles
with machines that for ali rracica
, purposes will prove quite ms serviceabl
to them as any bicycle.-N. z. Herald.
she mad reason. Too.
He thought TO test her affection ns h,
took her little hand in his and locke,
fondly into her eyes.
''Tf you had your choice" he said
''would you prefer to have an engage