The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-04-24
FOR THE BlCYCLIST.

Several of the Green Ridge Wheelmen
will pedal to Elmhurst tomorrow morn
ing.
Captain Whettling, of the Scranton
Bicycle club, will conduct q club run to
Carbondale tomorrow.
The man with the gear ranging any
where from 81 to 100, rot only makes him
self tired, but his fellow wheemen as
well.
Clayton L. Cook, of Syracuse, now in
the employ OF the Lackawanna Wheel
company is considered the finest enameler
in the country.
Eddie Bald has found another source of
revenue for racing mon. He will ride an
exhibition mile for the kaleidoscope at
Fountain Ferry track, Kentucky.
The Elmhurst boulevard is in good con-
dition, and the wheelmen and wheelwo-
men of the city are showing their appre-
citation of the fact by literally patronizing
the toll gates of that beautiful roadway.
Up-turn handle bars are growing in ia
vor continually. The position given the
rider by the use of these bars is certainly
more comfortable than that of the drop"
handle bar, but nevertheless more speed
and power can be attained with the latter
style.
Jimmy Michael, the Welsh champion,
who has been in this country since the
middle of last season, and who was re-
Gently suspended from the track by the
League of American Wheelmen racing
board, has been reinstated, and will be
found on the line when the national circuit
| opens next week.
The newest thing in the line of bicycle
sundries is the Electric bicycle lamp. Sew
eral of these lamps are now upon the
market, and having a good sale. They are
no larger than the ordinary cycle lamp,
but are somewhat heavier. The light
| comes from dry batteries which will fur
nish light for about ten consecutive hours
without being recharged.
Richard Wambold narrowly escaped
serious injury last Friday by being thrown
| from his bicycle while riding down Ca
| pouse avenue. The cause of the accident
was large hole in the asphalt pavement
| into which Wambold was forced to steer
| in order to escape a collision with a team
! going in an opposite direction. When the
! event was over Richard was a little the
worse for wear and tear, but no bones
| were broken.
| -
| There is a surprising amount of ignor-
| ance among the general public, as well as
| among a considerable number of bicycle
| riders, respecting the character of tub
| ing that is used in the construction OF
bicycles. Many among the latter, prob
ably the majority, imagine that all makers
! use practically the same material, varying
| only in size, while there are those among
fT to hiroly
gas pipe or something akin to it, is the
material out of which is fashioned the
beautiful little bit of mechanism that has
reyolutionized individual method of loco
motion at the end of this century of mir
| acles,
Apparently no thought is given to the
prime necessity of great strength in every
| part of the bicycle Only the finished ar
tcle is seen, and in many cases purchased
| because of some fancied-that is, appeal
| ing to ones taste, or imagined to exist
| detail in finish or construction. But how
many among the thousands who purchase
| bicycles ever seriously stop to think and
| inquire into every minute detail of the
cycles construction? Elegance of finish
| or appointments are not value-determin-
ing qualities by themselves-they are SIM
ply superficial embellishments and may
| possibly cover structural weaknesses.
Neither does the oft-reiterated statement
that some one or a multitude of titled
personages rides this or that make of
bicycle add one iota to its value as an
honest piece of merchandise. The frame
of a bicycle is its bone and sinew, so
to speak, and 1t follows as a natural con-
sequence that into its construction must
| necessarily enter material possessing no
| uncertain elements of strength. The gem
eral public understands nothing of metal
lurgy, but there is one thing everybody
can understand-that is, common honesty.
When a bicycle rider is confronted with
broken tubing or parts In his bicycle, he
readily understands that he has secured
an article made of faulty material. He
may or may not have paid a high price
for IT, but in either case he was entitled
to reasonable immunity from breakage.
/ The factor Of safety is so exceedingly low
in a bicycle that no rider having having
regard for life or limb can afford to gam
BILE with chance.