Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1897-02-26
CHEAP BICYCLES.
A French Invsntion Which Sofia
for q 0uaeten
tt Ii Hardly Up TO Ouf Asnsfican Ma.
ohiae. However - a. Il Theught I,
May Affect the Prtce OF Bieyries
the World Over.

1
4 business las just been atarted 10
Paris which may affect the price of bi
! cycles all over the world. II undoubt.
ediy will, IL the claims made by the
chaIupions OF the new undertaking
prove true. Cheap bicycles, so cheap
that the ton OF the sum takes ones
! breath away, are to be The product al
this new business OF factory.
Wooden bicycles were offered for sals
In Paris some time ugo at the unheartl.
| of price of 90 sous each. Henri dc Pass
vile. scientific editor of ths Journal ,lcs
Debats. was musing over this strange
| fact. when one day he received letter
informing him that very useful bl.
cycle could be made for two sous, which
are equivalent to a couple of cents Of
American money. 4 bicycle fdr couple
OF cents! Just think Of al A few
days later Paul Clerc. the writer OF tho
letter. showed NJ. de Parville his two
cent bicycle. It was simply composed
of couple Of pirces OF wuod taken from
an old box and two cents worth of iron.
1t was, In other words, rough speci-
men OF the primitive velocipede, as in
vented by Baron de Drais In 1913. The
component parts of this machine were
rough wooden framework and two
wooden wheels Of equal size.
M. Clerc's idea Ia to place on the mur.
ket machines fashioned after this old
model. but with all feasible and mex
peusive Improvements. The machitca
will have neither pedals nor intricate
mechanism OF any kind. They will be
composed simply OF a wooden framc.
work. two wooden wheels md sasldis.
They will be known, not az bicycies
but as celercts.
II Is not expected Tint the celcrets
will superscde the regular bicycles. but
" 10 considered certain that thousnn nds
who cannot afford to buy bicycles will
buy celerets. A flrst-class bicycle costs
sioo or more; fitst-class relcret can be
bought for ons doilhr or two dollars,
and one of an inferior grade can be piir-
chased as low IN g5 cents. Nay. there is
no reason why d handy tnan or boy
should not make q celeret for himself,
In which cnse the only outlay neccs.
sary would be couple Of cents for iron.
And In regard to the utility of the
celcret Baron de Drais said many years
ago; "On good road my machine can
travel ut the thte of two Leagues. mud
even four leng,ies, an hour, and when
going down hill ita speed is greater thnn
that Of gallppihg horse" perhaps
the baron bragged. The celert may No.
go quite as fnst us no clnims. Still. Il
can be mnde to go fast, and with little
enort. The rider IL really walking,
while In sitting pasture. and is far lcss
likely to become fhtigued than II he
were running In the ordinary manncr.,
fregress ia made by touching the
ground alternately with the right md
left foot. The machine. once act In m y
ton in this manner, goes along steadily,
Ind the speed at times is 10 great TINT
the rider has no need to propel himself
with his feet.
'nt pneumatic tires ond other mod
ern improvements on eeleret," sn,s
NJ. Cierc. "nhd there Is no reasop why
1t should not 60 tlfnost az fist IA bi.
cycle"
He alec shys eonfidsAt1y that mnn
can travel a long distance on ceieret
and feel hardly the iebst fatigue at the
end OF his journey. He accounts for
this fact on the kround that hone ae tn.
energy spent on prdpeliing the fhuthinc
Ia wasted. and that the amount OF en-.
ergy required to travel n long Journey
Is much less thhn might be expected.
NJ. Clerc sees clearly TINT 1t will be no
easy task to make the eelefets popular.
When their prototypes. the draisehnes.
were invented. Mt the beginning Of the
century. the few persons who yehturcd
TO Use them in France were unmcrcifui-
ly chricatured. In England the mil
chimes bechme more popular. but there,
TOO. theif riders were ridiculcd. We ali
know how long II has taken the modern
bicycle to win its present high position.
~. Cierc. htwctef. is confident Of sue
cess.
according td hitn." says the Journu,
des, Debats. "thousafids cal derive hem.
fit from, machine like this. which cost q
almost nothing, which travels as fast NJ
q trotting horse, and which cal, be rid.
den by anyone without tile sligbtcst
danger OF falling off. How natiy Young
people would use II for amusement and
health, and also for tie purpose Of ftearn- |
ing how to ride the regular bicycle
Workingmeii cphld ride to their bust. |
ness on celerets. children could 20 TO
school on thefh. PEASANTS could ride 10 !
market on them. and eveti business men
could use them to save time. So li6bt
could they be made that riders could |
easily carry them under their aftns. ~ |
necessary. 81
Analysed Thoroughly, then. NJ. Cletc's
Idea Is philnntlifopic. lie wants TO fur.
-nish workingmen and,the poor general
iy. who cannot afford to bdy bicyrIes.
with machines that for ali practical
purposes will prove quite rs serviceabls
to them as any bicycle.-E. Y. Herald.
She HSd q Reason. Too.
He thought to test her affection, rs he |
took her little hand II, his and looked |
fondly into hef eyes. :,
"If you had yotit Choice" he said, !
"would you, prefer to have al, engage /