Omaha daily bee., 1897-02-28

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THE DOUBLE QUINT."
one 1t can be discovered by turning the reaI
wheel slowly and watching the sprockei
wheel from above. IL it Is out of true the
chain links in some places will be picked III
obliquely by the teeth instead of plumbly
Never ride a wheel in this condition one inch
further than is necessary.
In cleaning a wheel do not rub oil on the
frame. Many have ruined the looks OF their
cycles this way. The enamel is baked on,
but II is paint none the less. Oil softens IL,
causing 1t to crack and peel.
The bearings in the head and pedals of a
wheel are generally much neglected. They
do a sight of work and should be fabricated
almost as often as the axle bearings.
A good way to clean the bearings without
Remembering your wheel is to flush benzo-
line through them until 1t runs out clean.
Kerosene will do, but the first named is
better. The head and pedals are apt to need
this treatment often, as they dirt
faster.
An over free use of oil is a fault no less
than the neglect to lubricate. When bear
ings are plunging through a sea of oil they
are not happy and the overdose oozes out
along the threads of the axle or pedal shaft
and tends to make the nuts work loose.
DOING YOUR OWN REPAIRS.
The unlucky rider pays so. as cents. or 81
to have a crank and pedal shaft straight
oned. 1t takes the shopman three minutes
by the clock to perform the feat. Any one
with half an eye can do it, IL he can OBJ
tain the Use of a wise.
Turning up a sprocket wheel that is
cut Of line is more ticklish, but 1t can be
done by those with a good eye and deft
touch. All the drop ~forgings used in wheels
bend easily when shut in a wise.
To straighten a pair Of forks that have
been bent back, or. more properly speak
ing, a bent fork crown. get any empty case
about the size of a soapboN. Place the
wheel rest on the ground, so that it is
braced against the edge of the box. Let
some one hold the machine tightly by placing
a hand on the saddle, while you, standing on
the soapbox, grasp the front wheel by the
rim, and, with a steady forward pull, bring
the forks back to the proper line.
III you keep an extra stock of lubricating
oil at home, or are carrying a bottle of it
on a tour, and care about keeping it from
coagulating, put in some pieces of scrap
Sometimes, when bearings grind and
creak, it is because there is one ball too
many in the cups, There must be a little
play about the ball races, and sometimes
wheels come from the factory with one
ball more thar there should be in some cup.
When the parts OF a wheel rattle. il
needs adjusting, and sadly. 1t is well to
have the least bit of play in the pedals,
but the crank axle bearings and these of
the front and rear wheels should be so
snug that there is no play, and yet loose
enough to have the wheels balance. In adj
justing cones. if they are screwed up till
tight. and then given a quarter turn back
ward, they are generally in about the proper
shape. 'ni'n''
CARE OF LAMPS.
why do lamps go out?" A novice nut
the query to an 'oldtimer, and the latter re-
piled sententiously: Because the owner is
a sloven.' Bicycle,lamps should be cleaned
as regularly as are those of a household
Breaking in {" lamp is like. training a colt
You must prevent bad habits, and not wait
to cure them after they are developed. If
a lamp starts to become smoky. it will CON
tinue so, but regulate it with minute care
from the beginning; and you will be spared
much harvesting g.
1t Is a good plan for riders 10 hunt for n
puncture themselves when their tire is leaky.
Put the tire in water and watch for air
bubbles. If it San inner tube tire take ont
the air sheath and submerge that, after
partly Initiating it, Sometimes there is a
little "pinhole' %puncture very difficult to
ma. IT does not permit the escape of air
till stretched by full imitation. To find one
OF these holes the tube has to be taken in
hand, and a few inches at a time stretched
under water, passing the tube along till the
hole 10 found.
Valves are a source of considerable trouble,
though not one-tenth of that with which
they are charged. Often a valve is simply
'balky," and can be adjusted by a little
manipulation or coaxing. A speck of dust on
the air plunger will prevent it from fitting
tightly and cause a leak. In such cases a
drop or two of water will remedy the matter.
Sometimes the spring back of the plunger
binds and prevents it from returning to it's
place. When this is the difficulty it looks
serious, but 1t has been overcome by turning
the wheel till the valve was at the top, hang
ing upside down, and giving a few smart
blows on the tire. So simple a thing as this,
"hen one he's wit enough to do it, will save
a walk home. When the air plug is clogged
by dust, and it does not yield to water, a drop
of kerosene or other oil may do the trick.
Do not use more than a single drop, for oil
about tires is dangerous.
JUST MONKEY WITH 1T.
Usually when a valve leaks the trouble is
with the rubber washers that are fitted on it.
Frequently the simple plan of taking the
valve apart and reversing the washers in
their places is all that is necessary. In the
great majority of instances a leaky valve
can be fixed by the roadside, If one will have
the patience to take it apart and just
monkey with 1t a bit. 1t is the blockheads
that give up and express their wheels home.
Oil is a good thing for leather, but very
bad for rubber. Be careful not to let any
kind of oil, benzine or naphtha fall on your
tire. 1t rots the rubber and dissolves the
cement that binds it to the rim.
Do not leave your wheel standing in the
sun. 1t melts the cement on the rim and
causes the rubber to check. so that 1t is
worthless.
A novel plan for preventing punctures
which is said to have been fairly successful
is that OF tying a piece of wire or gut across
the backStays, a sixteenth of an inch above
the tire, and another across the front forks.
Often a tack or nail Is picked up that does
not penetrate to the air cavity until 1t has
Travelled around with the wheel a few times.
A piece of wire fastened as described will
catch the tack in the first revolution and
scrape it out. When 1t does not prevent a
this may keep it from being much
worse.
Many a patch proves Ineffective because the
of 1t have not been properly feathered
or shaved down before 1t was stuck on.
PAIRING away the edges on the under side of
a patch gives IL a firm hold and prevents 1t
from curling up. as do the edges Of court
plaster on the hand. '