Evening star., 1897-04-10
S NE CYCLE CHAT

The attention of the writer has been fire.
quently attracted Of late to the use of the
bicycle for carrying two persons at the
same time. One will be in the saddle and
| the other standing with one foot on the
| rear step. This is bad for the machine as
| the additional strain is felt, and If contin-
ued any length of time made perceptible,
especially where two adults are on the
| wheel If the machine be a light roadster
| the strain will be seen sooner than on a
| heavier wheel Then. again, the pneumatic
| tires are apt to suffer by the additional
| weight. The tire of the rear wheel with
one person in the saddle bears the bulk of
| the weight, and when person stands on
| the back step the weight is increased more
than tWo-fold AS result the tire will
! suffer especially when it is only partly in
| Hated. If it be fully inflated and made
| hard, the effect would not be so noticeable
| Where steel rims are used the edges Of the
! rim Will cut through the tire almost like a
| knife and if light wooden rims are used
! the rim will probably be damaged before
| the tire is injured.
This is the effect on the machine. On the
! person the effect may not be so bad only
! the muscles in the leg becoming cramped
| from standing any time in one position.
| Accidents have been known to have been
| caused by the foot of persons who were
standing on the back step. The foot would
| turn inward. catch the spokes and snap
| them like pipestems, if not having the
| more serious effect of throwing both per-
| sons on the machine. While a majority of
| those who ride double on a single safety
| are children, there are some grown people
who do SO.
To those who have practice of taking
| the tire off the wheel at the slightest prov
ocation, word of warning regarding the
| replacing of such may not be miss. 1t is
| risky to Mace the tire hack ba oll
| cement has been softened somewhat If
| the cement is hard the tire will not hold
| and 1s apt to come off. with serious results
| to the rider First heat the cement and
| get it a little soft and pliable and then
| place the tire on, and it Is quite certain to
| stick. There is some cement used which
| can be ignited, and after the blaze gets
around the entire rim it can easily be ex-
| tinguished by shaking the rim or blowing
| on 1t. A poorly cemented tire is bound to
creep Off the rim. and if there is not
enough cement to make a firm adhesion
| the best thing is to apply additional ce-
ment. Never use liquid cement or cheap,
hard cement for fastening tires to the rims
the first time.
II you have occasion to remove the rear
wheel from the frame do not be satisfied
when You return it to the frame because
II the adjustment screws are even that
the wheel is all right. Often when such
is the case the wheel will run very un-
true. whereas if the screw on one side is
either frightened or loosened little. the
wheel will run perfectly true This is
often caused by a slight bend in the axle
and the arrangement should be made to
SUIT the circumstances Under any circum-
stances one cannot be too careful in re-
turning wheel after it is once removed
from the frame.
In the matter of mems clothing the
wheel Is exercising tremendous influence
IN London, according to an exchange. The
| men in town are dressing as hey did last
summer in tweeds and hannels, instead of
black morning coats froek coats summer
Chesterneds. silk hats. fancy gloves. rat
ent leather boots, etc. These have practi-
cally vanished. The wess end trade said
IT had never made so many twceds and SO
1eW extra line coats. All this has had a
bad effect beth on profits and returns
Again, what a tremendous effect the
tweed caps and the straw hats hay., had
on the SILK Eat trade, less return and a
limited trade in the more costly lines. This
freedom in dress has led to a demand for
special materials, elastics soft and withal
gentlemanly. This kind Of lress is DON
ned in the morning that man may cycle
to his club. to pay call, to go to lunch,
Tor which, by the way, he used to dress
up, and in many cases he has changed to
flannel and to colored shirts instead of
the costly and elaborate dress white ones
The tendency has been greatly in the
same direction before cycling predomi-
mated as 1t does today. AS a sport it has
come TO stay, and 1t is swaying a yaster
influence than any man or woman can now
imagine on the styles, the material and the
trade. Decidedly it is getting many into
1reer ways Not long ago If man went
out with lady he must put on n GER
tain kind of garment, far more costly than
a cycling suit. Today ne sallies forth
whether town or country gentleman, in
a neat tweed knfckerbocker suit TIL he has
to doff it for dinner, or as likely as not
he does not take it off at all. The straiten-
ed, particular, high-drawn etiquette of So
c1ety has not had a shock in all this, but
iG Ua ni,aer tt
is looking forward to its development in
the future. This is palpable. Therefore
people do not expect the old days to re-
turn. Men are going largely to wear
tweeds, and the fetters once broken in
England they will follow on the continent
and in America and it will lead to cheap
ening of cloth.
Inc announcement made during the week
that the Pennsylvania railway had agreed
10 accept bicycles as baggage on their en-
tire line was perhaps the most pleasant
news that Wheelmen have heard for SC me
time. In the east this road has steadily
held out against cyclists, and only made
concessions where it was forced either
through court decisions, other wise, and
then the matter only applied to a certain
territory. To q person living in this city
VINO desired to take wheel over to Balti-
more with MIN it was necessary to pay an
additional fare of twenty-five cents for the
transportation of the wheel. The Balti-
more and OHIO railroad took sides with the
WRESTLING fraternity, ana made no extra
charge. handling the wheels as baggage
AS result, the latter road secured all Of
the wheeling traffic of the local people,
The reform in the Pennsylvania line in
this respect has been urged for some time,
but without avail until this year. The
credit is given to Chief Consul Samuel A.
Boyle Of the Pennsylvania division of the
League OF American Wheelmen, who held
amber of conferences with the officials
OF The road and labored increasingly in the
cause The concessions granted by the
pennsylvania road will shortly go into ef-
feet, and this will practically leave the
east entirely free of any railroads that re-
gard bicycles In any other light than as
baggage. In the west the conditions of af-
fairs Is worse, though there is a prospect
hat all OF the roads will eventually yield
to the popular demand, In conjunction with
the decisions In regard to the matter rem
dered by various courts.
A report comes from WatertoWn, ~ Y
OF the death of a man while learning to
ride wheel. This is discouraging as it
VIII be used by some persons as an evil
dence that bicycle riding is extre nelly dan
gerous. In spite of the fact that the man in
question died of heart failure, most likely
srperinduced by the excitement of the &C.