New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-01-16

miies, and the 2OO-mile record OF III hours Al
minutes 10 seconds. few days later he low
| cred the 1OO-mile record to ; hours | minute
42h seconds. and on August 10 he placed the
NewYork to Philadelphia return record at II
| hours 81 minutes and 80 seconds. On October
IL Lieutenant Wise made his second attempt TO
break the record between Washington and New
York He was successful. covering the distance
in - hours and 30 seconds This record has
been accepted by the Century Road Club. and
still stands. The Citizens Cup was decided on
November q. and brought TO The front a speedy
rider in G. NJ. Relyea. who won from the six
minute mark in II minutes and 81 ID seconds.
The winner narrowly escaped getting the time
prize, which fell to f. p. Reynolds who covered
the course in ~ minutes and ID seconds.
one OF the novelties of this year in the cycling
world is a new sprocket. which on casual ex-
animation does not present an unusual appear
ance If it is examined closely, however. II will
he noticed that a large number of the teeth
have been partly cut away. so that the chain
gets no purchase on them as the sprocket goes
around The idea is to reduce the friction by
having the chain impnge only one tooth in
five In a sprocket with twenty-five teeth there
will he only five teeth that actually engage the
chain: the others are bevelled off that they
simply act as guides to keep the chain in place.
II IS asserted in behalf of this device that 1t Is
especially effective in hill-climbing and also
when the chain gets foul on muddy road. a
bicyce eQuipped with IL is SAID 10 respond very
readily to pressure the pedals Some severe
tests have been made with 1t. and 1t is declared
TO have given complete satisfaction TO otse;
the introduction OF the chainless type OF Wheei
Il Is fair TO expect that other improvements
in chains and sprockets will be forthcoming TINS
season.
There are not few women riders who like so
much the independence that comes from riding
and controlling their own bicycles that they are
reluctant to surrender it by taking TO the tan
dem General experience shows. though. that
most women who get accustomed to tandem
riding like il and find much satisfaction in the
circumstance that they are thus able to take
much longer rides than were possible for them
when they had to go it alone a rider VINO
has done a good deal on tandem said the
other day that while he was rarely able to IN
duce his wife to go out with him. he took great
delight in riding with his boy and girl. Inc
trouble with a good many people in riding
tandem" said he lis that they have too high
a gear. There is no denying the fact IN ridlnS
a tandem il is hard work to go up hiIl' es-
pecially if you have a high gear have rdden
a tandem geared up to ~ or -. but DO not care
to have a higher gear than -, and for persons
not accustomed to such machine 20 To - is
probably high enough. When a man goes out
with his wife or daughter he does not care
u.
found more satisfactory. Two people not used
to tandem riding have to take some time TO get
accustomed to each other. so that they can
modal together without discomfort and with "
feeling of perfect harmony. believe tndt W.
tandem ought to have a brake. ana IL i an 1IIe
better II the brake is so arranged as 10 De ui.
der the cOntro! OF the man on Ihe 70 .. o.
on account Of its weight tandem tehus 70 sS s
down hill faster than a single Wnet', 5IiU
course II IS harder to hold it by backpedaIihs
Tn huvinp a tandem should advise frlehd 10
be sure to get one with plenty OF spaoc IN s,1 1ns
rear diamond so that he can take goog, s.%Iu
luggage carrier when going on a 'ouI' iii' 10
an important consideration
The earliest attempt in the direction OF al Hi
nroved saddle was made In the days thal ante
dated the pneumatic tire and the ldea Was -
reduce the iolting caused by the wheeIs passing
over rough places. large and clumsy Pheu-
matte raddle was produced at that ulhe' pu' -"
nopularity was limited although on accouu- Va
the doubt felt by many riders as 10 the u'i
bility of pneumatic tires when they HE 'a'
,n,o ,se some bicyclists believed they could
secure the same results by the use Vi .i.'
heavy and awkward saddles. Pneumatic saduieS
have been made since in a variety or Styles pu'
,.houeb they have been advocated by some
,h,.sicians comparatively few are in use. one
eaddle that was quite popular last year had q
rheumatic pommel or nose. wh?le tne pouS r,,ys
The saddle was made of PADDED ieatnet. 80 %
year a saddle has been introduced WnI0' -. 90
Slrinp of rubber making a soft cuShoii' ~ ~ ~,
Welding It has much the same 80 hut
some OF the best pneumatic sduue2 ID ,hat
70 pumping up is necessary. am hard under the
the rubber VIII never sl'" '
pressure Of riding
Efforts 70 solve the brake question commune
yust now the special attempt Is 10 max d "''
working on the rear axle or huh, when Cd" ="
onerated by the process OF bacKpeud'I''ie "
Drba,t ~ one Of the recent inventions in this
line it is declared that while the piaN
ao,,so selfsettjng the movement is always
Gradual one 50 that there Is no dahse' "a wv
sudden a stopping through the QUICK ac'ioi "a
the brake This is an important Hla''''' NV"
o,.er and ANYHOW. many riders would not care
for a brake that began 10 set ITSELF even VIZ
,cbtlv as soon as they began to backpedai. II
roi,, % This kind can be made to work salts
S,,oru,. II will have advantages over any OlaN'
acting on the tire since 1t VIII De "HoIiS ""t ~
s,ght and the weigh. Is inslgnincah' III ois
case being stated 10 be only seven t ourt ~
hicvcle expert who has given some a'tentIo-i ~
mis- et,-le of brake says, however, thal ne can
not give ii his approval. since ne tniiih9 t., ,ho
is too much friction caused al d 10. a &C ros
Mcvcle where there ought to be as Tttie as pos
sible.
Cyclists are becoming interested in the pro-
nosed outdoor gymnasiums, because they leeI
that the tracks at the gymnasiums VIII interest
thorn John c. WetmOre. the well-knoWh l.. "a
W handicapper said he was glad 10 see lhdl
tho Amateur Athletic Union and its alNed inter-
ests had taken the matter up, ana ne hoped |"
see Mayor Van Wyck approve OF the scheme III
every particular because he knows that out
door gvmnasiums will mean a great deal TO the
cyclists. Mr. Wetmore is an old-timer in ath-
Itch