The record-union., 1898-11-26

One of the largest of Australian firms
states that auctions have been numer-
Gus in Melbourne and Sydney Of late.
Both 1896 and 1897 patterns have been
hand machines bringing as high as $40.
The use of the ankles, back pedaling
and facility of dismounting are three
important points frequently neglected
by the novice.
A cycle club of youths has been
formed in Rangoon, India Several
Chinese and Burmese, as Well as Euro
peans, are registered on the roll of
membership.
When you buy a bicycle for almost
nothing it is generally worth it," says
a prominent dealer.
The use of bicycles, which few
years ago was unknown in Java, has
within the last three years advanced
tremendously. There are now between
5000 and 1900 bicycles in the island,
and the number is increasing. Wheel
ing is confined entirely to Europeans.
half castles and Chinese, the Arabs and
natives not having taken it up. Elderly
people do not ride, as they do at home,
and women ride little, as it is consider
ed immodest for a girl over 10 to ride
a bicycle. The American Consul does
not, therefore, recommend sending any
drop frame wheels there
According to French paper the
amount of work done by Miller, the
winner of the three days racing in
Paris, is calculated to be equal to that
of pulling a two-horse omnibus on the
Paris streets during the whole Of the
time, while according to another calcu-
lation his task was equivalent to as
cending Mont Blanc eight and a half
times.
An English inventor has made a. two
two-speed gear, and can be changed
from high to low and low to high in
the twinkling of an eye, to suit the re-
quirements of the road over which the
cyclist is traveling all the gears are
always in conjunction, thus obviating
the possibility of the cogs being broken.
The gear is said to be simple in con-
struction and can not only be applied
to existing chainless bicycles, but also
TO motor cars.
1t is not many years ago since own
ers of bicycles in India had to send
their machines to England for repair.
Nowadays repair shops in the neigh
borhood in and about Calcutta are to
be found in all the principal streets.
Many riders. after overhauling their
wheels or removing the nuts on the
axles for any reason, carefully put oil
on the threads before replacing the
nuts, because the threads have rusted a
little and the nut does not screw on
easily This is a mistake, because
when the threads are covered with oil
the nuts are apt to work loose.
Number plates must, by law, be af-
fixed to cycles in France on and from
May /, 1899 They must bear both the
name and address of the owner of the
cycle.
Engineering Journal: Bicycle spoke
wire is sold at so close a profit it would
not pay to go to the expense Of polish
ing. The method of making spokes
from coil of wire is a swaging pro-
cess, somewhat similar to that used in
making needle and tool steel, and the
finish of the spoke might be called pol
1shed. it is SO smooth and bright. A
polished steel bicycle spoke, however,
would quickly rust when exposed to air
and moisture. The best finished BIZ
cycle spol1es are nickel plated, and the
spoke makers expect from the wire
manufacturers not a polished surface
on the wire, but smooth, bright
drawn finish, suitable for nickel plat
ing. Several of the ordinary coatings
and liquors used on wire. and drawn
bright, will do for this, as long as they
are free from grease, and If a copper
liquor solution is used a special plating
solution is necessary for nickel plating
over the copper. The tensile strength
OF the eight or ten different grades of
steel used ranges from 100000 to 25O,-
OOO pounds per square inch in the fin
ished wire. The 100000 pounds per
square inch might be called soft steel.
The Excelsior Needle Company, Tor
rington, Conn.,, is also a large maker
of bicycle spoke machinery and of
spokes. A small quantity of wire could
be polished by hand, but to do the work
on larger scale specially designed ma
chimes would be needed, as for hard
wire.