New-York tribune., 1898-01-23
IN THE CYCLING WORLD.
CONDITION OF THE TRADE CONSIDERED
PROMISING.


The bicycle manufacturers and dealers al.
yet.inp ready for brisk spring Uaue' "'''
Of them seem to think that they VIII nav nos" ,1a
-, q. a,a ,ou,t with in the amount or business
.. h. a,ne during the coming season i"e''
,,,uos IN he some scattering talk apou' '"o
oro,o ebows hut a further discussion OF the SUI
,oo, would seer TO he waste or time IL was
announced on Friday night that some one u -
ouenoe in the trade had made propoS-"'i ~
Manager Sanger Of the Madison square o"'N'''
20 have a show there early In Mafch' II was
said. however. that suitable dates couiu "o' 'e
secured and that the idea Of having a sho"
mad 10 be abandoned. At the anBual mee'i"s ~
the Board OF Trade Cycle MANUFACTURERS '''
subiect Of shows was not even mehIioneu' ms
r.o,,,a indicate that the makers were in earnest
when they said that there would De 10 S"o"
this wear. one of the local dealers, Wheh AN IN
tng of elbows said the other day: Man! ol w IN,
local dealers wanted show ana war'eu a,in ~ D"Iy
q couple Of months ago. ana IL "@s q ,,1' a
q, a connie of votes whether we shoald nave q
show or not on the night when the local Doalu
OF Trade held it's meeting TO decide on 'he ques s
ton 1 knew that it was gong 10 ne pe a,Stoct
thing When 1t came to voting on the iJ,t sunJeTte
~ was found that two of the most enthuSlas'I.
show supporters were not present. 4'cS n1u a.
thought that the question was so sur - I've ,hn 10
favor of shows that they did not a''e"u III.
meet tTNc When the vote was taken. snow or
ho show. the no show won by single vote.
ct have for two years studied midde-distance
racing and the men who have made specially
Of IT," said "Bily' Young. the weH-Kho"n
trainer. the other day. This sort OF racing mas
tust corne 70 the front IN this country. and some
pecular criticisms have been made. Now nave
watched Michael carefully in most Of his races
$3.50. r,,,s, no admitted that the little fellow Is
a wonder. l handled Chase in his race against
the Welsh midget. and did the same service
FOR Taylore the French rider. Now. 1t has peeh
safd 4bet Michael had all the best Of the pace
makers in his races. He did 10 a certain eX-
tent IN that his pacemakers were well raiheu
and worked together like piece or Machinery
Rut 70 say that he had the fastest pacemahelS
Is all rot. Chase had fast pacemakers' ana 50
did Tayore. They simply could not loAo" TIC
pace set them. Chase was out or shape, any any
way when he met Michael, ana the hlslisiill,"i'
never had A chance With Taylore It was shshl-
" different This young man is a good rider.
and he will do much better than ms races III
this country would seem TO lndlcale; ne mIauV
the mistake In his race with Mlchael OF Chdi'S
inc his gear from los to 81. Now. this would
have been all right for sprint or a race Tor hVc
miles but It was all wrong for an hour race, oI
for twenty-five or thirty miles. He thought tnat
he could lump quicker on the lower gear. ana II
served him all right for the first mile. Taylore
had faster pacemakers tnan MlTnaei, ou, 1iao i"
lore could not keep up. Michael keeps close TO
his pacing machine. and ne is constantly talk
ing 10 the man on the seat. in case things
look squally. In this way ne can regulate HIS
mace TO suit himself"
Wheemen generally are watching the chain
less wheel question closely. and the rev models
are beginning to be seen on the roads in some
numbers on fine days. well-known saddle
maker is said to have invented a new Idea in
chainless wheels. which he and his friends think
Will be the best thing OF the sort yet shown
Patents are now pending. and for that reason
little Intelligent information can be secured at
this time 1t is described as sort OF tooth ana
min roller gear and the driving rod runs on
the outside Of the rear tube, while the rear stay
is on the inside. 1t is said that several OF the
large manufacturers have seen the wheel. and
that they have spoken favorably of the new
idea.
The openinc month Of 1898 has furnished an
unusual number Of good days for wheeling thus
far. The first three Sundays all fine. al
though two Of them were too cold to make ex-
ercise on the bicycle altogether enjoyable. In
the week just ended there were three or four as
good days as could be asked for hy anybody in
January. The best of them was Tuesday when
the air was almost sprnglike; at least it was
found 50 by those who went far as COney
Island 1t was noticed by riders who reached
that. .rJlnt at low tide that the beech was in un-
! commonly fine condition. the sand having COW
cred every shell and pebble. and presenting a
broad. smooth expanse, over which a wheel
rolled as easily as on the finest asphalt or
macadam. II Is a singular thing about this
beach that at times ii is almost completely coy
cred with shells. while at other times 1t Is en-
tirely free from them. On still other occasions
there will be numerous shells in some places ana
none in others. Some cyclists are timid about
riding over these shells. but people who have
done it repeatedly say that their tires suffer no
harm.
II the wheclmen OF the State had their way
there would be no question about the passage
OF an intelligent bill providing for a comprehen
sive system Of road improvement. The pros
poets for the passage of a bill dealing with this
subject appear TO be fairly good, and pressure
should be brought to bear on members Of the
Senate and Assembly in all parts Of the State to
induce them 10 vote on the right side. The city
members are all right almost to a man, but
hitherto the rural representatives have been
able TO defeat all good roads bills. the mod
crate one finally agreed last year sub
stitute for all that were introduced. In connec-
ton with the general question OF good roads 1t
is worth mentioning that there is no likelihood
OF so extensive Improvements in this citys
streets in the near future as have been wit
messed in the last two or three years. In Man
haitian the large amount Of work done was due
In good part 20 special appropriations which
have now been nearly exhausted. and in the
Borough Of Brooklyn there is doubt as to the
validity Of contracts made by the former city
government now that the new regime has be-
gun Even If q bill Is passed legalizng these
contracts Il remains 10 be seen whether the
rev Department Of Highways VIII have enough
money at its disposal 20 enter on any consider
able amount of new work.
The average wheelman who has given no spe-
cial attention to the subject Of road construction
would ii asked for his opinion. unhesitatngly
declare that dust road Of any kind a
bad thing and that nothing better could happen
than for the wind TO drive it away and leave
the hard surface underneath exposed to view.