The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-25
NEWS or THE WHEELMEN.
Riders Show More Favor Toward Pedal
Brakes and 9. Free WheeIs.n

'N~Stss
According to what dealers say about the
buying OF wheels for use during the year.
the construction which in this country is best
known as a back pedalling brake and coaster"
and which in England is termed free Wheel
or free pedal" is making marked gains In pop
ular favor. The brake that Is applied by back
Dedalling. which sets harder in proportion TO
the backward pressure and is released as soon
as the back pedalling action ceases. does not
belong to this class. 1t includes those forms
of brakes actuated by the pedals. which are
thrown on as soon as the pedal Is pressed
backward and remain in position until the
redal gets a forward kick. while between the
forward and backward action there is a zero
point. at which the pedals and cranks are free
to remain stationary while the rear wheel re-
wolves. This permits the rider on such wheels
10 coast with the feet remaining at rest on!ths
pedals. For n couple Of years there has seemed
to be a prejudice against devices of the kind.
but at the recent cycle show there were more
OF them on hand than ever before at a New
York exhibition. Some OF these foot brakes.
which when thrown on by rear pressure leave
the pedals stationary. act, instantly, at what
ever point in the orbit Of the pedal the pres.
7ure is applied. while others have to be pressed
backward for Il brief instant until the dog"
which sets the brake and releases the pedals.
reaches its socket, made for IL in the front
There is little need for the instantaneous
dCllOll, 40 eADcl oAS bOOn NftiChtb III ElucIh
10 back pedal at the most convenient place in
the progress Of the pedal. which is. Of course.
when 1t is rising behind. Ihe contriyance
that offers a momentary interval between the
cessation. Of forward pedalling. the release Of
the pedals and application of the brake is a
con yentence for the, many riders VIII ara
~slovenly in their pedal work and do not keeps
taut chain. With the devices that bring the
motion is permitted. the u~nnccomplished
pedallers are apt to find themselves Hopping
the pedals free Internationally.
-
One OF the objections to free pedal devices
has been that they did way with back pedal
ling. which so many consider n beneficial and
delightful part OF the exercise on a wheel. To
control "a wheel by the feet without the aid of
gives some muscles exercise that would other
wise be neglected. but, so many occasions
eaiae tt be controilei by the feet that the h brake
Is a safeguard, due not only to sell regard. but
to the SonSideration Of others, There are
peda!linE, aud TO them the development OF
pedal brakes and the free Wheel will be aboon;
sense of the rider. He perceives the advan-
tage of being. able to save himself %exertion by
keeping his feet on the pedals and not being
hill and yet proceed with the cycle under per-
In astual work the change exerts a peculiar
fascination, according TO the testimony Of those
who use such wheels. In England 'fres
than they are here. and the experts amuss
themselves by dRuring out how much exeT-
ZION tHeJ nave HdNcu III lub COuTso VI u lTlp. 10
do this they use two c~yclometers. one fastened
TO tho front wheel In the ordinary way. which
shows the distance travelled by the cycle. and
Il second one fastened to the crank so as 10
regi ter the pedal revolutions. A member OF
the Cyclists' Touring Club Of England tells q
remarkable story in the January number OF
the {. =. q. Gazette about the difference be-
tween the distances he travelled IN several
rides and how. far he. pedaIled. His record
for some trips over fair samples Of country"
10 as follows:
Reading 10 southbourne. "a miles. pedhlled 40
miles; Guildford TO Littlehampton. AZ miles, ped
allied % miles; LittlehamptOn to Reading. "a
miles, pedalled 40 miles; Reading TO FarehAm, 81
miles, pedalled 80 miles; Southampton TO Basing-
Farnham ana Guildfurd, 90 mileE, pedslled 81
miles; Heading 10 Peters6Cld and on to Winchester,
81 miles, pedslled ~ miles; F~arncombe, Wors, 10
strstford, on,Avon. u miles. pedalled 5H miles;
pedAlled 7 furlongs. The last two nearly all down
hill.
A kind OF race that Is not entirely new, but
which il uncommon and never hiss been tried
out to discover whether or not IL 10 a success
The promoters this year propose to run a
number OF eyenta OF this character during the
summer. They have the virtue OF making IL
an Involvement for men to ride hard, and they
will help to vary the character OF the pro-
Rrammes offered, The promoters and track
owners profess 20 believe that cycle racing
will be-more popular than ever, notwithstand-
ing the contIiat concerning It's control.
II You Are Pressed for Time
want" advertisements for THE SuS may be left al
any Postal Telegraph Messenger 0nloG. Charges the
same ~ at THE bUh othee.-AaV.