New-York tribune., 1899-03-06
CYCLING.
THE TANDEM WITH SINGLE RIDER
GOES UP THE HILL FIRST

GOES UP THE HILL FIRST.
AN ARGUMENT FOR PLACING THE RIDER OVER
THE REAR wHEEr.-TRYING TO PERFECT
PLAN Ply WHICH AN ELECTRIC LAMP CAN
BE REcHARGED FROM ANY ELECTRIC
wTRE-NoTEs AND COMMENTS.
The whcelmen OF the district are waiting for the
opening OF the outdoor riding season with con-
siderable interest and as as the weather can
be depended upon the outpouring Of cyclists will
astonish those who have not yet adopted the
silent steed Of steel and rubber party OF promi-
nent cyclists met yesterday I'm an uptown hotel and
bewailed the rain OF Saturday. They had intended
to take their first outing OF the year but sober
Judgment convinced them that It better to
postpone a tour through the country until the roads
were In better condition. Then they began to tell
Of their experiences last year A saddle manu-
facturer. who Is enthusiastic rider himself. told
Of an incident which happened last season. and
he listened TO attentively. "A party OF last
spring arranged 10 take trip to Yonkers." said
he. but one of those proposed go had his
wheel In the repalr-shOp, and suggested that
would ride my tandem 10 the meeting place I'm the
my friend did not turn up, but all the rest did. and
there was considerable speculation as TO what was
10 be done. | finally concluded TO ride the tandem
alone and we started out. my friends on the single
wheels laughing at me good-naturedy. and saying
what they would do 10 me when struck some OF
the hills. There were some good riders in the
% d in ae cot 10 n KEEP bd b qP wa bead % at
of them. | got the reputation that trip OF being
particularly strong rider, but IT was not so. have
frequently two men tandem stall on a
steep hill and the one on the front seat get off.
pedal up alone. You see, all the weight s on the
rear wheel. where Il should be in hill climbing. /
m @ r be Built deren Sa' lines We all sit too
forward at present. They have already adopted
the principle in the overhangng ripets. quads and
quints.
firm is experimenting with electricity with the
idea OF putting another bicycle lamp the mar
ket The principle appears to be simple enough,
but those simple little things in mechanical con-
structon often cause the most trouble. The Idea
the manufacturers are working is to complete
an arrangement by which an electric bicycle lamp
can be recharged from ordinary electrc-light
wires such as are used in offices and In many
houses The storage batteries will be so arranged
that they can be recharged many times before new
now on the market burn for fourteen hours before
the batteries have to be renewed. The lamp ques-
tion Is always an important one TO riders OF the
wheel in the large cities. where much riding s done
at night
An Englishman claims 70 have invented
trivance which will be of material service TO road
makers and repairers It Is called the "Viagraph."
and Is device by which the inequalities of road
surface may be accurately determined In ap
pearanc. 1t resembles sledge. and Is in principle
which it may be drawn. and conveying an appa-
ratus for recording paper profile OF the
face and also indicating a numerical index Of the
uneYenness OF that surface In other words. the
sledge contains roll OF paper which receives the
impressions Of two pencils. of which is fxel
and marks perfectly straight line as the VIA
graph is drawn along the road, while the other pen
ell rises and falls according TO the variations OF
the surface This latter record IS effected by the
simple method Of having serrated wheel In con-
tact with the road surface. and attached TO end
ITO erld # he love IL he nd nd
a. the wheel rises and falls with the fluctuations
of the surface the pencil al the opposite end OF the
lever falls and rises to a corresponding degree,
thus making true record Of the surface.
According to THE Cycling Gazette" OF Cleve-
land. Belgium occupies prominent position
bicycle country. According to the police reports for
Of 10 francs each for their wheels, pretty good
record for such small country.
In the souvenir issued to commemorate the ANAL
gamation OF the New-Jersey and the Knickerbocker
Athletic cubs the name OF Dr. c. r. Fletcher was
omitted from the Bicycle Committee through
error DR.. Fletcher Is active member OF that
committee.
w. J. Stafford of Boston who started TO outride
Edwards's century record. has fallen by the way
side. Stafford had made than thirty centuries
when the grip grabbed him and ne was forced 10
stop
From St Paul comes the Information that A. c.
Mertens who the hve-mlle National cham
pionship three years ago. is in precarous condi-
tion. Mertens had severe fall from his wheel last
spring and some OF his friends think that his mind
has not been well balanced since.
Monte Scott. the old-tlme racing man. has gone
into the retail business at Germantown. Phade-
phia