New-York tribune., 1899-06-10

First pr4r. the rder appearing In the most s"-
Second prize to the wearing the next most gro
tesque costume
81 can tell you little thing which may save you
q great deal Of trouble" said prominent dealer
to tho writer Yesterday ''In these days OF heavy
bicycle saddles with many springs and bolts and
nuts the constant jar OF the machine VIII inVari-
ably loosen these nuts and the first thing that the
rider knows there Is a rattle ana noise winch
nine times out OF ten he thinks is In the wheel IT.
sell. and consequently when he searches for II ne
cannot find the squeak 1t Is in that saddle, and
unless the nuts fastened they Will drop y III
is the same with the nuts on the machine They
should be gone over occasionally. to see that tney
have not loosened. Now. the best plan that
have found is to sprinkle a li:tle dust or dirt on
the thread OF the nut when \ s tIghteneo un,ess mes
the thread Is worn. Il will hold fast every time
There will be Just enough grit to enable the threao
TO get a firm hold
A bicycle statlsclan says that In 1893 the oi-
cycles in Maine were valued at S2if2O The owners
paid $500 30 in taxes on their wheels, or Wnlcn
amount the State received 1892 80 the rest going to
the towns. The value Of bicycles In Maine Is only
81 900 less than that of the street railway proper
ties and is one-tenth OF the value of the steam
railroad property, not counting rolling stock All
other wheel vehicles appraised at sum only
four times that Of the bicycles Telegraph and
telephone companies pay So 81 In taxes, and the
EXPRESS companies only 1880 55. There thir-
teen thousand owners of bicycles in Maine. and the
number increases rapidly.
Says an expert who has tried two-speed gears:
How is II that two-speed gears have hitherto
proved failure? For two reasons: The first is
that the majority of two-speed gears, though ef-
fectve, bring into play additiona! friction, and
therefore require additional energy. The second is
that a rule the change OF gear is too great, the
general rule being to have normal gear OF %
inches and higher gear of 80 inches, or vice versa
sudden
rider chance"
All the divisions OF the League OF American
Wheelmen situated on the Canadian border are
feeling the effects Of the travel to Canada. Thou
sands OF wheelmen make trips into the country
across the line every year. and most OF them are
members. This is because of the agreement be-
tween the Canadian customs authorities and the
League Of American Wheemen. whereby members
Of the organization permitted to take their
simple showing Of their membership cards being all
that is necessary for the free entry. Many Of the
border divisions recruit large memberships because
the cost OF an entire years membership.
The good-roads advocates hereabouts pro-
pose to build the main highways between River
head and Quogue Of gravel. This road is
stretch OF sand in summer and axle deep with
mud in winter. Contributions amounting to 81, 900
started In the early fall and proceed until finished.
Il Is estimated that the road would cost about
$4,000
Tomorrow the Vlgilant Cycle Club will hold
blind run. leaving the clubhouse, No. 324 Lenox-
ave, at 10 o'clock The destination is not known TO
any member but follow the captain is the in
structions. The reception held last Tuesday was
success, although the weather warm. The
clubhouse was filed with members and friends, and
all had good time.
The Tribune will tomorrow publish another Of
the routes for wheelmen which eagerly
sought in many quarters. The route arranged is
from Elizabeth n j. TO the Delaware Water Gap
Hundreds who contemplate taking this trip this
summer will do well to cut out this map and file 1t
away for future reference.